Hong Kong Phooey
| Hong Kong Phooey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Comedy, Martial arts |
| Format | Cartoon series |
| Created by | Hanna-Barbera |
| Directed by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Starring | Hong Kong Phooey |
| Voices of | Scatman Crothers Joe E. Ross Kathy Gori Don Messick |
| Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 16 (31 sub-episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera Iwao Takamoto |
| Running time | 30 Minutes (Approx.) |
| Production company(s) | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | September 7, 1974 – December 21, 1974 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Laff-A-Lympics CB Bears |
Hong Kong Phooey is a 16-episode (31 shorts) Hanna-Barbera animated series that first aired on ABC Saturday morning from September 7, 1974 to December 21, 1974. The main character, Hong Kong Phooey, is a superhero who uses Chinese martial arts to fight crime. Hong Kong Phooey is the secret alter ego of Penrod "Penry" Pooch,[1] a "mild-mannered" police station janitor. Hong Kong Phooey/Penry Pooch is also an anthropomorphic dog in a world populated mainly by normal humans.
Contents |
Synopsis [edit]
The series stars Hong Kong Phooey, the “number one super guy” who travels about the city in his “Phooeymobile” fighting crime with the aid of his manual, The Hong Kong Book Of Kung Fu.[2] The stories begin at the police headquarters, where Hong Kong Phooey's alter ego, Penry, works as a mild-mannered janitor under the glare of Sergeant Flint ("Sarge"). Also at the police station is Rosemary, the telephone operator, who has a crush on Hong Kong Phooey. After Rosemary gets a call and explains the crime, Penry runs into a filing cabinet and (always getting stuck) transforms himself into Hong Kong Phooey.
Despite the theme song, Hong Kong Phooey is a classic screw-up, and often fails to save the city only to be saved by his sidekick pet, a striped cat named Spot. In a few rare circumstances, Hong Kong Phooey actually does save the city, but usually as an unintended side effect of his intended attack going horribly wrong. Hong Kong Phooey is a respected superhero who always gets full credit for Spot’s success.
A running gag is that Hong Kong Phooey is such a respected hero that when his incompetence causes him to crash into, harm, or otherwise inconvenience a civilian, the passer-by feels honored as opposed to annoyed or embarrassed, such as when he drove the Phooeymobile through wet cement, splattering the workers, who responded that it was an honor to have a whole day's work ruined by "the great Hong Kong Phooey."
Details [edit]
Hong Kong Phooey was voiced by Scatman Crothers. Sergeant Flint was voiced by Joe E. Ross, best known as Officer Gunther Toody in the early '60s television series Car 54, Where Are You?. As Flint, Ross revived Toody's famous "Ooh! Ooh!" exclamation. Sergeant Flint was very similar both in voice and appearance to Botch, assistant zoo-keeper at the Wonderland Zoo on Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch that Ross also voiced.
In the episode "Comedy Cowboys", several new cartoon characters (Honcho, The Mystery Maverick, and Posse Impossible) appeared and helped to clear Hong Kong Phooey of a crime he did not commit. This episode was a pilot for the characters, and Posse Impossible later appeared in their own continuing segment on The CB Bears Show.
Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show used the limited Hanna-Barbera self-created laugh track.
Theme song [edit]
The show’s theme song, entitled "Hong Kong Phooey", was written by Chester Stover, Watts Biggers, Treadwell Covington, and Joseph Harris and was sung by Scatman Crothers.
A cover of the show’s theme song, performed by Sublime, is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.
Episode guide [edit]
| Episode number | Title/production number | Airdate | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| HKP-1 | Car Thieves (prod. #74–1 Act 1) / Zoo Story (prod. #74–1 Act 2) | September 7, 1974 | |
| HKP-2 | Iron Head the Robot (prod. #74–2 Act 1) / Cotton Pickin' Pocket Picker (prod. #74–2 Act 2) | September 14, 1974 | |
| HKP-3 | Grandma Goody (Cat Burglar) (prod. #74–3 Act 1) / Candle Power (prod. #74–3 Act 2) | September 21, 1974 | |
| HKP-4 | The Penthouse Burglaries (prod. #74–4 Act 1) / Batty Bank Mob (prod. #74–4 Act 2) | September 28, 1974 | |
| HKP-5 | The Voltage Villain (prod. #74–5 Act 1) / The Giggler (prod. #74–5 Act 2) | October 5, 1974 | |
| HKP-6 | The Gumdrop Kid (prod. #74–6 Act 1) / Professor Presto (The Malevolent Magician) (prod. #74–6 Act 2) | October 12, 1974 | |
| HKP-7 | TV or Not TV (prod. #74–7 Act 1) / Stop Horsing Around (prod. #74–7 Act 2) | October 19, 1974 | |
| HKP-8 | Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (prod. #74–8 Act 1) / Great Movie Mystery (prod. #74–8 Act 2) | October 26, 1974 | |
| HKP-9 | The Claw (prod. #74–9 Act 1) / Hong Kong Phooey vs. Hong Kong Phooey (prod. #74–9 Act 2) | November 2, 1974 | |
| HKP-10 | The Abominable Snowman (prod. #74–10 Act 1) / Professor Crosshatch (prod. #74–10 Act 2) | November 9, 1974 | |
| HKP-11 | Goldfisher (prod. #74–11 Act 1) / Green Thumb (prod. #74–11 Act 2) | November 16, 1974 | |
| HKP-12 | From Bad to Verse (Rotten Rhymer) (prod. #74–12 Act 1) / Kong and the Counterfeiters (prod. #74–12 Act 2) | November 23, 1974 | |
| HKP-13 | The Great Choo Choo Robbery (prod. #74–13 Act 1) / Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Bakery Man (prod. #74–13 Act 2) | November 30, 1974 | |
| HKP-14 | Mr. Tornado (prod. #74–14 Act 1) / The Little Crook Who Wasn't There (prod. #74–14 Act 2) | December 7, 1974 | |
| HKP-15 | Dr. Disguiso (prod. #74–15 Act 1) / The Incredible Mr. Shrink (prod. #74–15 Act 2) | December 14, 1974 | |
| HKP-16 | Comedy Cowboys (prod. #74–16) | December 21, 1974 |
DVD release [edit]
On August 15, 2006, Warner Home Video released the complete series on 2-disc DVD in Region 1. The shorts "Car Thieves" and "Zoo Story" were also released on a 1970s Saturday morning cartoon compilation.
| DVD name | Ep No. | Release date | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Phooey- The Complete Series | 16 | August 15, 2006 | Hong Kong Phooey- volume 1
|
The series is also available in the UK as a Region 2 2-disc set, and 2 separate volumes And R4 also got 2 separate volumes
Although the episodes are listed in airing order, there is a slight error on the disc one/volume one menu and cover. Mirror Mirror, On the Wall/Great Movie Mystery is placed BEFORE The Gumdrop Kid/Professor Presto, thus causing a mix-up with the selection on the menu.
Voices [edit]
- Scatman Crothers – Hong Kong Phooey/Penrod "Penry" Pooch
- Kathy Gori – Rosemary
- Joe E. Ross – Sergeant Flint
- Don Messick - Spot
Hong Kong Phooey in other languages [edit]
- Brazilian Portuguese: Hong Kong Fu
- Spanish: Hong Kong Phooey (the title character is voiced by Rafael del Río)
- German: Hong Kong Pfui
- Japanese: ほえよ! 0011 (Hoeyo! 0011)
- Swedish: Hong Kong Phooey (also known as "Karate-Klanten" in comic version)
- French: Hong Kong Fou Fou
- Portuguese: Hong Kong Phooey
- Polish: Hong Kong Fu-I
- Chinese: 功夫迷 (Kung Fu Mania)
- Italy: La furia di Hong Kong (Hong Kong Fury)
- Russian: Кунг-фу Пёс (Kung-Fu Dog)
- Dutch: Hong Kong Foei
Other appearances [edit]
Hong Kong Phooey later appeared as a regular character in Laff-A-Lympics, as a member of the Scooby Doobies.
Hong Kong Phooey made a cameo in the "Agent Penny" episode of the Super Secret Secret Squirrel segment of 2 Stupid Dogs.
Hong Kong Phooey also made an appearance in an early Robot Chicken episode.
In the What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode, "A Scooby-Doo Halloween" one of the guests at the party dresses up as Hong Kong Phooey.
Hong Kong Phooey can be seen in the middle of the screen at the end of the Metlife commercial "Everyone" in 2012.
He appears on SMB, specifically on Parsnip, but has got himself banned cos he is a bit of a bell.
Hong Kong Phooey and his sidekick Spot make cameos on banners for the Hanna-Barbera convention in the film, Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon.
Other media [edit]
With a copyright of 2001, Alan Lau in conjunction with Wildbrain.com produced a flash animation webshow cartoon that was prominently featured on CartoonNetwork.com, and can still be found there. While Penry appears identical to the original incarnation, Hong Kong Phooey is a much larger, cut, and highly competent and skilled fighter without Spot the cat.
Hong Kong Phooey faces off against and easily defeats evil anthropomorphic animals: a trio of rabbits, what appears to be a crane, and a reptilianoid. At the end he morphs back to Penry with a smile and sparkle in his eye.
Film [edit]
On July 12, 2009, it was announced that David A. Goodman had been hired to pen a Hong Kong Phooey film.[3] Alex Zamm is set to direct and Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove, Brett Ratner, and Jay Stern are producing.[4] Alcon Entertainment will back the film.[5] It was announced August 10, 2011, that Eddie Murphy will be voicing Penry/Hong Kong Phooey in the film.[5] On December 28th, 2012, Test footage of the film and a Marvin the Martian project was leaked (released).[6]The film is likely to be released around 2014.
Music [edit]
The Moldy Peaches song "Nothing Came Out" mentions Hong Kong Phooey among other cartoons: "I want you to watch cartoons with me. He-Man, Voltron and Hong-Kong-Phooey".
The song "Sugarcane" by The Space Monkeys mentions the side-effect of drugs as being "Quicker than the human eye or Hong Kong Phooey".
Literature [edit]
The short children's novel Hong Kong Phooey and The Fortune Cookie Caper by Jean Lewis, illustrated by Phil Ostapczuk, was published in 1975 by Rand McNally and Company, as well as Hong Kong Phooey and the Bird Nest Snatchers (1976).
References [edit]
- ^ "IMDB:Hong Kong Phooey-Plot Summary". IMDb. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ^ CD liner notes: Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, 1995 MCA Records
- ^ "'Hong Kong Phooey' lands Goodman". Hollywood Reporter. July 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-11.[dead link]
- ^ McNary, Dave (July 12, 2009). "'Phooey' kicks into high gear". Variety (magazine). Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ^ a b Fleming, M. "Eddie Murphy Lends Voice To 'Hong Kong Phooey' Feature" Deadline.com (August 10, 2011).
- ^ "'Hong Kong Phooey' Movie Test Footage Revealed; 'Marvin The Martian' As Well (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. 2012-12-28. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
See also [edit]
External links [edit]
- Hong Kong Phooey at the Internet Movie Database
- Hong Kong Phooey at TV.com
- Big Cartoon DataBase: Hong Kong Phooey
- Hong Kong Phooey – Profile on Hong Kong Phooey
- Hong Kong Phooey – Cartoon Network Department of Cartoons (Archive)
- Hong Kong Phooey Fanriffic Zone – Featuring an interview with Kathy Gori, voice of Rosemary the telephone operator
- InternationalHero Hong Kong Phooey tribute
- Wingnut Toons episode list
- Warner Bros. – Hong Kong Phooey on DVD – The Official Site
- Cartoon Network: Dept. of Cartoons: Hong Kong Phooey – cached copy from Internet Archives
- Cartoon Network Flash Animation
- Hanna-Barbera series and characters
- 1970s American animated television series
- Fictional dogs
- American Broadcasting Company network shows
- Hanna-Barbera superheroes
- Animal superheroes
- Fictional janitors
- Anthropomorphic martial artists
- Parody superheroes
- Superhero television programs
- Superhero comedy television series
- 1974 American television series debuts
- 1976 American television series endings
- Television series by Warner Bros. Television
- USA Cartoon Express
- Martial arts television series
