Touché Turtle and Dum Dum: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Touché Turtle and Dum Dum: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

"Touché away!"

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 16, 2025

Hanna-Barbera was running full steam ahead in the early 1960s, riding a wave of popularity from standout cartoons such as Ruff and Reddy, The Huckleberry Hound Show, Quick Draw McGraw, and of course The Flintstones. Appearing only a few weeks before future classic The Jetsons in September 1962 was a trio of new properties collectively known as The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series; these include Wally Gator, Touché Turtle and Dum Dum, and Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har. All three similar properties starred lovable talking animals in bite-sized adventures and, rather than sold as a full variety show, were instead offered as a package to local stations for syndicated flexibility. Each was also produced in 16mm as a cost-cutting measure, unlike most H-B productions which were finished on 35mm.

Taken on its own limited terms, Touché Turtle and Dum Dum isn't a particularly deep or ambitious effort for the studio, even within the fairly limited scope of its previous and future franchises. But it is still pretty fun, as each of these bite-sized shorts follows the heroic adventures of its titular characters, one a brave shelled swordsman voiced by long-time radio personality Bill Thompson (best known for Droopy, and certainly showing a few similarities to that character here) and the other a bumbling but good-hearted sheepdog voiced by Alan Reed (pulling double H-B duty as the then-current voice of Fred Flintstone). Both heroes used their limited wits and a little bit of luck to save folks in distress during each five-minute adventure; none are layered, attempt to take any stabs at a long-form narrative, or stick with any specific setting or time period but examples include the Wild West, pirate-riddled high seas, and medieval England, as well as within or just outside the boundaries of well-known stories such as Robin Hood, Little Red Riding Hood, and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Or sometimes, just in the middle of a bank robbery. Basically, anything goes here.

That's the enduing appeal of cartoon entertainment like Touché Turtle and Dum Dum: it's not challenging in the least but perfectly fun in small doses which is why, as usual, Warner Archive's comprehensive collection of 52 shorts can be enjoyed at any speed. (I can't imagine many fans, even the most nostalgic ones, will be running the series in a single 4.5 hour session -- I watched them all in a little over a week, or about a half-dozen shorts each evening, which felt just about right for yours truly.) But unlike several of the boutique label's fully reconstructed Blu-ray collections of "proper" vintage Hanna-Barbera shows such as Huckleberry Hound and Magilla Gorilla (which proved to be a veritable Herculean challenge, given the ramshackle state of H-B's library of cartoons dissected into individual segments), these shorts are presented individually with the intro animation and title cards at both ends because that's all that exists. Word has it that WAC will be releasing both Wally Gator and Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har on Blu-ray in the future, and I'd expect a very similar if not identical restoration/presentation approach on all fronts.

For now, Touché Turtle and Dum Dum was given the green light first because, unlike the other two, it never saw the light of day on DVD aside for two random episodes included with WB themed cartoon collections. But it's been worth the wait as, under the circumstances, all 52 episodes look and sound about as good as possible. In lieu of my usual hand-assembled list of included shorts (which are all printed on the back cover for easy reference), screenshots #24 and #25 show each disc's episode selection screen. They're divided evenly with each dual-layered disc running just over two hours, which proves to be more than enough real estate to ensure optimal image quality.

Touché Turtle and Dum Dum: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Unlike most Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 1950s and 60s, the original source materials for Touché Turtle and Dum Dum were 16mm original camera positives rather than 35mm negatives (a studio cost-cutting measure, as mentioned above), which obviously doesn't yield the same levels of fine detail and color depth as, say, Magilla Gorilla, The Jetsons, or The Huckleberry Hound Show. And while it's clear from their appearance here that the individual segments were in found in various states of disrepair, they've nonetheless been restored as fully as possible by Warner Archive's white-glove treatment. These original 16mm elements were all scanned in 4K and treated to a round of the boutique label's careful manual cleanup, which helps to reinforce Touché Turtle's visual charms while preserving almost every ounce of available film grain. There are still more than a few speed bumps along the way, as a handful of shorts appear much more muted or exhibit color fluctuations while varying in their levels of crispness and detail, as some look noticeably softer than others. Within these boundaries and with expectations in check, this is a commendable restoration that I doubt could have been handled much better under the circumstances.

Touché Turtle and Dum Dum: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track likewise isn't as clear and well-defined as Hanna-Barbera's 35mm cartoons, with a pervasive amount of thinness and occasional hiss that was likely left intact to avoid compromising the shorts' dynamic range. Nonetheless, the dialogue and music are perfectly intelligible and rarely right for attention, achieving a modest overall presence that isn't far out of bounds for most TV shows from this era. If nothing else, it serves as yet another sterling showcase of H-B's commitment to first-rate voice acting while displaying the talents of Bill Thompson, Alan Reed, and others including Don Messick, Daws Butler, Doug Young, Jean Vander Pyl, and Hal Smith.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all 52 included shorts.

Touché Turtle and Dum Dum: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc set ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with character-themed cover artwork. Not surprisingly (but perfectly understandable, given its lesser-known status and this release's price point), no extras are included.

Touché Turtle and Dum Dum: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Originally produced alongside Wally Gator and Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har (both coming to Blu-ray from Warner Archive in the future) as part of The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series in 1962-63, Touché Turtle and Dum Dum was another short-lived but memorable show in the studio's deep roster. It's a simple and straightforward effort with great voicework, fun characters, and a light touch that classic animation enthusiasts will enjoy. Made for first-run syndication and produced in 16mm, Touché doesn't have the same visual spark as H-B's 35mm output but has nonetheless been restored nicely on this new Blu-ray set, which includes all 52 five-minute shorts on two discs at a rock-bottom price point. It's an essential purchase for fans and is thus strongly Recommended to the right crowd.