The Dover Boys at Pimento University

The Dover Boys at Pimento University; or, The Rivals of Roquefort Hall (also known as The Dover Boys) is a 1942 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. It is a parody of The Rover Boys, a book series popular in the early 20th century.

A runabout? I'll steal it! NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW!!!

Unhand her, Dan Backslide! Unhand her, Dan Backslide! Unhand her, Dan Backslide! Hey, we’re getting in a rut!

Narrator

• Pimento University. Pimento U. Good old P.U.
• Out and away the most popular fellows at old P.U., are the three Dover Boys: Tom, the fun-loving member of the trio; Dick, a serious lad of 18 summers (plus a winter in Florida, as related in “The Dover Boys in the Everglades”); and Larry, the youngest of the three jerks— er, ah, brothers.
• Little do they know that now, within this very tavern, Dan Backslide, the former sneak of Roquefort Hall, coward, bully, cad and thief, and arch enemy of the Dover Boys, squanders his misspent life!
• And now it is time to say goodbye. Goodbye.

Singers

• Pimento U, oh, sweet PU
  Thy fragrant odor scents the air
  A pox on Yale
  Poo poo, Purdue
  Pimento U, my college fair

Dora Standpipe

• Help! Tom! Help! Dick! Help! Larry!

Telegram man

Telegram for the Dover boys. "Messrs. Tom, Dick, and Larry, care of Wayward Tavern, Upper Bottleneck, New York." Says, quote, "HELLLLLLLLP!!!" Unquote. Signed "Dora." Thirty-five cents collect.

Dan Backslide

• Hark! The Dover Boys! Drat them! Double Drat them! They are escorting Dora Standpipe! Dear rich Dora Standpipe! HOW I LOVE HER! —father’s money.
• A runabout? I'll steal it! NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW!!!
• [After getting beaten up repeatedly by Dora] Help! Tom! Help! Dick! Help! Larry!

Tom Dover

• Unhand her, Dan Backslide! Unhand her, Dan Backslide! Unhand her, Dan Backslide! Hey, we’re getting in a rut! Stand up and fight, you coward, bully, cad, and thief!

Dover Boys

• Oh, Dora, dear
  Sweet, Dora, dear
  Keep courage up and chin held high
  The stalwart sons of old PU
  Are here at hand to do or die
  PU, PU, we're all for you!
  Yay, boom!

About

• Is The Dover Boys the first 'modern' cartoon? …Chuck Jones stylized the animation in this cartoon in a way that anticipated what several consciously modern studios like UPA would be doing a decade later.
  • Micheal Barrier, Beck, Jerry, ed (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-64722-137-9.