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Introduction answers.com abridged

Mr. Magoo is a cartoon character created by UPA. Voiced by Jim Backus, he is a little old man who gets into a series of sticky (1) situations as a result of his failing eye-sight (2).

Mr. Magoo's first appearance was in the theatrical short cartoon The Ragtime Bear (1949). John Hubley, who created Magoo, handed the series completely over to creative director, Pete Burness. Under Burness, Magoo got two Oscars for the studio with When Magoo Flew (1955) and Magoo's Puddle Jumper (1956).

In 1959, Mr. Magoo starred in 1001 Arabian Nights, directed by Jack Kinney, UPA's first feature-length production (3).
In the 1960s, UPA began producing Mr. Magoo television series.

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol was the first episode of an animated TV series entitled The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. Christmas Carol was based on Charles Dickens' tale (4): it is considered to be a holiday classic of the 1960s.

In the 1970s, Mr. Magoo appeared in a new television series called What's New Mr. Magoo?.
In 1997, Mr. Magoo was portrayed by Leslie Nielsen in a Mr. Magoo feature film. It wasn't successful, in part because many support groups for the handicapped protested it on behalf of the blind (5).

Classic Media/Sony Wonder began issuing the Mr. Magoo cartoon series on DVD in 2001, beginning with Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.
In 2005, Mr. Magoo became the spokesperson (6) of the optical retail store, Sterling Optical.

NOTES
(1) sticky : délicat, difficile
(2) failing eye-sight : vue défaillante, malvoyant
(3) feature-length production : long métrage
(4) tale : conte
(5) the blind : les aveugles
(6) spokesperson : porte-parole

CHARACTERS
Mr. Quincy Magoo elderly, bald, failing eye-sight (voiced by Jim Backus)
Waldo Magoo's nephew (voiced by Casey Kasem in the 70s series)
Cuddles Magoo's dog in the original UPA shorts
Mother Magoo
Charley Magoo's Chinese houseboy
Prezley Waldo's "partner in crime" in the 1960 cartoon
Bowser Magoo's dog (really a cat)
Wheeler and Dealer two children Magoo often babysits
McBarker Magoo's nearsighted dog, looks like him (voiced by Frank Welker)

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