Hong Kong Phooey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hong Kong Phooey | |
 |
|
| Genre | animated series |
|---|---|
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 31 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | William Hanna, Joseph Barbera |
| Producer(s) | Iwao Takamoto |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | September 7, 1974 – September 4, 1976 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Laff-A-Lympics, CB Bears |
| External links | |
| Production website | |
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 September 4, 1976. The star, Hong Kong Phooey, is the secret alter ego of Penrod Pooch, or Penry (sometimes mispronounced "Henry"[citation needed]), a "mild-mannered" police station janitor. Although Penry/Phooey appears to be the only anthropomorphic dog in the entire city where the series is set, no one ever connects his two identities.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
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”.[1] 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.
A less than competent super-hero, Phooey’s crime solving is done either by fortunate blunder or, most likely, with the help of his faithful companion, Spot the striped police cat. 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 caused him to crash into, harm, or otherwise inconvenience a civilian, the passerby declares what an honor it was to have so interacted with "the great Hong Kong Phooey." For example, he drives the Phooeymobile through some wet cement, splattering the workers, who say that it was an honor to have a whole day's work ruined by "the great Hong Kong Phooey."
[edit] Details
Hong Kong Phooey was voiced by Scatman Crothers. Sergeant Flint was voiced by Joe E. Ross, best known as Officer Gunther Toody in the 50's TV series Car 54, Where Are You?. As Flint, Ross revived Toody's famous "Oooh! Oooh!" 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.
Like many Hanna-Barbera shows from this era, Hong Kong Phooey was originally broadcast with a laugh track. In the episode "Comedy Cowboys," several new cartoon characters (Honcho, The Mysterious Maverick, and Posse Impossible) appeared and helped to clear Hong Kong of a crime he didn't commit. Posse Impossible found their way onto The CB Bears Show.
[edit] Theme song
The show’s theme song, titled Hong Kong Phooey,[citation needed] was written by Chester Stover, Watts Biggers, Treadwell Covington, and Joseph Harris.
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.
[edit] Episode guide
| Episode Number | Title/Production Number | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Cowboy (prod. #74-16) | December 21, 1974 |
[edit] DVD release
On August 15, 2006, Warner Home Video released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Phooey- The Complete Series | 16 | August 15, 2006 |
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[edit] Voices
- Scatman Crothers - Hong Kong Phooey/Penrod "Penry" Pooch
- Kathy Gori - Rosemary
- Joe E. Ross - Sergeant Flint
- Don Messick - Spot
- Sean B. Pasternak - Lieutenant Bumbles
[edit] Hong Kong Phooey in other languages
- Brazilian Portuguese: Hong Kong Fu
- Spanish: Hong Kong Phooey (the title character is voiced by Julio Lucena)
- 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 Foufou
- Portuguese: Hong Kong Phooey
[edit] Film
On 12 July 2009, it was announced that David A. Goodman had been hired to pen a Hong Kong Phooey film.[2] Alex Zamm is set to direct and Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove, Brett Ratner, and Jay Stern are producing.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ CD liner notes: Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, 1995 MCA Records
- '^ 'http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i7cc109eb3af4302c6b57c8606bf74a41
- ^ http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118005890.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
[edit] External links
- Hong Kong Phooey at the Internet Movie Database
- Hong Kong Phooey at TV.com
- Big Cartoon DataBase: Hong Kong Phooey
- 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
