Dennis the Menace is a 1986–88 animated series produced by DIC (with season 2 co-produced by Crawleys Animation), based on the comic strip of the same name by Hank Ketcham.
The series was originally aired in syndication in the United States, distributed by The Program Exchange. The second season aired on Saturday mornings on CBS. Each half-hour series consists of three six- or seven-minute episodes. The show was sponsored by General Mills, who is also credited as the show's copyright owner.
Contents
Cast
Brennan Thicke as Dennis Mitchell
Phil Hartman and Maurice LaMarche as Henry Mitchell, George Wilson and Ruff (season 1 and 2, respectively)
Louise Vallance as Alice Mitchell and Martha Wilson (season 1)
Marilyn Lightstone as Alice Mitchell and Martha Wilson (season 2); and PeeBee Kappa
Jeannie Elias as Joey McDonald, Tommy Anderson and Margaret Wade
Donna Christie and Sharon Noble as Gina Gillotti
Riva Spier as Jay Weldon
Episodes
76 episodes were produced.
Season 1 (1986)
1 So Long, Old Paint/Trembly Assembly/Private I (September 22, 1986)
2 A Visitor from Outer Space/Train That Boy/Genie Madness (September 23, 1986)
3 Cheer Up/Ghost Blusters/The Life You Save (September 24, 1986)
4 All the President's Menace/The Love Rowboat/Wilson the Menace (September 26, 1986)
5 Fishing for Trouble/Future Fortune/Time Bomb (September 29, 1986)
6 Spa Blahs/Whale of a Tale/Disaster on the Green (September 30, 1986)
7 Here, Kitty!/Circus Berserkus/The Monster of Mudville Flats (October 1, 1986)
8 The Price of Stardom/Space Menace/The Magic Flute (October 2, 1986)
9 Dennis' Yard Sale/The Abominable Snow Menace/It Came from the Planet Dennis (October 3, 1986)
10 Ruff's Hat Trick/A Moving Experience/Lemon-Aid (October 6, 1986)
11 Chitty Chitty Moon Walk/Wet 'N Wild/Dennis at the Movies (October 7, 1986)
12 The Supermarket/The Big Candied Apple/The Defective Detector (October 8, 1986)
13 Henry the Menace/Come Fly with Me/Camping Out (October 9, 1986)
14 Up Up and Away (From Here)/Going Ape/Dennis the Pirate (October 10, 1986)
Season 2 (1988)
1 Frankenstymied/Space Race/The Incredible Shrinking Dennis
2 The Great Pie Swap/Climb of the Century/Little Beauty Shop of Horrors
3 Crummy Mummy/Swiss Family Mitchell/Pie in the Eye
4 It's Magic Time/Dennis in Wonderland/Water on the Brain
5 Snow Wars/The Moroccan Pigeon/Dennis of the Jungle
6 Young at Heart/Thor-Sicle/A Word from Our Sponsor
7 A Froggy Day/Loch Ness Mess/Box Office Smash
8 Menaced Marriage/Dennis of the Yukon/Seal of Approval
9 Instant Replay/Underwater Wonderland/Safe at Home
10 A Fox Tale/Gorilla Warfare/Shared Interest
11 Kooked Goose/Pell Mell Hotel/The Old Ball Game
12 The Wright Stuff/Hassle in the Castle/Wilson's Night Out
Home video
VHS
In 1987, CBS/Fox Video (under the Playhouse Video branding) made a 75-minute VHS three-volume series, by combining the stories into direct-to-video movies, and the producers created new transitional segments. The 65 episodes that were planned to be released on videocassette by Family Home Entertainment via a contract was signed in November 1985, then it was proceeded into a lawsuit by the show's producers, DIC Enterprises. In June 1993, CBS/FOX Video released seven VHS compilations in the United States:
Dennis' Great Adventure – contains the episodes All the President's Menace, The Abominable Snow Menace, Dennis in Venice and The Big Candied Apple.
Animal Antics – contains the episodes Lean, Green Jumping Machine, Shark Treatment, Jungle Bungle and Dinosaur Doozy.
Boys Will Be Boys – contains the episodes Disaster on the Green, Baseball's Best Ballplayer, Soccer it to Me, Dennis and Racetrack Menace.
Spies, Robbers and Ghosts – contains the episodes Ghost Blusters, The Monster of Mudville Flats, Young Sherlock Dennis and The Defective Detector.
Movie Exclusive - The Mitchell's Move (1987) - Dennis' father Henry gets promoted to a new job in his business, only his job is in Alaska, and Dennis and his family have to move in one week. Features the episodes The Boss Gets Scalped, The Big Candied Apple, Going to the Dogs, Vampire Scare, A Royal Pain, Trembly Assembly, and Shock Therapy.
Dennis the Menace: Memory Mayhem (1987) - features the episodes Future Fortune, A Good Knight's Work, A Moving Experience, Home Destruction, The Invisible Kid, Tanks for the Memories, and Cheer Up.
Dennis the Menace: Dennis the Movie Star (1988)
DVD
In March 2008, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released a select 7-episode DVD entitled Dennis the Menace: Trouble, Trouble Everywhere. This compilation includes the episodes Dennis in Venice, Mayan Mayhem, The Big Candied Apple, A Royal Pain, Dennis and the Kangaroo Cavalry, Dennis Plasters Pamplona and Black and Blue Hawaii.
Mill Creek Entertainment (under license from DHX Media) released Dennis the Menace – Volume One on DVD in March 2014. The 3-disc set contains the first 33 episodes of the series. Later in August, they released another DVD, subtitled Lights! Camera! Menace!, which contains the remaining 32 episodes from the first season.
The complete series was released in September 2016.