The Mystery Cartoon Character Game, ongoing.

Well, well. I found it! It's Private Smiley, from "War Dogs."

That's it, It's Private Smiley! Most of the clues are self-explanatory but I wanted to expand on a few.

The unit is called "The WOOFs."
Dogs really were used in the war.
He literally ends up in the dog house at the end. Complete with bars.

Thanks, Salty. I'm fresh out of characters and clues for now, so I'll pass my turn to anyone who wants it.

I believe I have one.

1. I'm the star of a series of shorts

2. My series is extremely easy to export to other countries

3. I have a very unique way of traveling

I have no idea. Someone else should definitely get it.

Hmm, I don't know either.


......

No one character stands out in my mind. Starring character is a huge help; I had been thinking of the Do-Do from Porky In Wackyland, but that Do-Do isn't the star. Porky is.

So I'm seeking a starring character, the first and foremost of those on screen. This character is likely mute, or nearly so, such as the Pink Panther or Tom and Jerry. That would minimize the amount of translation necessary to adapt the work to foreign markets. As to "unique way of traveling," I can only conjecture either a peculiar vehicle something like Professor Pat Pending's Convert-A-Car. Or possibly a personal aircraft, such as Lord Maze's glider. I can't even rule out magic / teleporting, such as a heroic bunny that pulls a top hat out of hammerspace, hops into it, the hat disappears a moment later, then reappears elsewhere, whence the rabbit hops out. This lets the rabbit go from Tuscon to Toulon in seconds.

But alas, I cannot put my finger on this Mystery Character yet.

I will hazard a guess - is it Pingu?

Nope, not Pingu. Here are some more.

4. My series started out in the late 1970's, but American audiences didn't see me until the 1980's on the first channel for kids

5. I'm a whirly-bird, but I'm not a bird

6. I live out of a suitcase, literally

Can't find any characters from Nickelodeon shows that match the clues.

Okay, I've got three more clues, and then I'll do the big reveal if nobody gets it after this.

7. My series was part of a show that mixed live action with animation

8. Like many other shorts of this series, I'm not originally from the US

9. I'd be able to supply the board for a game of chess, perhaps.

Sorry, but I still can't think of any helicopters that can do all that.

No, not a helicopter per se, merely using the overheard propeller mechanism to achieve flight. Think Muttley from the Vulture Squadron, or Bugs Bunny using his ears as prop blades. That sort of thing. Which covers the "unusual means of travel" clue as well. And the only character I know that lives out of a suitcase was Felix the Cat, using his Bag of Tricks. But there was no live action with Felix. This almost sounds like something from PBS's The Electric Company, but that wasn't produced overseas ... at least, most of it wasn't. Dang, heckuva stumper ya got here, FluidGirl.

The Little Prince has a unique way of travelling, but no suitcase... Moxy has check trousers, but doesn't fit anything else...

I too am stumped!

Okay, then, time for the big reveal. The character I had in mind was "A Kockásfülű nyúl," or "The Rabbit with the Checkered Ears," from Pannónia Filmstúdió.



1. This rabbit was the star of a series of shorts of the same name

2. This Hungarian series is easy to export to other countries because it doesn't have any dialog at all. Only sound effects and music

3. The unique way the rabbit has of travelling? He flies. See Clue #5 for more details.

4. "A Kockásfülű nyúl" was created in Hungary in either 1974, 1976, or 1978 (depending on which source you look at, I haven't been able to find anything consistant as to the creation date of this little guy), but he didn't appear in America until the 1980's, on Nickelodeon's "Pinwheel."

5. The rabbit uses his ears like a helicopter propeller to fly

6. American audiences sometimes refer to this cartoon as "The Bunny in the Suitcase," since he comes out of a suitcase at the beginning of every episode, and returns to his suitcase at the end of every episode

7. In the US, this cartoon short appeared on Nickelodeon's "Pinwheel," which featured live action segments, along with animated shorts

8. Most of Nick's programming in the 80's was from Canada, or overseas, and "The Rabbit with the Checkered Ears" was no exception, since it came from Hungary

9. At the end of one episode, the rabbit moved a chess piece along his checkered ear.

Oh, wow! Didn't know anything about this, since I never actually saw anything on "Pinwheel."

Same here, Pinwheel was a bit before my time--that bunny is adorable though.

Just so I'm clear on this, since I stumped everyone, do I get another turn, or have the rules changed in that regard?

Those rules didn't change at all. So you do get another turn.

Oh, man! I saw that bunny during my research, but I couldn't confirm some of the clues. I saw a short clip of it (no flying) and it was vaguely familiar, since I used to watch Pinwheel. Ah, I blew it.