Touche Turtle and Dum Dum: The Complete Series

I still can’t wrap my shell around the fact that Touche Turtle and Dum Dum clocks in at over four hours of pure animated mayhem. “Touche, away!” and just like that, the fifty-two episodes of this swashbuckling series leap off the screen with more energy than a caffeinated catapult. Featuring the heroic, sometimes hapless, Touche Turtle and his lovable, dim-witted sheepdog sidekick Dum Dum, these cartoons are a delightful treasure trove of Hanna-Barbera antics from the 1962–63 television season.

Now, for the first time, the entire series is collected in a newly remastered and restored Blu-ray release, making it a must-have for anyone who loves classic animation, outrageous adventures, and a turtle who somehow manages to stay one step ahead of danger, even if it’s mostly by accident.

The premise is simple, yet endlessly entertaining: Touche Turtle (voiced by Bill Thompson, the man behind Droopy’s deadpan charm) and Dum Dum (voiced by Alan Reed, also the iconic Fred Flintstone) are heroic fencers who swoop in to save kings, queens, and everyday folks from dastardly villains. And yet, for all their courage, their adventures are hilariously unpredictable. One moment, Touche is dueling in the Old West; the next, he’s clashing swords in the Middle Ages—or maybe thwarting a 1960s-era plot—because in the Hanna-Barbera Universe, history is just a suggestion.

One of the running gags that never fails to crack you up? Touche keeps a telephone inside his shell. That’s right, inside his shell! And of course, it rings at the absolute worst possible moments. Whether he’s fencing a villain, dangling from a cliff, or rescuing royalty, Touche will politely excuse himself, duck into his shell, and answer the call with the calm of a man taking a tea break—while the world teeters on the brink of chaos outside.

The setting feels vaguely like 17th-century France, but really, in Hanna-Barbera’s zany universe, time and place are just suggestions. This flexibility allowed Touche to crossover with other characters when the plot demanded it. In fact, one second-season episode even introduced Ricochet Rabbit, a character so fast he probably arrived before you even pressed play, who went on to star in his own short-lived Western series.

Whether you’re a die-hard animation fan or just someone who enjoys a heroic turtle who somehow saves the day with brains, brawn, and a suspiciously well-stocked shell, this collection of TOUCHE TURTLE and DUM-DUM is a cartoon romp like no other. Capes, swords, telephone-in-shell hijinks—Hanna-Barbera has truly outdone itself. Touche, indeed!