# Will The REAL Dennis Stand Up (Dennis The Menace) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576 "2011-06-23T17:11:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/1 "2011-06-23T17:11:45Z")
OK I’m nearly 47 years old and I didn’t know there are not one but TWO menaces and they’re BOTH named Dennis How could I never come across this in 47 years??? Being an American I know about the American, _[Dennis The Menace](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_the_Menace_(U.S.))_ but I didn’t know anything about the British, _[Dennis The Menace](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_the_Menace_(UK))_ Frankly the [British Version](http://www.google.com/images?q=Dennis%20the%20Menace%20(UK)) looks far more menacing then the [American version](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Om8bnRjTT6s/SsyAEgFtLzI/AAAAAAAAAxE/yeVNx4zcGyw/s400/pr_Dennis_Menace.gif) So those who know both, which one is better? Which one is funnier? Who’s more menacing? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/2 "2011-06-23T17:45:56Z")
Didn’t know about the Brits version. Have to give them credit for putting their show together in just 5 days after getting the idea from us. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/3 "2011-06-23T17:50:10Z")
I only recently found out about the US one, but didn’t realise that there were only five days between the debuts. Clearly an idea whose time had come! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/4 "2011-06-23T17:52:33Z")
I’ve only ever known of Hank Ketcham’s Dennis until recently, when I learned there was also a British Dennis. I’ve never seen the British one, although I’ve been a fan of Dennis Mitchell, (the U.S. Dennis) all of my life, from the comic, the TV show, and the big-screen movie of a few years back. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/5 "2011-06-23T17:56:01Z")
I learned about the UK one about a year ago. I think in a Cracked article. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/6 "2011-06-23T17:57:21Z")
I actually knew about both since childhood, but didn’t _know_ I knew since fairly recently – I’m much more familiar with the American version, but I owned a ruler sporting a picture of the UK Dennis as a kid. I only recently realized that they’re both ‘Dennis the Menace’-s. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/7 "2011-06-23T18:36:10Z")
I don’t remember where I heard about the British one, but it might have been here on the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/8 "2011-06-23T19:08:58Z")
Yep, I’ve known about the British character for some time, and grew up with the American. Fun fact, they debuted, like, a week apart. ‘Better’ and ‘funnier’ are rather in the eye of the beholder, but the British version is much more of a menace - the American version is a nuisance, but that’s it…the British one is a little thug. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/9 "2011-06-23T19:33:41Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I learned about the UK one about a year ago. I think in a Cracked article. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/10 "2011-06-23T19:35:38Z")
At Christmas time, Canadian book stores used to (or maybe they still do?) carry The Beano and The Dandy. As a kid I would pick them up from time to time, but they seemed like comics from a different planet. At any rate, I wasn’t completely unfamiliar with them, but the American Dennis the Menace was more ubiquitous (Saturday morning cartoons, Dairy Queen advertisments, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/11 "2011-06-23T20:24:11Z")
Did the British Dennis sing a gawdawful version of some Christmas carol? (I’m talking about the American Dennis doing that horrible rendition of _Silent Night_.) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/12 "2011-06-23T20:29:59Z")
I grew up on _Beano_ and the like, so I guess I knew the British one first, although we got the American one in the Sunday funnies. I greatly prefer the British one, even if the whole thing’s been toned down dramatically, as the world get more nannyish. No more Slipper! ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/13 "2011-06-23T20:37:09Z")
I no idea there was an American Dennis whereas Dennis, Gnasher (his dog) and the Bash Street Kids have been around all my life. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/14 "2011-06-23T21:52:55Z")
British Dennis first, followed closely by the American, who didn’t interest me nearly as much. My Aunt and Uncle owned a convenience store that carried comics from both sides of the Atlantic. Of all the mischievous cartoon kids, Oor Wullie was by far my favourite. Scots heritage and all that ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/15 "2011-06-23T22:58:28Z")
> [@maggenpye](#): > > Of all the mischievous cartoon kids, Oor Wullie was by far my favourite. Scots heritage and all that I still get either _Oor Wullie_, or _The Broons_, every Christmas. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/16 "2011-06-23T23:18:21Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > I still get either _Oor Wullie_, or _The Broons_, every Christmas. 🙂 Great fun getting sassenachs to try reading them out loud! Love them both. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/17 "2011-06-24T12:12:15Z")
As a brit, I’ve known about the British Dennis from reading comics while growing up in the 1960s. I discovered the more anaemic American one on tv a few years ago… Didn’t know it was also a comic strip. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/18 "2011-06-24T12:19:36Z")
I grew up with the Beano, and saw the American Dennis when we went on holiday to America and I had a TV in my room. He was not a patch on Calamity James or The Numbskulls, though. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/19 "2011-06-24T13:45:14Z")
Never heard of the yank version. Is there an American version of Desperate Dan too? There really ought to be - he is a cowboy. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576/20 "2011-06-24T16:07:06Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > ‘Better’ and ‘funnier’ are rather in the eye of the beholder, but the British version is much more of a menace - the American version is a nuisance, but that’s it…the British one is a little thug. The American Dennis was a major hellion when he debuted; the comic panel was originally more about the trials faced by those around him, with Dennis as a destructive force, to appeal to parents who had to deal with their own child-rearing ordeals. He quickly became the actual focus, and was watered down over the years to be more appealing (and probably to not serve as a bad role model). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-real-dennis-stand-up-dennis-the-menace/586576.md?page=2)