Cattanooga Cats | Andrew’s Funshine All-Star Superstar Supercade Saturday! ...Show '69

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Andrew Adores Norman Normal

 "Uh hi, I'm your hero."

Norman Normal

Uh hi, I'm your Marauder. And I'm here to review a fantastic cartoon that you've probably never heard of or have heard of but forgot about. See, that's what this review is about.

Norman Normal is a Warner Bros.-Seven Arts animated short film from 1968 that is nothing like Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies -- literally so, as it's instead credited as a "Warner Bros. Cartoon Special". The film is a collaboration between WB-7A’s animation department and musician Paul Stookey of iconic folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary (with the same-name theme song also being one of the band’s tracks from their album …Album). But that's only the start of what makes it one of a kind. The short wasn't specifically produced for kids -- rather it was made for adults, and features a middle-aged man going through the travails of grown-up life while doing what he can to make himself better -- inside and out.

Let’s get to the plot, where we’ll meet the Characters (in order of appearance) in between points.

The short begins with a colorful band performing the short’s theme song, where after the chorus, we see the title character holding a door and closing it while they’re still playing.

This is where we meet...

Norman (voiced by Dave Dixon): Norman works as a salesman for a ball-bearing company and is something of a people-pleasing doormat - he does what he is told, doesn't step on toes, keeps his nose clean and liver intact (we’ll get to that soon) and lives a sweet but hum-drum life. His father does love him - but not enough to help him well with his problems. His friends have their own interests that don’t involve him. His boss wants him to cross ethical lines to sign accounts and make company quotas. And nothing ever goes his way. And all of this drives him mad.

The short takes place in Norman’s mind, represented as a huge gray hall of doors -- with each door containing a specific memory in his life (what we saw in the short are just a few of them), and all of them framed around Norman’s point of view -- the first of which is his meeting with...

B.B., his boss: The head of the unnamed ball-bearing company, B.B. is a boss who wants to get things done. While he isn’t ruthless, he still does what he can -- no matter how questionable -- for his company to exceed the bottom line, and wants his workers to do the same (one being Norman, despite his reservations). During the meeting, B.B. wants Norman to take a representative for another company named Fanshawe to some local nightclubs to discuss and secure an account with them… while drunk. Norman tries his hardest to decline the assignment on moral grounds, but B.B. continues on. The discussion of ethics and mortals between the grown men visually and quite literally devolves into childish taunts and tantrums until B.B. realizes (in a form of reverse psychology) that Norman is wrong for the position, causing the latter to grovel for the position -- to which B.B. nonchalantly accepts. 

I loved this part. We see B.B. physically turn from big old man to little bitty boy (with Norman then following suit straight to the latter) in an argument that had no reason for being done, but I’ll believe this is a satirized way of an adults argument turning into fights and insults.

After ending up with the big task to secure the Fanshawe account, Norman ponders how to go about it within his cavernous mind, and - despite his usual small talks and dismissals - he decides to go seek advice from...

His father: Norman’s dad is a typical father who talks briefly with his child(ren) before scooting them off to finish the important work.

Norman goes to see his father for advice on how to make his own way at work and not slip into dubious and sleazy methods of business like his boss and (possibly) coworkers. Instead, Dad rambles on about what old people say and do when they were a boy and girl, in a way of telling his son that dealing with his problems headon and getting ahead on the other side is a better plan in life instead of avoiding them as they grow worse in the hope they'll dissappear.

After his father flies around his home and disappears into his wall, Norman does the same by opening a door back to his mind and into a party thrown for his office where bumps into.

Leo: A drunken man wearing a lampshade repeatedly asking “Approval

Norman responds “I approve of you, Leo,” makes a face (--which I found funny) and moves on to...

His no-name redheaded friend: You know what? He has to have a name, so I'll call him Randall. He also works at the ball-bearing company. As far as we know, he likes to get tipsy.

Remember Norman’s meeting with B.B. about the Fanshawe account earlier? Well, he apparently got it, as revealed by “Randall” (it wasn’t shown, but I’m gonna assume Norman stuck to his laurels and got the account on more sensible matters. Good for him.) He then tells Norman an Eskimo joke, but Norman doesn’t like what “Randall’s” saying (drowning out "R's" joke in the process) and then walks away… but not before chuckling a bit at “Randall’s” dumb ethnic humor (I guess sarcastically).

-- I admit, I’ve tried a few times to hear all of “Randall’s” Eskimo jokes only for Norman to drown it out and take away my focus; but honestly, I’m glad I didn’t. I hate jokes like that, because of how frequent, poorly-made and casual they were against their subjects and how it makes those who created them or said them look and feel better (and I don’t give a damn if people they target found them funny). And I’m glad Norman spoke out against them… even if he still laughed at the end. I’m gonna assume he laughed to placate his friend as to not embarrass him in front of the other partygoers, and not because he genuinely found it funny. 

After that strange exhibit of racial comedy, Norman goes to get a beverage from...

Hal: a bartender at a bar Norman frequents. He starts off chummy and kind when offering Norman a drink, which he declines as he’s had enough. After Norm stands his ground, Hal’s disposition turns very bitter when he mockingly accuses Norman of hating his inebriated side. Norman has enough and walks away from -- and even throws shade (geddit?) at Leo on the way out (“Go soak your head, Leo!”)

Hal is a massive hypocrite; he’s only nice to people when they want some liquor (and he wants some tips), but turns more sour than lemons when they don’t, accusing them of not enjoying getting loose and embarrassing themselves in public. While at the same time, he’s embarrassing himself getting pissed about it. Like dude, just accept some people don’t want to drink at times. Move on.

As said earlier, Norman Normal is different from Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies. The tone is more neutral (but doesn't drag on after a joke), the pacing is slower and the humor is more nuanced and subtle.

I first watched it as a kid while watching the Looney Tunes A to Z marathon on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. While watching it, I genuinely felt puzzled by it because it wasn’t wacky, hyperactive and zany. But at the same time, I still enjoyed it because it was different. I laughed at the jokes, engaged with the dialogue, enjoyed the slower, smoother pace and jazz-based music and related to Norman more than a kid my age should relate to a grown-up cartoon character.

Random Thoughts

-- I never thought Norman’s voice actor could sound so convincing as an adult and a child, but he does great. And both Kid Norman and BB are cute.

-- Why is it that one of Norman's friends -- dude wearing a lampshade on his head and repeatedly says literally one word has a name, while his other friend with an actual personality and characteristic (inebriated and racially-disparaging traits, but traits indeed) and actual lines with multiple words does not?? I had to throw in one for him for reference (not that it'll be canon, that I know).

-- I'm gonna guess Hal said all that to Normal not because he knows he'll enjoy the sauced simpleton within him, but because he didn't get paid for the drink or receive a tip. Most bartenders just accept that most guests don't get drinks but not Shallow Hal here.

-- I hope if/when I have kids, that I’ll be way more involved in their lives than Norman’s dad. I sure hope to God I don’t have a “ten miles in the snow” analogy ready. Plus, I can’t wrap around why he floated around. What does that imply? 

And that’s my review of Norman Normal. Thank you for being here.

I’ll see you again real soon.

Schoolhouse Rock! : Part 1 - Multiplication Rock | Andrew’s Funshine All-Star Superstar Supercade Saturday! ...Show '73

Hi, everyone! I'm Andrew and

today, I’m taking you to School!

Get ready, Kids. It’s time to Rock... Schoolhouse Rock!

Debuting on ABC (which coincidentally you’d learn about in school) on January 6, 1973, Schoolhouse Rock! had one mission: to teach young viewers about everything they’d learn in school in a colorful, musical way. And boy did it succeed. Including with me.

When I was a kid, I always looked forward to school, doing the work, hanging with my friends (yes, I had some), and enjoying whenever we had fun in class. Then when it's time to go back home, doing my homework and watching the news and Jeopardy!. Yep... I was a geek. But one of the biggest joys of my life was watching cartoons during the day, The Simpsons reruns every night, and every week alongside all of the other animated hits on One Saturday Morning on ABC -- Schoolhouse Rock!. Despite being almost three decades old, I loved everything about it and had the featured segment in the center of my mind soon after it aired. Like many people across generations starting with the one, SHR! was a cartoon that I cherished watching as a kid and now holds much more love and respect for it as an adult.

Now, we’ll begin our course with some math. What do you get when you take a times table, multiply by some superb singing, multiply by catchy compositions and choruses, multiply by adorable animation and memorable music? You get… Multiplication Rock!

In the first season, viewers learned about the multiplication table, with each song - all of which music and lyrics written (and mostly performed [except where mentioned]) by Bob Dorough - centering on each number between 0 and 12 (with the exception of 1 & 10, which does appear in several songs).

“Three is a Magic Number” [animation and designs by Focus Design/Tom Yohe]: 

This sweet and mellow ditty features the lines based around people, things and entities in groups of three.

I love the beat -- which starts off slow and mellow (with the sweet use of xylophone[?]), then quickly picks up with percussion, bass and harmony with the backup vocalists. 

There’s also another version of the song that appeared in the first episode of Curiosity Shop (which also aired on ABC in 1971) with an extra verse and round of the chorus (at 27:49). Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

For favorite funnys: I love the the disasters the magician went threw, when he got stampeded by the football team, the giant with the #30 jersey, the three kids on unicycles colliding to make a 

“My Hero Zero”: Who knew the number 0 has equal importance? This song teaches us about the Powers of 10 -- that adding a zero to a singular number creates a bigger, stronger number -- one = X0, two = X00, three = X,000, four = X0,000, etc.

“Elementary, My Dear” [Phil Kimmelman & Associates/Jack Sidebotham]: 

You know the story of Noah’s Ark. But did you ever wonder why he wanted his animal friends by two? Well, this next ditty tells you a version of it involving the number of animals that lived and procreated in  . I love that they made the story as child-friendly as possible while keeping in the most important elements -- the ark itself, the rainstorm, the many animals going in two by two, and . I also love that the title is a reference to the catchphrase of Sherlock Holmes (“Elementary, My Dear Watson”). Oh yeah, and there’s a consistent gag throughout that features animals coming down the ark ramp in vehicles or with signs that weren’t yet invented like go-karts, rickshaws, etc. There’s also a brilliant way to solve multiple-digit multiplication problems by breaking down the number by placements and adding up the sub-solutions for one ultimate solution.

“The Four-Legged Zoo” [PK&A/Bob Eggers]: 

We're going to the zoo. And then, we're gonna see some animals.

Having a chorus of kids is a brilliant choice -- they genuinely sound like they're having fun singing and singing about seeing animals at the zoo, and Dorough's vocals work very well. And they sound adorable. The music and lyrics are charmingly quirky, and the animation doubly so -- those animals and settings look realistic yet colorful and adorable. Also, the reference to Cinderella was funny and well-used.

“Ready or Not, Here I Come” [PK&A/Tom Yohe]:  

A big guy and his little friends are playing hide-and-seek at a farmland and he wants to count by fives.

For starters, I love Dorough’s “down-home country-like” voice as the big guy; it has a laid-back, chill and fun vibe to it. The music’s fast pace and Dorough’s vocals really drives home the counting by fives. The animation (by PK&A and Yohe) of the numbers is fantastic, especially when a number appears within the 0 of a previous number. Also, counting by fives with your fingers and toes (with each five represented by a finger/toe) is a nifty trick.

“I Got Six” (performed by Grady Tate) [PK&A/Yohe]:

In this next segment, we meet people (starting with one person, then with increasing numbers) buying or owning things 

This episode has one of my favorite beats and of them all: a funk/soul blend and the quick-yet-smooth pace and vocals from Tate and the female backup singers gives me that makes me groove like I’m on Soul Train.

There’s a moment I didn’t like: during one moment with the prince with six rings on each finger, he’s revealed to have a harem of 11 wives, with each wife bearing a harem of six babies. That has to be a stereotype of foreign people if I’ve ever seen one; too bad it’s true. What keeps me from outright despising it is the fact that the harems are tied to the point of the song.

“Lucky Seven Sampson” [PK&A/Rowland B. Wilson]:

Meet Lucky Seven Sampson,  a rabbit who roams and rollicks ‘round . He also is very lucky, having good things come his way (while others in his path get some kind of environmental misfortune). He also turns other numbers up by 7.

I love and enjoy the country/folk music and vibe, and the animation looks lovely (especially LSS himself). Dorough’s voice works for LSS as well, and he has quite a nuanced range from the other songs he sings. The way he sings "STAAAAAR" is both amazing and hilarious. Also hilarious is his antics to benefit himself and hinder the men he comes across -- making a mess of a proprietor's fruit stand, snatching a guy's seven-scoop ice cream (while still singing, somehow) and swiping a construction worker's lunch. I guess the lucky thing about him is that he can do anything against humans and get away with it. Seems like a dream.

“Figure Eight” (performed by Blossom Dearie) [PK&A/Yohe]:

On a winter’s day at a schoolhouse, a girl pictures herself as a prima figure skater on the icy pond nearby.

I personally like this song the least because of its soft, sad piano-based sound and tone that reminds me of such music in drama (and a few horror and thriller) movies of the early decade. I did like when the beat and tone shifts halfway and at the end to a different, stronger and more chipper key. While its singer Dearie has a beautiful voice (she also reminds me of the voice of Didi Conn from Benson and Shining Time Station) -- and she did great here with a sweet, daydream-y like performance, I don’t think this is my favorite song (both involving her and otherwise. The animation does make it a bit better with it’s smooth “kid skating'' movements and the cute representations of the table problems (fish, balloons, Keystone Kops. marathon skater, polar bear on a pole, etc.)

Also - sidenote: The intro would be used for SHR!’s first, more forgotten intro.

“Naughty Number Nine” (performed by Grady Tate) [PK&A/Yohe]:

In this segment, a suited fat cat with just as big an infatuation with the number 9 as Trent from Total Drama is at the local billiard hall shooting some serious pool -- with a white mouse he pocketed used as the cue ball. 

Another brilliant tool found here is this: If you replace the 9 in a problem with a 10 for a different solution, and then subtract the solution with the number you multiplied by 10,  you get the solution to a number you multiplied by 9.

I adore the production: a slow-burn soul/R&B groove that makes you think it was birthed by Marvin Gaye or Isaac Hayes or Barry White (but you know… kid-friendly). I also found the fact that the fat cat playing pool and the mouse’s antics to survive the game hilarious.

No song for 10 (for obvious reasons -- it’s why we have “My Hero Zero”), so moving on to…

“The Good Eleven” [Focus/J. Side.]:

It’s like a little angel flying into your life to make it twice as good. Or like the Doublemint twins doubling your pleasure and fun. Or like when Tia and Tamera meet for the first time and realize they have the other’s face. You see, when you multiply by 11, you'll see double -- and feeling a lot more.

The production and vocals have a fast yet smooth pace to them that I like, and I also like the town and nuanced animation style -- with fewer, colder colors and simpler, bolder designs, which puts stronger focus on the topic at hand. It’s also low on my rankings (may be just over  even lower than “Figure Eight” depending on when you ask me), but it’s still pretty good.

“Little Twelvetoes” [PK&A/RB.W]

Finally, it’s him! Little Twelvetoes, an alien from another planet with a fascinating trait -- he has twelve fingers and toes. And even more fascinating -- he has a detachable body, with every limb and appendage expanding, separating and contracting at will. You see, this purpose of him though is to teach the viewers about the duodecimal system aka the base twelve (or [much less often] the dozenal or the uncial) -- a positional notation numeral system using 12 as its base. As such, two flipped symbols are formed and put in the place of 10 and 11 (↊/dec and ↋/el, resp.) with 10 taking the place of 12 and named doe. And here to represent that is Little Twelvetoes.

I personally believe “Little Twelvetoes” is one of my top favorite Multiplication Rock songs (if not); and maybe even one of my favorite songs from all of Schoolhouse Rock!. The piano-driven music -- with deep hits of electric guitar and bass -- may be repetitive, but it’s very well-done, fits the quirky, ethereal tone and unique subject, and is as memorable as the best of them (and to me, it really is one of the best). Dorough is at his best (tied with “Ready or Not, Here I Come”) as he gives a smooth, crystal-clear jazz-like spoken-word performance in most of the song, and it holds me close to really give the subject attention, and is still on target when he softly and coolly sings both the table-based bridge and the chorus (with both bonus points for elongating the “sss” in the title and they way he sings “Please Come Back Home”).

The animation is par with all the other segments, but what I love about it is that it takes place at night, features a randomly-placed constellational pinball machine, and has an adorable (yet creepy-looking to some people) protagonist with a pop-up body that teaches us a new way to do math. What's not to love?

I have said I liked “Figure Eight” the least because of its solemn, melancholy composition, and this one may sound a bit similar in tone, but the reason I like “Twelvetoes” way, way more because it has a faster, stronger, tighter pace and edge that’s better on the ears than the former. Yes, it does make me sad as it ends; not because of its fading ending, but because it…ends.

And this here is the end of Multiplication Rock! -- part one of my review of Schoolhouse Rock! Thank you for checking in. I'll be back soon with Part 2, where we will expand our English and the way we speak and write when we learn about Grammar Rock!

I'm Andrew, and Knowledge is Power!

The Barkleys | Andrew’s Funshine All-Star Superstar Supercade Saturday! ...Show 72

Be it ever so howl-ble,

there's no place like home

The Houndcats | Andrew’s Funshine All-Star Superstar Supercade Saturday! ...Show 72

Good day, readers. This is your chief.

At large is an average-height, barely-muscular man closely equipped with a ream of paper and vast creativity based on the real or fictional people, places, things and he either likes or dislikes. His name is “The Marauder”, and his game is wild, heavy personality-driven, shamely-written critiques and commentary of any piece of media he feels like.

Your mission: Read this review from of this short-lived Saturday Morning Cartoon centering around a skilled and focused team of bipedal anthropomorphic (two) feline and (three) canine spies traveling across the country and stopping villains from unleashing various types and portions of evil upon the country and the world with their A1 leadership, cunning maskery, futuristic gadgetry, hoss-style strength, okay timing and judgment and world-class, futuristic technology no one will ever see anywhere else, and stop him for making other poorly-timed and composed pieces. 

That is all. This parody will self-destruct in 5 sentences.

DePatie-Freleng Enterprises-- besides having a name you’d still have trouble pronouncing even after remembering to sound it out, they’d done a fantastic job throughout the 60s of standing out from Hanna-Barbera and carving a path of success with their animated arsenal. Popular toons turned animated classics include <i>The Ant and the Aardvark, The Tijuana Toads, Roland and Rattfink</i> and the iconic and beloved technicolor-advanced big cat known as <i>The Pink Panther</i>. In the 60s, DFE took their theatrical cartoons to television, with them becoming major Saturday Morning hits and further cementing their places in American (and even worldwide) animation history. Also during that decade (specifically 1966), DFE also began commissioning new cartoons made especially for television, with them becoming unsuccessful, forgotten and obscure as night soon after their first runs ended. But after decades of dormancy, they’ve lived on in DVD releases and uploads on YouTube (some if you’re lucky to find them). This next series -- about a group of talking housepets working for a world-renowned and world-unaware spy organization and utilizing their impressive skills (of varying degrees) and chicanery (of high degree) to take on and take down evil villains all throughout 1914 America -- falls squarely in the latter camp.

They are (and it’s) The Houndcats.

Putty Puss, Mussel Mutt,

Ding Dog, Rhubarb,

Sparkplug and Stutz!

Anybody doing the wrong thing,

better watch out! These Cats is rough!

Yeah, anyone here who rumbles out West -

Who can you call? You call the best/

Cause everyone knows its simple as that.

The Best in the West is The... HOUNDCATS!

Plot:

Created (for television) by David H. (and) Friz, (in association with) Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, this series spins the wild, tense, goofy and exciting adventures of five furry members of a secret spy organization travel across 1914 America to conspicuously work inside for, then face off against and finally capture and arrest villains whose sole purposes are stealing/capturing valuable items, materials or artifacts and/or controlling or destroying parts of or entire cities or states for their greed-controlled satisfaction.

This series is an animated and comedic spoof of both Mission: Impossible (the original 60s/70s series, not the Tom Cruise movies) and (most especially) the short-lived Western-adventure show Bearcats!, in which members of a secret spy organization travel across America to find, work for or against evil villains and foil their plans to steal money, priceless artifacts or machines that create precious metals or weapons or create weapons of mass destruction (machines or living) or just take over the world like every other lazy, uninspired and unambitious fiend.

Of course, thanks to being a parody of both Bearcats! and Mission: Impossible, there’s a strong influence of the Western and spy genres -- in both film and television -- to be found in each and every episode.

Characters:

Heroes (I’ll go in theme song order):

Putty-Puss (voiced by Joe Besser): Despite being the shortest of the group, Putty-Puss is the team’s resident master of disguise. As his name implies, Putty can manage to turn his person or voice into that of the villain or someone else (whether another one-shot character or a creation of his own and the team). Outside of his costuming prowess, Putty is the more excitable and effeminate member (in personality and voice) - like he’s an actor on the rise. While his head in the clouds and his disguises sometimes gets him in over it, Putty is the best in the west.

Musselmutt (voiced by Aldo Ray): Guess what he is. Musselmutt is the team’s Sheepdog strongman, able to lift and carry heavy items with ease. Despite his super strength, he’s also got a musselbrain -- meaning he also has a tendency to forget plans (not just his place in them; all steps of them) almost immediately, screw up or overdo his part of the mission and slip up when he speaks. Plus, like a regular Sheepdog, he likes to stick his cute little tongue out when he’s not speaking, and eat his weight (sometimes even more) in food when he’s not sticking his cute little tongue out. But if you desire a strongman to pick up the plans and pieces, and put the heavy drop on the baddies, Muss is the best in the west --  as in he’s moronic.

Speaking of morons…

Ding Dog (voiced by Stu Gillam): He's a Briard and Stutz’s right-hand man -- he’s always by the lead’s side to help him jumpstart the missions and put the plans in action. although (hypothetically speaking) he sometimes has trouble telling his right hand from his left. Most times, his judgment and timing are not razor-sharp, but his clumsiness, hyperactivity and fear of heights is. Sometimes they hinder the mission in minor ways, other times they help the team in minor ways whenever possible. So if you need a loyal second-in-command, Ding is the best in the west.

Rhubarb (voiced by Arte Johnson [and for three episodes in his absence by Daws Butler]): The more reserved and quieter member of the team (definitely helped by his body-covering outfit of a large green trenchcoat and giant sombrero), Rhub is the team’s resident scientist. He creates many inventions to assist the team on their missions -- when they need decoy machines to progress their plans, apparatuses to capture important objects (many of which are concealed in his trenchcoat); and large elaborate traps to imprison villains (one of w/hich was a mechanical version of the process of booking a criminal in a prison). There’s even times where he’ll create an entire city to expertly fool a doll-making villain (literally named Dr. Doll) into thinking he’s the governor as part of his plan of world domination. That’s not to say some either didn’t work (or didn’t work right) at times, but Rhub is certainly your guy for the best in the west. 

Sparkplug (voiced by whatever car-engine-based sound effects the studio edited in): The official transportation of the Houndcats, Sparkplug (based on the Stutz Bearcat from the aforementioned Bearcats! [and a namesake with our story’s leader which we’ll meet in a sec]) is a sentient car that, with the power of Stutz’s whistles, can drive by itself to where the team are, and be transformed into anything related to a certain mission -- like a cattle wagon, a submarine, and a portable jail. When he’s not his normal self, he can be a very truly timid machine -- refusing to do actions that his owners ask of him, but a little coaxing can get him to up his bravery. For a vehicle made only a decade after the trailblazing Model T with features that weren’t even optional in real life until decades after the show, that is supremely impressive. 

Stutz (voiced by Michael Bell in his first major VA role): He’s so cool, he can plan a heist in no time flat after the assignment is given. He’s so cool, nothing can make him freak out or sweat (except a lion in its cage and when he hears “This message will self-destruct”). He’s so cool, only he can be named after a car brand you’ve never heard of and make it sound iconic in under thirteen episodes (so iconic Jonah Hill has a documentary with that name). The leader of the team, Stutz handles the plans, sometimes drives Sparkplug, and directs the rest of the team to execute the missions. While he may have a smart mouth and is sometimes exasperated by the other members’ goof-ups, he’s very caring and proud of his team. So if you need a leader who’s cool, calm and cat-lected under any and all circumstances and the purr-fect feline father to his muttley (and cat) men, Stutz is the best in the west.

The Team As a Whole: Sure, the team members do have their quirks -- Muss is a food-fiend musselmoron; DingDog is a dingbat at his worst; Putty sometimes is put over his head with his disguises; Rhub’s inventions sometimes either don’t work well or work too well; Sparkplug is a lilly-livered, yella-bellied punk; and Stutz can be a low-key hothead and high-key snarker (especially in “Misbehavin’ Raven”) with some plans having hiccups. However, each member also has his strengths individually -- Putty is a master of disguise; Mussel is a super strongman when focused; Ding is a great right hand; Putty is an incredible disguise artist; Rhub’s inventions are beneficial to their missions and were way ahead of their time (even for the year the show debuted); Sparkplug is an awesome car with feature gadgets that’ll make the Batmobile jealous; and Stutz is a supreme leader with brilliant plans that almost never go wrong. There is a reason their organization trusts them to pull off their missions.

Their Chief (voiced by Daws Butler): Never appearing throughout, The Chief usually makes his mark by the sound of his voice. That means he sends messages to the team at the beginning and end of each episode in unique ways related to a given episode. More on that below.

Villains: The Houndcats may not have a Rogues Gallery that's the best, most compelling or complex, but they do have one that’s still menacing and still very entertaining.

- The Raven (also voiced by Michael Bell): a masked thief. In his first appearance, he (along with second-in-command Bronco and his other henchmen) steals valuable art pieces, using his alter ego - insurance adjuster Hawkins -- to learn of their value and swipe when the time is right. He is caught, unmasked and sent to prison, where he escapes in his follow-up appearance to try to steal the blueprints to a government invention from the son of a famed inventor.

- Diamondhead ["The Double Dealin' Diamond Mission" and "The Perilous Possibly Pilfered Plans Mission"]: A straightforward villain with a straightforward plan. He wants diamonds, and the best way he wants them is by kidnapping Professor Thorndyke - a scientist who invented a machine that quickly turns chemicals into a diamond, and forces him to be his knave and homegrown miner.

- RJ Wrathmore ["The Great Gold Train Mission"]: a thief who poses as a traveling circus owner and ringmaster to hijack a train containing gold on track to the San Francisco Mint. His main attraction - and accomplice -- is a giant gorilla named Gigantis (King Kong has nothing on him!) which he trained to do his bidding via the sound of his voice.

- Captain Blight (also voiced by Arte Johnson) ["The Over the Waves Mission" and "The Outta Sight Blight Mission"]: A sea captain spoofing Captain Bligh who (along with his henchman) controls the seas to destroy San Francisco.

- Grogan’s Gang (Grogan also voiced by Arte Johnson) ["There's Snow Biz Like Snow Biz Mission"]: a trio of gangsters who plan to steal and ransom top-secret government documents in the Colorado Rockies. Frank is the Rhubarb`, Harry is the Putty with the girth of Muss and the titular Grogan is the English-accented Stutz.

- Dr. Strangeless (also voiced by Arte Johnson [no wonder Rhubarb has two VAs!]) ["The Strangeless Than Fiction Mission"]: A mad scientist who appoints The Houndcats as hired thugs to help him and his henchman -- steal oil supplies from a Texas pipeline.

- Midnight Jones: a ghost that prevents the important and valuable contents of the trains of the A&S (Arizona and Southwestern) Railways from being sent to its destinations. This ghost turned out to be the illusion created by the real villain - Jason Farnsworth - to make the Railway company worth peanuts so he can sell it to his co-founder and cousin Judd for as much and get away with the expensive items for himself. ["The Ruckus on the Rails Mission"]

- Dr. Doll (voiced by John Stephenson) ["The Who's Who That's Who Mission"]: a puppeteer who uses his creations - mechanical lookalikes of the mayor of Sidewinder, Texas and other local officials - to take over the Lone Star state’s government as governor.

Professor McCabe (voiced by ) ["The French Collection Mission"]: a master jewel thief who finds a way to swipe previously-missing French jewels in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

 Dr. Greenhouse (also voiced by John Stephenson) ["Is There a Doctor in the Greenhouse Mission"] - a mad scientist who creates a formula to make plants grow at horrifying heights and capture pure gold bars from Fort Knox.

- Madame X (voiced by Joan Gerber) ["The Call Me Madam X Mission"] - a super villainess consulted by Diamondhead, Strangeless and McCabe to concoct a plan to steal false plans in an attempt to trick and end the Houndcats for good.

All of these villains are cunning, awesome and entertaining in their own ways. Despite the 

The Chief’s Messages:

One of The Houndcats’ central elements is the messages sent to the titular team from their Chief notifying them of their mission: who their adversary is, what the important item is, whomever is also involved, . As a parody of the messages from Mission: Impossible, these messages aren’t on a piece of paper or a vinyl record or a cassette tape or the like. Instead, these messages take the random and comically-created forms of other items like a gramophone in a talking turtle’s shell, a vinyl record made out like a flapjack, or even a song on a player piano (performed by The Chief himself no less!). Of course, after the message is given, it will self-destruct after five seconds. They freak out and turn tails to complete their assignment. These messages were consistent. They gave the team the intel for their missions, they’re extremely cunning in their packaging and unique in their execution. Oh yeah, they’re incredibly hilarious too -- in all those ways. My favorite is the player piano song message from “The Strangless Than Fiction Mission''; hearing the Chief singing the intel is both hilarious and mesmerizing.

Voice Acting:

So far, I personally think The Houndcats has the most distinct, expressive, distinguishable and incredible group of voices and talents of any Saturday Morning Cartoon up to this point. All of the cast voicing the team manage to sound not only completely different from other shows, but also different from each other (hell, one character even has TWO voice actors that sound completely different from each other). And as mentioned under that character’s bio, Stutz is Michael Bell’s first ever major voice acting role, and for a first-timer, he knocks it out of the park with his high, stuffy, very charming and sometimes very snarky voice. Speaking of voice, one of my favorite elements of the series is Putty Puss stretching out the last word of each of his lines (heck, it’s even lampshaded by Stutz in “The Is There a Doctor in the Greenhouse Mission”).

Not to take away credit, some of the VAs who voice the heroes also voice villains -- like Bell as The Raven, Johnson as Captain Blight, and Butler as Dr. Strangeless and Grogan. Also voice actors who voice just the villains include John Stephenson as Dr. Greenhouse and Joan Gerber as Madame X. And while some sound easily recognizable over others, they still brought intrigue, suspense and -- into them.

Each VA gives such a wonderful performance that could win a major award. And judging from the enthusiasm, charisma\

 and positive energy of the heroes and love-to-hate charm and random goofiness of the villains, it seems everyone had a great time in the booth. Oh to be a fly on the wall during the sessions.

Writing/Production:

While I don't hate them, Western is a film and TV genre I'm just not into; and the only times I watch them willingly is when I take a peek when my grandmother or father are watching them. But even with my rudimentary attention and knowledge of them (heck, the only one I enjoy watching is Django Unchained), I recognized and took in the look and feel of The Houndcats very well from the jump. The characters dialogue and actions, the animation, and the fit the usual settings to perfection.

Animation:

For a series that features both talking, bipedal animals and humans, the designs of both look incredible. The human characters have realistic facial features and don’t look and act all the way cartoony. Plus, no two human characters look alike (even the Farnsworth characters, and the two Professor Thorndyke's - one was Putty Puss in disguise). As for those anthropomorphic  animals themselves look in the middle of realistic and cartoonish. While they look like real… hounds and cats, they still have cartoony proportions; they all have different heights and are human sized. 

The backgrounds strongly embody the architecture and atmosphere of America of 1914.

The movements are pretty mishmash at times. Sometimes almost smooth and fluid, sometimes very choppy as heck (e.g. A scene in one episode where Stutz and Ding are running and their mouths move sharply up and down, clearly not matching their voices), but I feel it does add a bit of rugged charm to the whole thing.

Music:

Say whatever you want about DFE films' show ideas, animation (heck, I already did just earlier) and utilization of a laugh track (I’ll get to that in a moment). But if there’s one thing I’ll give them a wallop of credit for, it’s giving their animated series original incidental music. And another great reason is coming real soon. But to me, this series has the best pieces of original music for a DFE show of them all since The Pink Panther (and yes, that series' music is mostly just the iconic theme by the equally-iconic Henry Mancini). Whether for dramatic, tense, suspenseful, action-filled, goofy, light, fun, humorous and/or cheerful, the incidental compositions feature something for each scene and they’re all well-done, memorable and catchy. And for that, I tip my hat to David Goodwin (music director) and two guys named Eric -- Rogers (score/conductor) and Tomlinson (mixing).

Speaking of well-done, memorable and catchy, let’s discuss the theme song. Set to a strong, buzzy, and Western-style production reminiscent of some of the best compositions of the greatest movies and TV shows of the genre, the tune introduces each member of the gang, lays out a warning to menacing evil-doers committing crime or espionage, and suggests anyone under the thumb of the villainy to contact them. The singers do a fantastic job with the vocals matching the tone, energy and feel of Western theme music (even though most are instrumentals), and getting us excited for the stories to come.

Random Thought: I also loved the way they sang Stutz’s name, and their softer and quieter reprise at the end.

Laugh Track: YES.

While it’s much better used and placed than in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, it still annoys me sometimes. At least they’re recorded like a bunch of people were switched out for another bunch, although you never notice the same tracks until later episodes.

Conclusion:

From the first airing of the first episode, I was drawn in by the actions of The Raven’s gang and then the over-the-top shenanigans of The Houndcats, which I fell in love with almost immediately. I had a high amount of fun each and every episode, so much so that I watched the entire series front to back more than twice, and I believe you will too. Considering the fact that it’s fifty years old now and is in reruns for over five on a barely-easily-found classic-television network, it’s quite telling. I highly recommend it. The entire series is available to view on YouTube.

Thank you all for once again checking out the show. See you again real soon. I be Andrew, and that is all.

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Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids | Andrew’s Funshine All-Star Superstar Supercade Saturday! ...Show '72

(This review will not discuss the… real life travails of its creator and star. We’re here to just take a look at the show itself. I hope you’re not disappointed.)

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