Chocodile (Johnsonverse)

Chocodile is an anthropomorphic animal cartoon character created by Johnson Industries employee Randy Perkins at Johnson Studios in 1936 for the Johnsontoons series of theatrical shorts, and quickly became the mascot for not only the series, but the entire Johnson company in general. In the first Chocodile comic strip story, "Chocolate and Cherries" (1939), his full name is given as Chockel Orson Dile.
An anthropomorphic brown crocodile, Chocodile, despite his love of chocolate, is thin and surprisingly athletic, able to quickly beat up anyone who wrongs him or his friends. Having starred in over 500 short cartoons since his introduction, Chocodile is one of the world's most recognizable characters, receiving a newspaper comic strip that has run since 1940, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998, and other forms of merchandising. He has starred in twelve movies, beginning with The Chocodile Movie in 1942, and eight television series, starting with the long-running anthology series Chocodile and Friends in 1955.
== Development ==
=== Creation and early years ===
According to creator Randy Perkins in a 1943 Johnson Radio interview, the character came to him in a dream he described as "bizarre", in which a brown cartoon crocodile on all fours was rocking back and forth singing, "Chocodile"; when he woke up the next day, Perkins started drawing several designs for the character, before getting the famous "brown crocodile" look.
The first cartoon to star Chocodile, Perkins' "The Brown Crocodile", was released on December 4, 1936. The cartoon followed Chocodile evading capture from the Australian hunter Solomon and his shotgun, using a combination of his wits and the ideas of his love interest, Cherridile. In this cartoon, Chocodile had a slightly different design, which had him being thinner with a more sausage-like head and light yellow gloves. His look was finalized in 1939's "Crocodiles, Crocodiles Everywhere".
== Personality and catchphrases ==
== Voice actors ==
The following are the various vocal artists who have voiced Chocodile over the last 80-plus years for both Johnson official productions and others:
== Theme song ==
Chocodile's iconic theme song (a variation of F.W. Meacham's march "American Patrol") was arranged by Mayhew Lester Lake, and is used in the title cards of almost all of his shorts; the rights for the theme are also held by Associated Production Music for use as stock music.
== Comics ==
== Reception and legacy ==
=== Notable films ===
See also: List of Chocodile cartoons (Johnsonverse)
* The Brown Crocodile (1936) - debut; Oscar nominee
* Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) – first, and so far, only appearance in a Disney film; appeared alongside Disney's mascot, Mickey Mouse, and Warner Bros.' mascot, Bugs Bunny, for the first time – Oscar winner
==Awards and honors==
In 1981, Chocodile received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
== Voice references ==
*Mel Blanc
*Dana Snyder
==See also==
* Gallery
* Johnsontoons
Category:Johnsonverse