Peter Potamus

Peter Potamus
Species	Hippopotamus
Gender	Male
Member of	Yogi's Gang
Affiliation	So-So
Occupation	Explorer Plant shop owner Lawyer Mail carrier
Works for	Peter Potamus Plant Palace Sebben & Sebben
Father	Not mentioned
Mother	Not mentioned
Marital status	Single
First appearance	PP&SS: "Fe Fi Fo Fun" (1964)
Played by	Daws Butler (1964-88) Greg Burson (1991) Chris Edgerly (2001-07, 2008, 2019) C.H. Greenblatt (2021-present)
File:80s Potamus.png Yogi's Treasure Hunt
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Deathstroke/Yogi Bear Special
Jellystone!

Peter Potamus is an anthropomorphic hippopotamus and one of the main title characters in the Peter Potamus and So-So television shorts. His voice was originated by Daws Butler.

Character description

Peter is a hippopotamus with purple skin, a pinkish mouth, and an overweight physique. His attire consists of a yellow pith helmet and a white safari jacket tightened with a belt.

He is a larger-than-life explorer who is often accompanied by his sidekick So-So. Together, they embarked on global explorations in a hot air balloon capable of time travel with just a dial spin. When danger comes near, Peter uses his "Hippo Hurricane Holler", a powerful blast that comes from him exhaling a deep breath onto his adversaries. Peter is a very friendly and hearty individual who helps out others around him, particularly his friend So-So and those in need of his assistance.

In Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, he instead wears a tan, undersized suit with a red tie. The personality of this iteration is a sharp contrast from his original counterpart, in that he is a sleazy lawyer with a penchant of womanizing. Despite his highly amoral and inappropriate behavior, he is often described as one of the best attorneys from the Sebben & Sebben law firm. A highly recurring gag from Peter is that he will ask anyone if they "get that thing I sent ya?" What "that thing" is has not been revealed for the most part, but it is implied to be something that Peter takes personally or an absurdly spiritual level.

In Jellystone!, Peter is a "weeaboo," a pejorative English term referring to a person taking intrest in anime or Japanese culture in general. His home is contained to the brim with plastic models, costumes and body pillows. He is also shown to be a martial arts enthusiast. Due to his hobbies, the majority of Jellystone's citizens sees Peter as an mild annoyance and leave him in a desperate need for companionship.

Appearances

TV series

• Peter Potamus and So-So
• Yogi's Gang
• Laff-A-Lympics
  • 1.10 "India and Israel" (no lines)
• Yogi's Treasure Hunt
  • 3.3 "The Attack of Dr. Mars"
  • 3.7 "Yogi & the Beanstalk"
• Yo, Yogi!
  • 1.7 "Yo, Yogi!"
  • 1.10 "Tricky Dickie's Dirty Trickies"
  • 1.13A "Mall or Nothing"
• Dexter's Laboratory
  • 2.2A "Chubby Cheese" (animatronic robot)
• Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
• Jellystone!

Specials

• Harvey Birdman: Attorney General

Movies

• Yogi's Ark Lark
• The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound

Comics

• Laff-A-Lympics
  • #10 "Now You See Them..." (no lines)
• The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera
  • #3 "The Man Who Stole Thursday"

Video games

• Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law

Biography

Peter Potamus, Attorney at Law

Peter is a recurring character in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, portrayed as a sexually-charged and lazy lawyer who often asks Harvey and others if they got the "thing he sent [them]."

Development

According to animator and layout artist Jerry Eisenberg on the Los Angeles Times, he explained that the inspiration Peter Potamus came from Eisenberg himself:

"Once I was thinking about a hippopotamus… Since I was overweight, I could relate to that. So I started making some drawings in the Hanna-Barbera style—the character standing on two legs. I put a safari coat on him and a pith helmet. Joe kind of liked it, so he got some writers together and we began to work on it. I don't know who came up with the name, but that was Peter Potamus."

- Jerry Eisneberg

Prior to Peter Potamus, Daws Butler provided a similar vocalization for the character of Lippy the Lion, which was an impersonation of comedic actor Joe E. Brown.

Gallery

Main article: Peter Potamus/Gallery

Toys and merchandise

Main article: Peter Potamus/Toys

Behind the scenes

• Up until season two of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, the series' version of Peter initially had fingered hands like his previous incarnation. These were sometimes changed into hooves midway through the season's run and later afterwards, which were used to comedic effect through his inability to perform basic tasks such as opening a mustard packet.