Henry's Cat
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Henry's Cat is an animated children's television programme, written by Stan Hayward and produced by Bob Godfrey, who was also the producer of Roobarb, a similar cartoon series from the 1970s. The show starred a laid-back, ponderous yellow cat, known only as Henry's Cat, and his many friends and enemies.
Henry's Cat was first screened in 1982 and five series were made in total; the series has enjoyed repeated showings since. It developed a cult following and is still very popular along with shows such as Bod, Button Moon, Pigeon Street, The Flumps and Mr Benn.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Henry's Cat and his friends
- Henry's Cat - laid-back, a daydreamer.
- Chris Rabbit - Henry's Cat's best friend, an ever-enthusiastic, highly energetic blue rabbit.
- Mosey Mouse - the opposite of Chris Rabbit, Mosey is dour and realistic.
- Douglas Dog, Sammy Snail, Pansy Pig, Denise Duck, Ted Tortoise, Philippe Frog - miscellaneous friends of Henry's Cat. They all mean well, but often overestimate their own abilities in various ways.
[edit] His enemies
- Farmer Giles - a (human) farmer, frequently inconvenienced by Henry's Cat's adventures.
- Constable Bulldog - a very stern policeman (or policedog) who takes a very dim view of the gang's well-meaning escapades.
- Rum Baa Baa - a criminal mastermind, and the most evil sheep in the whole world.
[edit] Henry
Henry himself never appeared on screen; the name was an allusion to an earlier one-off Hayward/Godfrey collaboration, Henry 9 To 5 about a bowler-hatted commuter who escaped his boring everyday life by indulging in daydreams, mostly of a sexual nature. Henry's Cat shared the earlier character's tendency toward wild flights of fancy and laid-back approach to life. The name "Henry's Cat" was mostly an in-joke for those few people who remembered the earlier cartoon and did not mean that Henry's Cat had a "master", unseen or otherwise.
[edit] Episode list
[edit] Series 1
Each episode in this series is 5 minutes long.
- The Hobby
- The Race
- The Circus
- The Competition
- The Moon Trip
- The Hypnotist
- The Holiday
- The Treasure
- The Ill Wind
- The Diet
- The Fortune Teller
- The Explorer
- The Whale
- The Invention
- The Dream
- The Robbery
- The Christmas Dinner
- The Film
- The Disco Dance
- The Artist
[edit] Series 2
Each episode in this series is 5 minutes long.
- The Magic Tummy Button
- The Secret Weapon
- The New Year's Resolution
- The Good News Day
- The Cat's Eye Kid
- The Hot Day
- The Merry Men And Women
- The Actor
- The Weatherman
- The Invitation
- The Ventriloquist
- The Clever Trick
- The Hero
- Caveman Cat
- The Abominable Snowman
[edit] Series 3
Each episode in this series is 15 minutes long.
- The Treasure Hunt
- The Day of Terrible Jokes
- The Case of the Pilfered Pearls
- The Lost World
- The Computer
- The Correspondence Course
[edit] Series 4
Each episode in this series is 15 minutes long.
- Out for the Count
- The Birthday Caper
- The Funny Feeling
- Once Upon a Time
- The Jingle
- The Great Adventure
[edit] Series 5
Each episode in this series is 15 minutes long.
- The Mystery of the Missing Santa
- When Time Went Wrong
- The New President
- Valentine's Day
[edit] Trivia
- "Reading" down Henry's Cat's face spells "Miiow" (M= ears, II= eyes, O= nose, W=mouth).
- The companies that released the videos were Castle Vision, Playbox Video, Screen Legends and Pickwick Video. Family Home Entertainment also had a USA release in 1987.
- Bob Godfrey Films' closing logo of this series was Henry's Cat meowing. The opening logo seemed to parody the MGM logo.
- In the United States, episodes from the first two series (i.e., the five-minute cartoons) were sometimes shown on PBS right after Zoobilee Zoo, to round out the half-hour time slot.
[edit] Credits
[edit] Series 1
- Created by: Stan Hayward
- Script: Stan Hayward
- Animation: Bob Godfrey, Paul Stone, Kevin Baldwin
- Music & Sound: Peter Shade
- Narrated by: Bob Godfrey
- Camera & Editing: Derek Phillips
- Production: Mike Hayes
- Produced and Directed by: Bob Godfrey
[edit] Series 2
- Created by: Stan Hayward
- Script: Stan Hayward
- Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Malcolm Hartley, Drew Mandigo, Paul Stone
- Music: John Hyde / DeWolfe Ltd
- Dubbing: John Wood Studios
- Editing: Sean Lenihan
- Camera: Derek Phillips
- Production: Mike Hayes
- Produced, Directed and Narrated by: Bob Godfrey
[edit] Series 3
- Created by: Stan Hayward
- Script: Stan Hayward
- Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Malcolm Hartley, Mark Oz, Paul Rosevear
- Music: John Hyde / DeWolfe Ltd
- Trace & Paint: Tancy Baran, Beryl Godfrey, Louise Unwin
- Camera: Derek Phillips
- Editing: John Daniels
- Production: Mike Hayes
- Produced, Directed and Narrated by: Bob Godfrey
[edit] Series 4
- Created by: Stan Hayward
- Script: Stan Hayward
- Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Neil Salmon
- Music: Jonathan P. Hodge
- Trace and Paint: Beryl Godfrey, Louise Unwin
- Camera: Heather Reader
- Editing: Picture Head
- Production: Mike Hayes
- Narrated, Directed and Produced by: Bob Godfrey
[edit] Series 5
- Created by: Stan Hayward
- Script: Stan Hayward, Kevin Baldwin, Mike Knowles, Bob Godfrey
- Animation, Storyboard and Layout: Kevin Baldwin
- Additional Animation: Jeff Goldner, Neil Salmon, Bob Godfrey
- Backgrounds: Bob Godfrey
- Trace and Paint: Denise Hambry, Lisa Smith, Jazvinda Phull, Beryl Godfrey, Ricky Arnold
- Music: Rowland Lee
- Title Music: Jonathan P. Hodge
- Camera: Heather Reader
- Editing: Picture Head
- Production: Mike Hayes
- Produced, Directed and Narrated by: Bob Godfrey