Tex Avery’s Droopy (1995) 3

Santa’s Little Helpers is the third and final installment of Tex Avery’s Droopy holiday series.

Droopy and Spike tie for Elf of the Year. With the honor comes shotgun on Santa’s sleigh Christmas Eve. Due to FAA regulations, only one may ride along. To determine his plus one, Santa devises a contest in which the best elf for the remainder of the time will be allowed the ride.

Spike’s nefarious plans to prove Droopy incompetent are his undoing. Sabotaging the toys only seems to bring down the antagonist until a package delivers an unexpected – and unwanted – surprise to Santa.

Tex Avery’s Droopy (1995) 3

Screwball Squirrel headlines in Giga-Bitten.

Starring in the second feature, Squirrel and co-star Meathead prove themselves computer frauds.

Another of Avery’s creations, Screwy was a magician of sorts. The anthropomorphic squirrel was able to pull objects out of thin air. The Sciuridae family member was guilty of breaking the fourth wall long before it became fashionable.

However, his career was short lived, appearing in only five shorts: Screwball Squirrel in 1944; Happy-Go-Nutty, 1944; Big Heel-Watha (1944), The Screwy Truant, 1945; and Lonesome Lenny, 1946.

Hanna-Barbera brought the rodent back in 1993 on Droopy, Master Detective airing on Fox Kids.

For April Fool’s Day 1997, Cartoon Network aired Happy-Go-Nutty from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Screwy would remain retired until 2013 when he guested on Tom and Jerry’s Giant Adventure. In 2019, he returned on Tom and Jerry’s Show in the Double Dog Trouble episode.

He continued to be in the public eye as shorts showcasing Screwy were featured on Warner Bros home releases The Thin Man Goes Home, Dragon Seed, The Clock (1945), Undercurrent and Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2.

Screwy was also a fixture of the comic book medium. He would appear in Our Gang Comics, Tom & Jerry’s Winter Carnival issues one and two, Tom and Jerry’s Winter Fun issues three, six, seven and eight; Tom & Jerry’s Summer Fun issue one, Tom and Jerry 213, 231 and 232; Golden Comics Digest issues three, five, eight, 18, 22, 28 and 41 for Gold Key Comics; Tex Avery’s Wolf and Red, Tex Avery’s Screwball Squirrel and various issues of Droopy.