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| Sniffles | |
|---|---|
| Looney Tunes character | |
 Sniffles the mouse, in his debut short,Naughty but Mice. | |
| First appearance | Naughty but Mice (1939) |
| Created by | Chuck Jones |
| Designed by | Charles Thorson |
| Voiced by | Margaret Hill-Talbot (1939–1941) Marjorie Talton (1943–1946) Colleen Wainwright (1996) Kath Soucie (2002–2020) Dawson Griffin (2022–present) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Mouse |
| Gender | Male |
Sniffles is ananimated cartoon andcomic-bookmousecharacter in theWarner Bros.Merrie Melodies andLooney Tunes series of cartoons and comics.[1]
The character wears a blue sailor cap, a red shirt, blue pants, a yellow scarf, white gloves and tan shoes. His fur is brown with light markings on the face.
DirectorChuck Jones created Sniffles as a potential new star for the studio in 1939.[2]
Jones debuted the character in the shortNaughty but Mice (1939).[3] InNaughty but Mice, Sniffles has a cold and is searching for a remedy. He eventually stumbles upon an alcoholic cold medicine, drinks it, and becomes intoxicated. He then pals around with an electric shaver, which eventually saves him from a hungry cat. Sniffles was played by voice actresses Margaret Hill-Talbot and Marjorie Tarlton.
Jones went on to direct 12 cartoons featuring Sniffles, most of which showcase the naïveté of Sniffles by placing him in a dangerous world. For example, inSniffles Takes a Trip (1940), a simple drive into the country turns into a nightmare as Sniffles is constantly frightened and awed by his surroundings. Some of Sniffles' films pair him with a bookworm character who accompanies the mouse into a sort of fantasyland where books and toys come to life, such asToy Trouble (1941). Others simply focus on the inescapable sweetness of the character. InBedtime for Sniffles (1940), for example, he struggles to stay awake into the wee hours on Christmas Eve in order to glimpseSanta Claus. This scene is a showcase for Jones' facility of realizing character through facial expression.
By the end of the series, Jones transformed Sniffles into an incessant chatterbox who serves more as a nuisance than a cute protagonist. For example, inThe Unbearable Bear (1943), Sniffles foils a robbery attempt by perpetually pestering the perpetrator. These traits were originally part of Little Blabbermouse, another Merrie Melodies character that appeared in two shorts, directed byFriz Freleng (Little Blabbermouse (1940) andShop, Look, and Listen (1940)) before being retired. Jones was moving out of his Disney-esque stage in the late 1940s, and Sniffles was retired in 1946 as the director took to more aggressive characters such as theThree Bears, fellow miceHubie and Bertie,Marvin the Martian, andWile E. Coyote and Road Runner. The mouse's final cartoon wasHush My Mouse (his only entry in theLooney Tunes series) in 1946.
Sniffles faded into obscurity in the animation arena. However, he would find new life in theLooney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Comics begun in 1940 byDell Comics (writerChase Craig used several minor Warner Bros. characters to fill pages).[4] These comics teamed Sniffles with a little girl named Mary Jane who could shrink herself to mouse size, originally by sprinkling magic sand borrowed from the Sandman.[5] Throughout most of the series, she could shrink just by reciting "First I close my eyes real tight / Then I wish with all my might / Magic words of poof poof piffles / Make me just as small as Sniffles." By now Sniffles had lost most of his animated film personality and was just a companion to Mary Jane as she explored something found in a garden or entered a sort of magical toyland. Mary Jane surpassed the mouse in popularity, and got top billing in later issues. Artist Roger Armstrong drew the series until Al Hubbard took over in the 1950s. These adventures proved a favorite with readers, and the series continued until 1961. This series was resurrected in 2006 for a story in issue #140 of theLooney Tunes comic book published byDC Comics.
With the exception ofNaughty but Mice, every cartoon in the Sniffles series was given aBlue Ribbon reissue. All 12 Sniffles cartoons were included on thatLooney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones CollectionDVD andBlu-ray set.
The 1990 television seriesTiny Toon Adventures features a younger counterpart to Sniffles namedLi'l Sneezer, a baby mouse with a propensity for having hurricane-force sneezes.
Sniffles has a cameo in the movieSpace Jam, voiced by Colleen Wainwright. He plays for the Looney Tunes team and is squashed flat by one of the Monstars after he chats very quickly and very annoyingly to one of them.
He appears inThe Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, voiced byKath Soucie. In the episode "The Tail End", he is depicted as a scientifically created Manx mouse with no tail, and unlike his other appearances in this episode, he does not wear any clothes except for a cap.
Sniffles appears in theNew Looney Tunes segments "DarkBat", "Bonjour, DarkBat" and "Smoothie Operator", voiced again by Kath Soucie. He has a superhero alter-ego called DarkBat (voiced byDaran Norris) who is a parody ofBatman.
Sniffles made a cameo appearance in theLooney Tunes Cartoons short "Happy Birthday Bugs Bunny!".
Sniffles appears inBugs Bunny Builders, where he is voiced by Dawson Griffin.
