Fraidy Cat (TV series)

Fraidy Cat is a 1975 comical children's cartoon show that originally appeared as a segment on Filmation's short-lived ABC series Uncle Croc's Block.[1]

Fraidy Cat
Written byMichael J. O'Connor
Directed byDon Towsley
Voices ofAlan Oppenheimer
Lennie Weinrib
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes18
Production
Running time6 minutes
Production companyFilmation
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseSeptember 6, 1975 (1975-09-06) –
January 3, 1976 (1976-01-03)

Plot

The show stars Fraidy "Nine" Cat (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer), an unlucky and miserable cat who, like all cats, has nine lives, but has used up eight of them and is on his ninth and last life, where he wants to make it last the longest.[2] The main joke of the series is that as if Fraidy's life was not miserable enough. Nearly every time Fraidy inadvertently says out loud any single-digit number (from one to eight), or any word or any part of a word that rhymes with or sounds the same as the number's name in any language, a ghost from one of his former lives will appear and mistakenly tend to make things even worse for the hopeless cat.

The ghosts are:

  1. Tinker Elephunt "Cave One" Cat (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A prehistoric saber-toothed tiger with a caveman motif. He owns a huge pet Apatosaurus named "Ant" (voiced by Lennie Weinrib).
  2. Kitty "Two" Wizard (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A befuddled magician whose wand was often on the wrong setting.
  3. Captain "Three" Kitt (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A pirate who is the self-proclaimed "buccaneer's buccaneer".
  4. Sir Walter "Four" Cat (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A foppish Elizabethan nobleman who is also an expert swordsman.
  5. William "Billy Five" H. the Kit (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A western cowboy. He is a small guy with a very loud voice.
  6. Jasper "Six" Catdaver (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - An undertaker who actually prefers to expedite Fraidy's passing to the "Other Side", though not out of spite. He is ironically the least troublesome of the ghosts.
  7. Captain Eddie "Seven" Kittenbacker (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A pilot who is a very erratic flier.
  8. Hep "Eight" Cat (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A zoot-suited jive-talking street cat.
  9. Cloud Nine (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) - As accidentally saying a number from one to eight gets Fraidy a ghost, as if to fill the void towards his last life, saying "nine" calls forth an ominous, malevolent storm cloud (shaped like the number nine) which immediately gives chase after Fraidy, attempting to blast him with bolts of lightning until Fraidy manages to either outrun the cloud or its (supposedly) limited time it can stay expires.

Each short begins with all eight ghosts appearing around Fraidy who says to the audience about his life: "Every kitty has nine lives. But eight of mine went fast. Now there's only one life left, and I want to make it last!" Cloud Nine appears and he starts running. Then he morphs into the yellow-lined cat's name which its letters said it was at the end of the intro.

Whenever terrified by some dangerous situation, Fraidy often exclaims: "This kitten's splitting!"

Episodes

All 18 episodes were made before the cancellation of Uncle Croc's Block.

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"The Not So Nice Mice"September 6, 1975 (1975-09-06)
After being chased by a dog, Fraidy ends up in "Mouse Town," which is run by a gang of mice.
2"Cupid and the Cat"September 13, 1975 (1975-09-13)
After rescuing a female cat named Lulu (voiced by Jay Scheimer), Fraidy is shot by Cupid's arrow and defends her from a bully.
3"Over the Wall and Havin' a Ball"September 20, 1975 (1975-09-20)
When taken to the Animal Shelter, Fraidy encounters a trio of dog mobsters led by the "Grandfather," who recruit him to help them escape so the "Grandfather" can see his favorite cartoon.
4"Feline Fortune"September 27, 1975 (1975-09-27)
Fraidy encounters stolen money from a trio of "Cat Burglars" and defends his newfound wealth from the trio so that he can pay off his overdue phone bill.
5"Puss n' Boats"October 4, 1975 (1975-10-04)
When Fraidy stows away on a ship, he encounters a group of pirate birds who hire him to round up food for them.
6"A Scaredy Fraidy"October 11, 1975 (1975-10-11)
Fraidy gets caught stealing oat-flavored lollipops from a horse's stable and becomes a wanted man.
7"Meaner Than a Junkyard Cat"October 18, 1975 (1975-10-18)
Tired, Friday accidentally lands in a junkyard and is hired by the junkyard dog named "Mr. Meaney" to stand guard while he tries to sleep.
8"Love Is a Many Feathered Thing"October 25, 1975 (1975-10-25)
Fraidy is caught between a big dog and three huge female birds in an exotic bird shop who are smitten for him.
9"It's a Dog's Life"November 1, 1975 (1975-11-01)
Caught by the aroma of food, Fraidy eats all of the dogs' food at a dog show and is chased, and eventually winds up disguised as a dalmatian.
10"Choo Choo Fraidy"November 8, 1975 (1975-11-08)
After stowing away on a steam train, Fraidy winds up in a desert. Thirsty, he encounters different animals including a buzzard named Ruth Buzzard, a coyote named Smile E. Coyote (a parody of Wile E. Coyote), a cougar (with a voice modeled after Senator Claghorn), a prairie dog and a circus lion.
11"Magic Numbers"November 15, 1975 (1975-11-15)
When teased by Long Tail and Fatty Catty, Fraidy is tricked into saying "nine" and has to outwit the cloud number before being struck by its lightning bolts.
12"A Small Star Is Born"November 22, 1975 (1975-11-22)
Fraidy, with the help of retired animal actor Mister Fred (a parody of Mister Ed), disguises himself as famous star Boris the Cat in an attempt to get food.
13"Fraidy Gone Fishing"November 29, 1975 (1975-11-29)
14"Fraidy Come Home"December 6, 1975 (1975-12-06)
15"Double Trouble"December 13, 1975 (1975-12-13)
16"Unlucky Fraidy"December 20, 1975 (1975-12-20)
17"This Cat for Hire"December 27, 1975 (1975-12-27)
18"Culture Schlock"January 3, 1976 (1976-01-03)

Production

One of the few original series (outside of an adaptation) to be produced by Filmation; Fraidy was later syndicated as part of the Groovie Goolies and Friends series.

Home media

All 12 Fraidy Cat episodes were released by Boulevard Entertainment on two DVD volumes in the 2000s, and later by BCI on a compilation DVD called Frightfully Funny: Volume Two, which also included episodes of Groovie Goolies and Filmation's Ghostbusters.

Fraidy Cat has been mistakenly believed to be in the public domain, and has shown up on many public domain compilation DVDs.

References
  1. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part I: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 299–301. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. p. 98. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
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