Felix the Cat (TV series)

This article is about the TV series. For other uses, see Felix the Cat (disambiguation).

Felix the Cat
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Genre	Cartoon series, Adventure, Comedy
Created by	Pat Sullivan
Voices of	Jack Mercer Pierre Guillermo Mae Questel
Theme music composer	Winston Sharples
Composer(s)	Winston Sharples
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	126
Production
Producer(s)	Joe Oriolo
Running time	30 min.
Production company(s)	Felix the Cat Productions, Inc. Paramount Cartoon Studios King Features Syndicate
Distributor	20th Century Fox Television
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	October 2, 1958 – May 1961

Felix the Cat is the first television series featuring the famous cartoon character Felix the Cat.

In 1954 Otto Messmer retired from the Felix daily newspaper strips, and his assistant Joe Oriolo (the creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost) took over. Oriolo struck a deal with Felix's new owner to begin a new series of Felix cartoons on television. Oriolo went on to star Felix in 260 television cartoons distributed by Trans-Lux and produced by King Features Syndicate and Paramount Cartoon Studios (formerly Famous Studios) starting in 1958 (incidentally, Paramount was one of the previous distributors of Felix's theatrical cartoons). Like the Van Beuren studio before, Oriolo gave Felix a more domesticated and pedestrian personality, geared more toward children, and introduced now-familiar elements such as Felix's "Magic Bag of Tricks", a satchel that could assume the shape and characteristics of anything Felix wanted.

Background

The show did away with Felix's previous supporting cast and introduced many new characters. These characters were performed by voice actor Jack Mercer. Oriolo's plots revolve around the unsuccessful attempts of the antagonists to steal Felix's Magic Bag, though in an unusual twist, these antagonists are occasionally depicted as Felix's friends as well. The cartoons proved popular, but critics have dismissed them as paling in comparison to the earlier Sullivan-Messmer works, especially since Oriolo aimed the cartoons at children. Limited animation (required due to budgetary restraints) and simplistic storylines did nothing to diminish the series' popularity.

Characters

• Felix the Cat - The main character and star of the show. He has many adventures with his secret bag of tricks that often helps in dangerous situations. No matter what the situation he always ends up laughing.

• The Professor - First introduced in 1959, he's Felix's archenemy or foil and always trying to seize his Magic Bag. He has a very amusing speech impediment and is quite eccentric. He is depicted as a bad guy scientist, very intelligent, yet very evil. He attempts many tricks such as the use of his inventions and many disguises to get Felix's magic bag, but always winds up failing in the end.

• Poindexter - First introduced in 1959, he is the nerdy young nephew of the Professor. He is depicted as a stereotypical scientist; he is very intelligent and always wears thick coke-bottle glasses, a lab coat, and a mortarboard. A button on the chest of his lab coat acts as a control for whatever device the plot calls for. He helps his bumbling uncle concoct elaborate schemes to get Felix and capture his Magic Bag, though at times both are depicted as Felix's friends. Whenever he talks to Felix, he refers to him as "Mr. Felix".

• Rock Bottom - The Professor's bulldog-faced, bumbling sidekick, he tries to help the Professor to steal the Felix's Magic Bag. Rock Bottom's full name is Rock Bottom Age.

• Master Cylinder - An evil, cylindrical robot who first appeared in the 1960 cartoon "Master Cylinder-King of the Moon." He is always trying to kidnap Poindexter so that he can use his intellect to build weapons and equipment. It is revealed that he was once a pupil of the Professor at an academy until an explosion destroyed his original body.

• Vavoom - A small, unassuming and friendly Inuit whose only vocalization is a (literally) earth-shattering shout of his own name "VAVOOM!" (but who is powerless if his mouth was taped shut). He first appeared in Felix and Vavoom

Theme Song

The program is also remembered for its distinctive theme song, written by Winston Sharples and performed by 1950s big band singer Ann Bennett.

Episodes

Episodes and Title

(Note: each episode was originally presented in two parts) The Magic Bag Into Outer Space Abominable Snowman Felix Out West Felix the Cat Suit Electronic Brainwasher Do-It-Yourself Monster Book Blubberino the Whale Ghostly Concert Captain No-Kiddin' Felix in Egypt Detective Thinking Hat Balloon Blower Machine Friday the 13th Stone Making Machine Penelope the Elephant The Money Tree Oil and Indians Don't Mix The Glittering Jewels The Gold Car and County Fair Sheriff Felix vs. the Gas Cloud Felix's Gold Mine How to Steal a Gold Mine? Private Eye Felix and Pierre Mustache The Gold Fruit Tree The Flying Saucer Felix Baby-Sits Instant Money Master Cylinder-King of the Moon The Invisible Professor Venus and the Master Cylinder The Termites of 1960 Moo Moo Island Oysters The Mouse and Felix King Neptune's S.O.S. Relax-a-Lawn Chair The African Diamond Affair Felix's Prize Garden Finally, The Magic Bag is Mine! Felix and the Rhinoceros Felix-Finder and the Ghost Town Snoopascope, A Magic Bag of Tricks Stone Age Felix The Gold Silkworms Felix and Vavoom The Jubilee Dime Movie Star Felix Youth Water Game Warden Felix Master Cylinder Captures Poindexter Atomic Drive Explosion of Master Cylinder Supertoy The Jewel Bird The Atomic Rocket Fuel The Hairy Berry Bush General Clang and the Secret Rocket Fuel The Rajah's Elephants The Exchanging Machine The Leprechaun The Master Cylinder's Spacegram The Leprechaun's Gold Felix and the Mid-Evil Ages The Capturing of the Leprechaun King Marvin the Martian Meets Felix the Cat The Professor's Committed No Crime! The Martian Rescue The Portable Closet Redbeard the Pirate A Museum, The Professor, and Rock Bottom The Professor's Instant Changer The Vacation Mirage Cat-Napped The Sea Monster and Felix The Diamond Tree King of the Leprechauns The Magic Apples Oysters and Starfishes The Haunted House Gold Digger Vavoom The Wizard and Sir Rock The Coal Diamonds Out West with Big Brownie Love-Sick Squirt Gun Mechanical Felix The Ski Jump Felix and the Beanstalk The Milky Way The Super Rocket Formula The Weather Maker The Giant Magnet The Instant Truck Melter The Pep Pill Leprechaun Gold from Rainbows The Magnetic Ray The Instant Grower The Professor's Ancestor? The Wizard Luring the Magic Bag of Tricks The Uranium Discovery Chief Standing Bull The Strongest Robot in the World Stairway to the Stars Cleaning House Vavoom Learns How to Fish The Golden Nugget The Genie Felix and Poindexter Out West The Bad Genie The Rajah's Zoo The Loan Business A Treasure Chest The Essence of Money Mercury's Winged Sandals The $10,000 Vacation Brother Pebble Bottom The North Pole and a Walrus Hunt Cleopatra's Beauty Secrets The Trip Back from the North Pole The Golden Whale Baby-Sitter North Pole Jail Hole Felix the Handyman Public Enemies Number One and Two Horse Thieves Adventures of Felix Felix the Cat Bottles the Genie Felix the Cat Finds the Golden Bug Felix the Cat Finds a Genie

External links

• Felix the Cat at the Internet Movie Database
• Cartoon list at the Big Cartoon DataBase