The Houndcats
The Houndcats is an American Saturday morning cartoon series produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. The series was broadcast by NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1972, with reruns continuing until September 1, 1973. Thirteen episodes were produced.[2]
The Houndcats | |
---|---|
Created by | Joe Ruby & Ken Spears[1] |
Voices of | Michael Bell |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Producers | Friz Freleng David H. DePatie |
Running time | 22 minutes (per episode) |
Production company | DePatie–Freleng Enterprises |
Distributor | CBS Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | September 9 – December 2, 1972 |
Plot
Loosely based on the CBS adventure series Mission: Impossible and the short-lived 1971 series Bearcats!,[3] it was headed by a combined team of (three) dogs and (two) cats, hence the name, as they go on spy missions in 1914 America.
Each episode begins with the Houndcats receiving their orders from their unseen "Chief", whose message is played on an old-fashioned gramophone, player-piano or other device, parodying the tape recorder scene at the start of most episodes of Mission: Impossible. However, the words "this message will self-destruct in five seconds", always takes the Houndcats by surprise, causing them to run away from the explosion.[4]
Members
- The "Houndcats" were led by cool and confident cat Stutz.[5]
- Ding Dog was Stutz' right-hand man. He wore a blue Civil War uniform. He was known for bad timing and bad judgment. He is a Briard.
- Muscle Mutt was the muscle – large, bulky and ever-hungry, his eyes were almost always hidden under his hat. He is an Old English Sheepdog.
- Putty Puss was a tiny cat and a disguise expert.
- Rhubarb was a dog and a scientist. He wore a long coat and a large sombrero usually revealing only his nose. His coat was full of gadgets.
Episode list
Nº | Title | Original air date |
---|---|---|
1 | "The Misbehavin' Raven Mission" | September 9, 1972 |
2 | "The Double Dealing Diamond Mission" | September 16, 1972 |
3 | "The Great Gold Train Mission" | September 23, 1972 |
4 | "The Over the Waves Mission" | September 30, 1972 |
5 | "There's No Biz Like Snow Biz Mission" | October 7, 1972 |
6 | "The Strangeless Than Fiction Mission" | October 14, 1972 |
7 | "The Ruckus on the Rails Mission" | October 21, 1972 |
8 | "The Who's Who That's Who Mission" | October 28, 1972 |
9 | "The Perilous, Possibly, Pilfered Plans Mission" | November 4, 1972 |
10 | "The French Collection Mission" | November 11, 1972 |
11 | "The Outta Sight Blight Mission" | November 18, 1972 |
12 | "Is There a Doctor in the Greenhouse Mission" | November 25, 1972 |
13 | "The Call Me Madame X Mission" | December 2, 1972 |
Voices
- Michael Bell - Stutz, the Raven
- Joe Besser - Putty Puss
- Daws Butler - Rhubarb (three episodes), Dr. Strangeless, Grogan
- Stu Gilliam - Ding Dog
- Arte Johnson - Rhubarb, Captain Blight
- Aldo Ray - Muscle Mutt
- Joan Gerber - Madame X
- Bob Holt -
- John Stephenson - Doctor Doll
Production notes
13 half-hour episodes of the series were produced. An adult laugh track was added, as was common practice for cartoon series at the time.
Incarnations
- The Houndcats (1972–1973)
- The Houndcats and The Barkleys (1972–1973)
DVD/syndication
On October 20, 2015, Film Chest Media Group released The Barkleys and The Houndcats - 2 DVD Classic Animation Set on DVD in Region 1.[6] This collection features all 13 episodes of the series on DVD for the very first time.
The show was previously syndicated by Viacom International, which is now CBS Television Distribution.[7]
Staff
- Created for Television by David H. DePatie, Friz Freleng
- In Association with Ken Spears, Joe Ruby
- Writers: Woody Kling, Tom Dagenais, Don Christensen
- Animation Director: Bob McKimson
- Storyboard Directors: Gerry Chiniquy, Arthur Leonardi, Cullen Houghtaling, Paul Sommer
- Layout Supervisor and Design: Robert Taylor
- Layouts: Martin Strudler, Marty Murphy, Bob Givens, Tony Rivera, Peter Alvarado
- Animation: Don Williams, Manny Gould, Ken Muse, Norm McCabe, Bob Richardson, Warren Batchelder, John Gibbs, Jim Davis, Bob Matz, Bob Bransford, Reuben Timmins, Bob Bemiller
- Background Supervised by Richard H. Thomas, Mary O'Loughlin
- Film Editing Supervised by Lee Gunther
- Film Editors: Joe Siracusa, Roger Donley, Allan R. Potter, Rick Steward
- Voice Talents of Michael Bell, Joe Besser, Daws Butler, Stu Gilliam, Arte Johnson, Aldo Ray and Joan Gerber, Bob Holt, John Stephenson
- Title Designs by Arthur Leonardi
- Music by Doug Goodwin
- Music Score Conducted by Eric Rogers
- Music Recording Engineer: Eric A. Tomlinson
- Executive in Charge of Production: Stan Paperny
- Production Supervisor: Harry Love
- Camera: Ray Lee, Larry Hogan, John Burton, Jr.
- Production Mixer: Steve Orr
- Sound by Producer's Sound Service, Inc.
- Associate Producers: Joe Ruby, Ken Spears
- Produced by David H. DePatie, Friz Freleng
In other languages
- Arabic: فرقة المطاردة
- Basque: Ehizakatuak
- French: Les Chacabots
- Hebrew: הכלבתולים
- Italian: Gli investigatti, La valle dei gatti[8]
- Japanese: それゆけ珍探偵ハウンドキャッツ[9]
- Korean: 골목대장 똘이[10][11]
- Polish: Gończe koty
- Portuguese: Missão Quase Impossível
- Russian: Ищейки
References
- Shostak, Stu (05-02-2012). "Interview with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears". Stu's Show. Retrieved 03-18-2013.
- Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 143–144. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 290–291. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 417–418. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. p. 127. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- 2-DVD Set with DePatie-Freleng's 'The Barkleys' and 'The Houndcats' Archived 2015-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYhzUBXwXX4
- "La valle dei gatti - Antonio Genna". Il mondo dei doppiatori. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- "まんがキッドボックス (1971) - 私的 昭和テレビ大全集". FC2. 2006-12-03. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- "골목대장 똘이 (KBS 1978년)". Naver. 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- "골목대장 똘이 : 미만부 가사묶음 - 황씨신문". Mimanbu. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
External links
- The Houndcats at IMDb
- The Houndcats at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- The Houndcats at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016.