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

[edit] External links

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