Pepé Le Pew voice for the character closely resembles the one he used for "Professor Le Blanc", the harried violin instructor on "The Jack Benny Program". Pepé Le Pew's cartoons were dubbed in French; in the French version ("Pépé le putois"), Pepé speaks with a heavy Italian accent. His voice is a parody of Yves Montand. Chuck Jones first introduced the character (originally named Stinky) in the 1945 short "Odor-able Kitty" (see "Variations"), in which he was revealed to be a married American skunk named Henry who had been faking his French accent. For the remaining cartoons Jones directed, Pepé retained his accent,
What a Cartoon! directing several "Dexter" episodes. Ralph Bakshi's two shorts ("Malcom and Melvin" and "Babe! He... Calls Me") were considered too risqué to be shown. It has been rumored that John Kricfalusi was slated to direct several new "What a Cartoon!" shorts of his own (produced by his production company, Spümcø). However, both "Yogi Bear"-influenced cartoons were commissioned separately by Seibert, and instead premiered as their own: "Boo Boo Runs Wild" and "A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith" both premiered in 1999. Inspired by Seibert's interest in the modern rock posters of Frank Kozik, each of the shows' creators worked