The Mystery Cartoon Character Game, ongoing.

Indeed, let me sweep away a lot of ambiguity.

4) Ralph Bakshi had nothing to do with this character, nor with any part of this production. It wasn't produced anywhere in the United States, for that matter. Nor was it produced in Japan, or any of the Pacific Rim studios.

5) This character has a companion, a faithful one though badly confused, almost to the point of cuckoo.

6) The authorities pursue this character and his companion not because they're violent criminals, but because something they're carrying is too dangerous to be loose in the world, hence the title of their animated film.

Guess I'll throw in the towel here. Maybe someone who knows more about animated foreign films than I do will get it.

Well, it's not the character I was thinking it was. Back to the drawing board.

I think this must be Rowf from Plague Dogs, officially a British film (although I have a dim memory of Arthur Humberstone, c. 1979 on a visit to the studio where I worked to catch up with old colleague Bill Hopper, saying he was going to the US to work on it.)

This is very much Rowf from The Plague Dogs, a feature film from Nepenthe Productions, the same people who gave us the animation behind Watership Down. So far, this film is Rowf's only appearance. He is seen in a drowning tank at the research lab: apparently to "research" how many times one poor dog can die. Rowf later makes a daring escape with another dog, Snitter, who has had brain surgery just for the lolz. During the escape, it is speculated, though never confirmed, that the two escapees contacted contagion samples meant for destruction, and have become plague carriers. I'm surmising that Nepenthe Studios did all the work in-house, rather than farm it out to foreign scribblers; the UK has almost as much faith in animated media as Canada. Rather than be recaptured by the authorities, and sent back to the horrors of the lab, Rowf and Snitter swim out to sea and presumably drown.

I knew that PeterHale would recognize a home-grown feature, or possibly Glowworm has glimpsed this film for a sociology project, and never forgot it. Good for you, sir. Collect another +1, give my regards to the UK for taking animated drama seriously, and give us another Mystery Character to solve.

Actually, while I have heard of Plague Dogs, I have never seen it.

Here's one...

1) I started off as a stubborn, mean-spirited, reactionary curmugeon, but my character was softened over time.

2) My first short was the first of a new series for the distributing studio, who didn't like it much.

3) Despite disliking me, they released it because it featured a bear.

Ah, I came up with the right answer on my way home from the supermarket. It's Quincy Magoo.

1. He was indeed an old curmudgeon who gradually mellowed.

2. UPA, I guess, didn't like the concept of a visually impaired gent.

3. His first short was called "Ragtime Bear."

Got it in one!

1) Mr Magoo (Quincy to his friends!) was initially a stubborn old coot whose short-sightedness was more or less a metaphor for a refusal to see reality. As he became popular they toned down his misanthropic grumbling and played up the innocent short-sightedness.

2) I should perhaps have said "distribution company". Columbia, dissatisfied with the output of Screen Gems, contracted with UPA for cartoons featuring the Columbia characters the Fox and the Crow. When the first two of these gained Academy Award nominations, Columbia acceded to the studio's desire to create its own characters. This new series was "Jolly Frolics", and "Ragtime Bear" was the first entry.

3) Columbia were not impressed by Magoo - they wanted 'funny animals'! They agreed to accept the film only because it featured a bear.

Excellent use of that travel time, Em - your point and your turn!

Thanks, Pete. Now get a load of these clues:

1. Of the four girls on my show, I'm the smartest one of all.

2. Some call me a mechanical wizard.

3. When trying to foil the bad guys, I usually work closely with the team coward.

Ah, this is Valerie of Josie and the Pussycats.

Yes, Glowworm, Valerie Brown is the one.

1. She's the smartest girl on the show.

2. Her skills are indeed mechanically inclined.

3. Most of the time, she gets Alexander to help her thwart the bad guys by rewiring the machines.

Good job once again, Glowworm. Take another turn.

Yeah, Valerie is an extremely positive African American character--which is nice.
Here's one I've recently discovered.

1. My name, and occupation are the same as a well known live action Disney character.
2. There is an adjective in my name although technically I am neither insane nor angry--well I'm not angry on a regular basis.
3. My companion is a rather stupid rat. That's not a derogatory term. He really is a rat.

I had a hunch, but I double-checked just to be sure. It's Mad Jack, The Pirate.

Yep, your hunch is a good one and a correct one. I recently discovered this one through seeing a fanart of it on Deviantart. Intrigued, I looked it up--and discovered that all the episodes are on youtube so I have been watching it lately.

Anyhow to decipher those clues.
1. Yes, Mad Jack is a pirate, much like a certain Captain Jack Sparrow who also shares his name and occupation.
2. Truthfully, despite the expressive moniker, Jack is not an insane character, nor is he constantly angry like say Yosemite Sam. However, he can rightfully become angry like any cartoon character in given situations when needed.
3. Snuk is Mad Jack's faithful, yet dimwitted rat companion.

Thanks, Glowworm. Here's one I almost posted earlier:

1. On my island, I'm the center of attention.

2. Halfway through the short, I'm threatened by a self-promoting simian villain.

3, In the end, I fly away with the one who saved me from the big brute, and our three offspring.

I know this one for certain, but will wait this one out for now.

It's not easy to come up with three more clues for this one, but here goes:

4. The title of my short is a takeoff on a Hawaiian love song.

5. My friends arrive by ship.

6. My daughters look just like me, and my son like his dad, especially during the closing gag.

Now I'm fresh out of clues.

If no one else gets it by tonight, I shall answer it.

As promised, here I am to answer your character.
This is Leilani the hula dancer from "Aloha Hooey"

1. Leilani is absolutely beautiful, so naturally she attracts the attention of two stowaway birds.
2. A gorilla randomly shows up wearing a sweater that labels him as "The Villain." The back of his shirt reads "As if you didn't know"
3. Cecil Crow shows up wearing a sweater labeling him as "The Hero." So naturally, Leilani takes to him. In the end, they have three children with them.
4. "Aloha Hooey" is a play on words of the Hawaiian song "Aloha Hoy."
5. Cecil Crow and Sammy Seagull are stowaways aboard a ship.
6. Self explanatory. Two of the little ones look just like Leilani, while the last one looks exactly like Cecil.