Heathcliff (1984 TV series)
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Heathcliff | |
---|---|
Genre | Animated series |
Created by | George Gately (Heathcliff) Jean Chalopin, Bruno Bianchi (The Catillac Cats) |
Developed by | LBS Communications, Inc. McNaught Syndication Co. |
Directed by | Bruno Bianchi Michael Maliani |
Voices of | Mel Blanc Donna Christie Stanley Jones Jeannie Elias Danny Wells |
Composers | Haim Saban Shuki Levy |
Country of origin | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 86 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Tetsuo Katayama Jean Chalopin Andy Heyward |
Producers | Jean Chalopin Lori Crawford |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | first-run syndication |
Release | October 1, 1984 – 1988 |
Related | |
Heathcliff (1980) |
Heathcliff is an animated TV series that debuted on October 1, 1984. It was the second series based on the Heathcliff comic strip and was produced by DiC Entertainment. It ran in syndication until 1988 with a total of 86 episodes. The first show based on the comic strip was Heathcliff, which debuted in 1980 and was produced by Ruby-Spears. Mel Blanc provided the voice of Heathcliff on both series.
Premise
The first season ran for 65 episodes and the second season for 21 more. Each episode included a backup segment featuring The Catillac Cats, which is why this show is sometimes referred to as Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats (the second segment is referred to in the closing credits as "Cats & Co".). While the series was on the air, a movie, aptly titled Heathcliff: The Movie, was released which was a compilation of segments from this show.[1]
In the US, it aired in national first-run syndication. In the U.K. it aired on CBBC during the late '80s and early '90s Then in the early 2000's in The U.K. on Toon Disney U.K., and was usually billed under the title Heathcliff Cats & Co.[2]
A few DVDs have been released. In 2004, UAV Corporation released two DVDs each with 9 segments from the show. Then, the following year, Shout! Factory released a set with the first 24 episodes of the show. Shout! Factory has since lost the rights to the show.[3] Reruns have aired on the ThisTV digital channel since September 27, 2010, although not every episode is being shown, with only 40 appearing to be in the rotation.
Characters
- Heathcliff: Title character, he is a street-smart cat, who spends most of his time trying to turn a dustbin over onto people's heads. Heathcliff is a real street cat who loves to fight anyone and everyone and will lie, cheat and steal to get himself some food, but beneath it all, he's a good guy.
- Sonja: Heathcliff's love, a fluffy white Persian cat, who wears a pink collar. Heathcliff is always trying to win Sonja over, although generally she isn't usually too impressed with Heathcliff's antics as she is a far classier type of cat.
- Knuckles: Dress in a pink hat and a red-and-black striped shirt, Knuckles and his henchman aren't really Heathcliff's enemies - more like a group of cats that he constantly annoyed and/or bullied. More often than not they were after him, because he had tried to trick them in some way.
- Spike: Probably the closest thing to a nemesis that Heathcliff had, Spike was no-where near as clever as Heathcliff - all brawn and no brains. Spike is owned by a neighborhood bully called Muggsy. Heathcliff was quite able to handle both of them when necessary.
- Catillac Cats: A gang of cats that played alongside Heathcliff. When Riff-Raff isn't around, the Catillac Cats are sometimes helping Heathcliff in some adventures or sometimes tease him only to be pounded to the pavement. They drive a very cool Cadillac which could transform into an airplane and a boat and lived in a junkyard.
- Riff-Raff: The boss
- Cleo: Riff-Raff's love interest, most episodes focused around Riff-Raff trying to woo her. She lives in a musical instrument shop with Bush. She had an '80's-hairstyle and leg warmers.
- Hector: Second-in-command, sometimes wanted to be leader. Wore a headband and a long neck-tie.
- Wordsworth: Rode on roller-skates, spoke in rhyme and always wore a Walkman.
- Mungo: Big, clumsy and not the sharpest tool in the box. Name obviously was short for "mongoloid."
- Leroy: Guard dog who lives in the junkyard with the Catillac Cats.
- Bush: A loyal sheepdog who lived with Cleo in the music shop. Unfortunately due to his bushy hair-do, most of the time when Riff-Raff would break in to take Cleo out, Bush would end up running into various musical instruments trying to stop him.
- Iggy Nutmeg: Heathcliff's owner who lived with his grandparents. Iggy sometimes takes Heathcliff to strange places and new locations for adventures.
- Marcy: A small girl who lived in the same neighborhood as Iggy's family. Marcy always saw the best in Heathcliff and thought he was a little angel.
Episodes
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Season 1
- The Great Pussini / Kitty Kat Kennels
- Chauncey's Great Escape / Carnival Capers
- Mad Dog Catcher / Circus Beserkus
- Rebel Without a Claws / The Farming Life Ain't Me
- Heathcliff's Middle Name / Wishful Thinking
- King of the Beasts / Cat Can Do
- Smoke Gets in my Eyes / Much Ado about Bedding
- City Slicker Cat / House of the Future
- Spike's Cousin / For the Birds
- Heathcliff's Pet / Swamp Fever
- Teed Off / Monstro vs. the Wolfhound
- Say Cheese / Cat's Angels
- Meow Meow Island / Iron Cats
- Family Tree / Who's Got the Chocolate?
- Be Prepared / Cruisin' for a Bruisin'
- Heathcliff Gets Canned / Whackoed Out
- Brain Sprain / Cat Balloon
- May the Best Cat Win / Comedy Cats
- Revenge of the Kitty / Jungle Vacation
- Hospital Heathcliff / Hector's Takeover
- Going Shopping / Cat in the Fat
- Wild Cat Heathcliff / Kitten Around
- Catburglar Heathcliff / Lucky's Unlucky Day
- The Blizzard Bandit / Harem Cat
- Kitten Smitten / Young Cat with a Horn
- The Gang's All Here / The Meowsic Goes Round & Round
- Snow Job / Condo Fever
- Heathcliff Pumps Iron / Mungo's Dilemma
- Heathcliff's Double / Big Foot
- Terrible Tammy / The Games of Love
- Big Top Bungling / Space Cats
- Lard Times / The Merry Pranksters
- Spike's Slave / Scaredy Cats
- Gopher Broke / A Camping We Will Go
- Where There's an Ill, There's a Way / Yes Sewer That's my Baby
- Soap Box Derby / A Better Mousetrap
- Bamboo Island / Superhero Mungo
- Butter Up! / Mungo Gets No Respect
- Sonya's Nephew / Dr. Mousetus
- Cat Food for Thought / Going South
- Phantom of the Garbage / Junkyard Flood
- Trombone Terror / The Other Woman
- Pop on Parole / The Babysitters
- The Siamese Twins / The Mungo Mash
- Copa-ca-Heathcliff / Leroy's in Love
- Used Pets / Search for a Star
- An Officer and an Alley-Cat / Hector Spector
- Service with a Smile / Junk Food
- Boom Boom Pussini / Beach Blanket Mungo
- Sealand Mania / Riff Raff the Gourmet
- The Super M.A.C. Menace / Journey to the Center of the Earth
- Heathcliff Reforms / Prehysteric Riff Raff
- A Piece of the Rock / Divide and Clobber
- Flying High / Debutante Ball
- Heathcliff's Surprise / The Big Break In
- The Catfather / The Big Swipe
- Tally-Ho Heathcliff / Cleo Moves In
- Granpda vs. Grandpa / The Big Game Hunter
- The Great Tuna Caper / Peco's Treasure
- The Baby Buggy Bad Guys / Riff Raff's Mom
- Momma's Back in Town / Trash Dance
- Claws / Hector the Detector
- Raiders of the Lost Cat / Mungo Lays an Egg
- The Home Wrecker / In Search of Catlantis
- Star or Tomeow-meow / Soccer Anyone?
Season 2
- The Whitecliff of Dover / Life Saver
- Nightmare in Beverly Hills / The Iron Mask Cat
- The Shrink / Brushing Up
- Dr. Heathcliff and Mr. Spike / Time Warped
- Spike's New Home / Mungo's Big Romance
- The Cat and the Pauper / Mungo of the Jungle
- In the Beginning / Catlympic Cats
- Rear Cat Window / Cat Days, Ninja Nights
- Something Fishy / Christmas Memories
- Heathcliff's Mom / Hockey Pucks
- Cat Day Afternoon / Hector the Protector
- Feline Good / Off-Road Racer
- Spike's Coach / The Trojan Catillac
- Heathcliff Gets Framed / Repo Cat
- Missing in Action / Bag Cat Sings the Blues
- It's a Terrible Life / Leroy Gets Canned
- Hair of the Cat / Tenting Tonight
- The Fortune Teller / Cottentails, Chickens, and Colored Eggs
- Break an Egg / A Letter to Granny
- The New York City Sewer System / High Goon
- North Pole Cat / He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
Theme song
Two versions of the Heathcliff (DiC series) theme song were made. In its original broadcast run, the theme song began with the lines, "Cats and company have fun / Playing pranks on everyone," and returned to the "Cats and company" phrase often throughout the song. Perhaps in order to clarify any possible confusion about the name of the show, it was later replaced with a version that removed all references to "Cats and company." The second version began, "Heathcliff, Heathcliff, no one should / Terrify the neighborhood." The phrase "Heathcliff just won't be undone, playing pranks on everyone" replaces the original phrase. The original theme song is featured in VHS releases, as well as in cable reruns. The UK broadcast, despite including the name "Cats & Co." in the title, used the "No one should" version of the theme song.
Movie
Heathcliff: The Movie was released to theaters on January 17, 1986, and subsequently on VHS in 1988 by Paramount Video. It includes seven segments from the original show:
- Cat Food for Thought
- Heathcliff's Double
- The Siamese Twins
- Heathcliff Reforms
- The Catfather
- Boom Boom Pussini
- Pop on Parole
Broadcast History
Syndication (1984-1988)
United States
Nicklodeon (1987-1991)
Toon Disney (1998-2003)
ABC Family (1994-1996 1998-1999)
Pax Kids (2000)
KidsCo (2008)
Brazil
Stb (1988-1990)
Japan
TV tokyo (1988)
France
WF3 (1985-1987)
United Kingdom
CBBC (1988-1989)
Toon Disney (2000-?)
DVD releases
On February 24, 2004, UAV Entertainment released two best-of collections with each set featuring nine select episodes from the series.
On September 20, 2005, Shout! Factory released Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats in a 4-disc boxset featuring the first 24 episodes of the series. It is not known if the remaining episodes will ever be released as Shout! Factory has subsequently lost the distribution rights.[citation needed]
In France, two more 4-disc sets were released under the French title of the series, Les Entrechats.
DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Additional Information |
---|---|---|---|
Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats | 24 | September 20, 2005 |
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Cast
- Mel Blanc - Heathcliff
- Donna Christie - Cleo and Iggy
- Peter Cullen - Additional Voices
- Jeannie Elias - Marcy and Willie
- Stanley Jones - Riff Raff, Wordsworth, Milkman
- Marilyn Lightstone - Grandma and Sonja
- Danny Mann - Hector, Fish Market Proprietor
- Derek McGrath - Spike, Muggsy and Knuckles
- Danny Wells - Raul and Bush
- Ted Zeigler - Leroy, Grandpa and Mungo
References
External links
- Television series by DIC Entertainment
- Television series by Cookie Jar Entertainment
- French animated television series
- 1980s American animated television series
- 1984 television series debuts
- 1988 television series endings
- First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
- Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
- Heathcliff (comic strip)