A GOOD QUESTION
Was that really 'the Dude' in 'Mutts' recently? In a word, 'Yesh.'
Michele Heinz, Special to the Tribune
February 19, 2008
A
Q: Were we imagining it, or was the "Mutts" comic strip recently full of inside references to the movie "The Big Lebowski"?
A: Yes, the Dude abides, says cartoonist Patrick McDonnell, in town to meet fans and sign his new book, "Hug Time."
McDonnell's gentle "Mutts" comic strip, which runs daily in the Tribune, was an ingenious takeoff on "The Big Lebowski," Joel and Ethan Coen's 1998 movie that has become a cult classic. McDonnell transformed his character Mooch the cat into the Big Moochowski for a series of six strips.
"I always liked 'The Big Lebowski' movie, and Mooch has a lot of those qualities. He likes to wear a bathrobe, and I put surfer shorts on him," McDonnell said, drawing Moochowski for his audience Feb. 12 at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville.
The series of strips never mentioned the movie itself, but Mooch spouted such Lebowski catchphrases as "You're out of your element" and "The Dude abides."
A few "Lebowski" fans on the muttscomics.com forum spotted the homage and posted gleeful comments, but McDonnell said he had not received any direct feedback from readers on the "Moochowski" strips.
He cautioned parents not to run out and rent the Coen brothers' film for their kids. It's not meant for them.
"I could have drawn a hundred strips" based on the movie, he said, "but the papers wouldn't have been able to print them."
McDonnell noted that he got to meet Dr. Jane Goodall after he featured her in a strip, so "wouldn't that be great if I would hear from the Coen brothers?"
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