Heathcliff (a.k.a. Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats, known as Les Entrechats in French) is a children's animated television series that debuted on September 3, 1984.[1] Produced by DIC Audiovisuel (and later DIC Enterprises), it was the second animated series based on the Heathcliff comic strip (after Ruby-Spears' Heathcliff from 1980). 65 half-hour episodes aired in first-run syndication in the fall of 1984, followed by a second season of 21 episodes in 1985 and continued to air in syndication until 1988. The Catillac Cats characters (identified in the end credits as Cats and Co.) were created by Jean Chalopin and Bruno Bianchi.
| Heathcliff | |
|---|---|
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| Also known as |
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| Genre | Animated series Slapstick |
| Created by |
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| Based on | Heathcliff, by George Gately & McNaught Syndicate |
| Developed by |
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| Written by | Alan Swayze |
| Directed by | Michael Maliani |
| Voices of | Mel Blanc |
| Theme music composer | |
| Opening theme | "Heathcliff" (long version), performed by Noam Kaniel |
| Ending theme | "Heathcliff" (short version), performed by Noam Kaniel |
| Composer | Haim Saban & Shuki Levy |
| Country of origin |
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| Original languages | English French |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 86 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network |
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| Release | September 3, 1984 – September 30, 1985 |
| Related | |
| Heathcliff (1980) | |
Mel Blanc, who provided the voice of Heathcliff in the Ruby-Spears series, reprised his role as the titular cat.[2]
Premise
editEach episode featured two segments, one being about Heathcliff and his friends, while the other featured The Catillac Cats. At the end of every episode and before the end credits, Heathcliff or many other characters from the show would give out tips to viewers that are related to pet care.
The year after the series ended, the film Heathcliff: The Movie was released, which consisted of a compilation of segments.[3]
Cast
edit- Mel Blanc as Heathcliff
- Donna Christie as Cleo, Iggy
- Jeannie Elias as Marcy, Willie
- Stanley Jones as Riff-Raff, Wordsworth, Milkman
- Marilyn Lightstone as Sonja, Mrs. Nutmeg
- Danny Mann as Hector, Mr. Schultz
- Derek McGrath as Spike, Muggsy, Knuckles, Lefty
- Danny Wells as Bush, Raul
- Ted Zeigler as Leroy, Mungo, Mr. Nutmeg
- Peter Cullen as Pop, additional voices
Crew
edit- Head writer: Alan Swayze
- Writers: Ann Elder, Doug Booth, Cynthia Chenault, Dan Dalton, Eliot Daro, Mike Dirham, Wilma Fraser, Evelyn Gabai, Mel Gilden, Chuck Lorre, George Hampton, Jack Hanrahan, Pamela Hickey, Walt Kubiak, Drew Laurence, Jim Makichuk, Dennys McCoy, Mike Moore, Charles Mulholland, Laura Numeroff, Mike O’Mahony, Leslie Page, Larry Parr, Bob Rosenfarb, David Schwartz, Mike Silvani, Bob Wilson
- Voice directors: Marsha Goodman, Victor Villegas (season 2)
Episodes
editSeries overview
edit| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 65 | September 3, 1984 | November 30, 1984 | |
| 2 | 21 | September 2, 1985 | September 30, 1985 | |
Season 1 (1984)
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date [4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Great Pussini" "Kitty Kat Kennels" | September 3, 1984 | |
| 2 | 2 | "Chauncey's Great Escape" "Carnival Capers" | September 4, 1984 | |
| 3 | 3 | "Mad Dog Catcher" "Circus Beserkus" | September 5, 1984 | |
| 4 | 4 | "Rebel Without a Claws" "The Farming Life Ain't For Me" | September 6, 1984 | |
| 5 | 5 | "Heathcliff's Middle Name" "Wishful Thinking" | September 7, 1984 | |
| 6 | 6 | "King of the Beasts" "Cat Can Do" | September 10, 1984 | |
| 7 | 7 | "Smoke Gets in my Eyes" "Much Ado about Bedding" | September 11, 1984 | |
| 8 | 8 | "City Slicker Cat" "House of the Future" | September 12, 1984 | |
| 9 | 9 | "Spike's Cousin" "For the Birds" | September 13, 1984 | |
| 10 | 10 | "Heathcliff's Pet" "Swamp Fever" | September 14, 1984 | |
| 11 | 11 | "Teed Off" "Monstro vs. the Wolf Hound" | September 17, 1984 | |
| 12 | 12 | "Say Cheese" "Cat's Angels" | September 18, 1984 | |
| 13 | 13 | "Meow Meow Island" "Iron Cats" | September 19, 1984 | |
| 14 | 14 | "Family Tree" "Who's Got the Chocolate?" | September 20, 1984 | |
| 15 | 15 | "Be Prepared" "Cruisin' for a Bruisin'" | September 21, 1984 | |
| 16 | 16 | "Heathcliff Gets Canned" "Whackoed Out" | September 24, 1984 | |
| 17 | 17 | "Brain Sprain" "Cat Balloon" | September 25, 1984 | |
| 18 | 18 | "May the Best Cat Win" "Comedy Cats" | September 26, 1984 | |
|
Note: The DVD lists the episode May the Best Cat Win as first, and titles the episode Pilot. | ||||
| 19 | 19 | "Revenge of the Kitty" "Jungle Vacation" | September 27, 1984 | |
| 20 | 20 | "Hospital Heathcliff" "Hector's Takeover" | September 28, 1984 | |
| 21 | 21 | "Going Shopping" "Cat in the Fat" | October 1, 1984 | |
| 22 | 22 | "Wild Cat Heathcliff" "Kitten Around" | October 2, 1984 | |
| 23 | 23 | "Cat Burglar Heathcliff" "Lucky's Unlucky Day" | October 3, 1984 | |
| 24 | 24 | "The Blizzard Bandit" "Harem Cat" | October 4, 1984 | |
| 25 | 25 | "Kitten Smitten" "Young Cat with a Horn" | October 5, 1984 | |
| 26 | 26 | "The Gang's All Here" "The Meowsic Goes Round & Round" | October 8, 1984 | |
| 27 | 27 | "Snow Job" "Condo Fever" | October 9, 1984 | |
| 28 | 28 | "Heathcliff Pumps Iron" "Mungo's Dilemma" | October 10, 1984 | |
| 29 | 29 | "Heathcliff's Double" "Big Foot" | October 11, 1984 | |
| 30 | 30 | "Terrible Tammy" "The Games of Love" | October 12, 1984 | |
| 31 | 31 | "Big Top Bungling" "Space Cats" | October 15, 1984 | |
| 32 | 32 | "Lard Times" "The Merry Pranksters" | October 16, 1984 | |
| 33 | 33 | "Spike's Slave" "Scaredy Cats" | October 17, 1984 | |
| 34 | 34 | "Gopher Broke" "A Camping We Will Go" | October 18, 1984 | |
| 35 | 35 | "Where There's an Ill, There's a Way" "Yes Sewer That's my Baby" | October 19, 1984 | |
| 36 | 36 | "Soap Box Derby" "A Better Mousetrap" | October 22, 1984 | |
| 37 | 37 | "Bamboo Island" "Superhero Mungo" | October 23, 1984 | |
| 38 | 38 | "Butter Up!" "Mungo Gets No Respect" | October 24, 1984 | |
| 39 | 39 | "Sonja's Nephew" "Dr. Mousetus" | October 25, 1984 | |
| 40 | 40 | "Cat Food for Thought" "Going South" | October 26, 1984 | |
| 41 | 41 | "Phantom of the Garbage" "Junkyard Flood" | October 29, 1984 | |
| 42 | 42 | "Trombone Terror" "The Other Woman" | October 30, 1984 | |
| 43 | 43 | "Pop on Parole" "The Babysitters" | October 31, 1984 | |
| 44 | 44 | "The Siamese Twins" "The Mungo Mash" | November 1, 1984 | |
| 45 | 45 | "Copa-ca-Heathcliff" "Leroy's in Love" | November 2, 1984 | |
| 46 | 46 | "Used Pets" "Search for a Star" | November 5, 1984 | |
| 47 | 47 | "An Officer and an Alley-Cat" "Hector Spector" | November 6, 1984 | |
| 48 | 48 | "Service with a Smile" "Junk Food" | November 7, 1984 | |
| 49 | 49 | "Boom Boom Pussini" "Beach Blanket Mungo" | November 8, 1984 | |
| 50 | 50 | "Sealand Mania" "Riff Raff the Gourmet" | November 9, 1984 | |
| 51 | 51 | "The Super M.A.C. Menace" "Journey to the Center of the Earth" | November 12, 1984 | |
| 52 | 52 | "A Piece of the Rock" "Divide and Clobber" | November 13, 1984 | |
| 53 | 53 | "Heathcliff Reforms" "Prehysteric Riff Raff" | November 14, 1984 | |
| 54 | 54 | "Flying High" "Debutante Ball" | November 15, 1984 | |
| 55 | 55 | "Heathcliff's Surprise" "The Big Break In" | November 16, 1984 | |
| 56 | 56 | "The Catfather" "The Big Swipe" | November 19, 1984 | |
| 57 | 57 | "Tally-Ho Heathcliff" "Cleo Moves In" | November 20, 1984 | |
| 58 | 58 | "Granpda vs. Grandpa" "The Big Game Hunter" | November 21, 1984 | |
| 59 | 59 | "The Great Tuna Caper" "Peco's Treasure" | November 22, 1984 | |
| 60 | 60 | "The Baby Buggy Bad Guys" "Riff Raff's Mom" | November 23, 1984 | |
| 61 | 61 | "Momma's Back in Town" "Trash Dance" | November 26, 1984 | |
| 62 | 62 | "Claws" "Hector the Detector" | November 27, 1984 | |
| 63 | 63 | "Raiders of the Lost Cat" "Mungo Lays an Egg" | November 28, 1984 | |
| 64 | 64 | "The Home Wrecker" "In Search of Catlantis" | November 29, 1984 | |
| 65 | 65 | "Star of Tomeow-meow" "Soccer Anyone?" | November 30, 1984 | |
Season 2 (1985)
editNOTE: These episodes are listed in production order. This season was aired out of order.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date [4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 66 | 1 | "The White Cliffs of Dover" "Life Saver" | September 2, 1985 |
| 67 | 2 | "Nightmare in Beverly Hills" "The Cat in the Iron Mask" | September 3, 1985 |
| 68 | 3 | "The Shrink" "Brushing Up" | September 4, 1985 |
| 69 | 4 | "Dr. Heathcliff and Mr. Spike" "Time Warped" | September 5, 1985 |
| 70 | 5 | "Spike's New Home" "Mungo's Big Romance" | September 6, 1985 |
| 71 | 6 | "The Cat and the Pauper" "Mungo of the Jungle" | September 9, 1985 |
| 72 | 7 | "In the Beginning" "Catlympic Cats" | September 10, 1985 |
| 73 | 8 | "Rear Cat Window" "Cat Days, Ninja Nights" | September 11, 1985 |
| 74 | 9 | "Something Fishy" "Christmas Memories" | September 12, 1985 |
| 75 | 10 | "Heathcliff's Mom" "Hockey Pucks" | September 13, 1985 |
| 76 | 11 | "Cat Day Afternoon" "Hector Protector" | September 16, 1985 |
| 77 | 12 | "Feline Good" "Off-Road Racer" | September 17, 1985 |
| 78 | 13 | "Spike's Coach" "The Trojan Catillac" | September 18, 1985 |
| 79 | 14 | "Heathcliff Gets Framed" "Repo Cat" | September 19, 1985 |
| 80 | 15 | "Missing in Action" "Bag Cat Sings the Blues" | September 20, 1985 |
| 81 | 16 | "It's a Terrible Life" "Leroy Gets Canned" | September 23, 1985 |
| 82 | 17 | "Hair of the Cat" "Tenting Tonight" | September 24, 1985 |
| 83 | 18 | "The Fortune Teller" "Cottontails, Chickens, & Colored Eggs" | September 25, 1985 |
| 84 | 19 | "Break an Egg" "A Letter to Granny" | September 26, 1985 |
| 85 | 20 | "The New York City Sewer System" "High Goon" | September 27, 1985 |
| 86 | 21 | "North Pole Cat" "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" | September 30, 1985 |
Theme song
editThe theme was composed and written by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy and sung by Noam Kaniel.
Broadcast history
editIn the United States, the series was aired in national first-run syndication from September 3, 1984 to 1988, and then reruns of the series were aired on Nickelodeon from 1988 until 1993. The series then reran on Family Channel from 1993 to 1998 and Fox Family Channel for only a year from 1998 until 1999. From September 27, 2010 until September 23, 2011, reruns of the series were aired in the United States on the This Is for Kids block on This TV.[1][5] Outside of Canada and the United States, the series was broadcast internationally on KidsCo, Fox Kids, and Jetix.
In the United Kingdom, the series first aired on the Children's BBC block on BBC One and was usually billed under the title Heathcliff Cats & Co. from 1988 until 1991. The "Cats & Co." name lasted until its last run on the BBC in 1991. The show then went over to Channel 4 and aired the show in the morning hours from 1990 until 1995. In 2000, the show went over to Toon Disney and began running the show shortly after its launch in the UK. However, during the same year back in the states, the show was aired in syndication on North American local stations in 2000 for a very short period of time, and went under its former BBC title Heathcliff Cats & Co.[6] The series also aired in Japan. Back in the states, the series was aired on weekdays on Starz Encore Family (as of 2016). The show was also formerly broadcast in Colombia through the digital channel Tacho Pistacho until the channel's shutdown in 2019, and on Light TV in the United States from October 6, 2018 until September 30, 2019.
According to an interview with Donna Christie, the voice for Iggy Nutmeg and Cleo, the series did not continue because of Mel Blanc's failing health.[7]
Home media
editIn the 1980s, the series was released on VHS from RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video and Golden Book Video, with releases from the latter being released through the DIC Video label.
In February 2004, Sterling Entertainment released two VHS/DVD releases titled Terror of the Neighborhood and Fish Tales, each featuring six Heathcliff segments and a Catillac Cats segment. The DVD versions featured two additional Catillac Cats segments. On May 25, Sterling released Heathcliff: The Movie on DVD.
In 2004, General Mills offered free DVDs of DiC series with assorted episodes in cereal boxes, including Heathcliff.[8][9]
In the UK, Maximum Entertainment released two volumes of the series in 2004. The first DVD/VHS contained 5 episodes, while the other DVD contained 3. A third one, released in 2008, contained 5 more episodes.
In September 2005, Shout! Factory released Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats in a 4-disc boxset featuring the first 24 episodes of the series in its original, complete and uncut television broadcast form. Shout! Factory has lost the rights to the series.[10]
Throughout 2007–2009, NCircle Entertainment released eight Heathcliff DVDs.[11]
In February 2012, Mill Creek Entertainment released Heathcliff- Season One, Volume 1 on DVD. This 3-disc set features the first 32 episodes from the Season 1 which includes a bonus episode of The Get Along Gang (originally The Busy World of Richard Scarry was meant to be the bonus episode).[12] They also released a 10 episode best-of collection on that same day. Heathcliff- Season 1, Volume 2 was released on October 1, 2013, which contains the remaining 33 episodes from Season 1.[13]
In August 2016, Mill Creek released Heathcliff – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[14] The 9-disc set contains all 86 episodes of the series, including the final 21 episodes which were previously unreleased.
The episode "Going Shopping / Cat in the Fat" was included as a bonus in the DVD release of the first half of the Beverly Hills Teens series.[15]
In France, two more 4-disc sets were released under the French title of the series, Les Entrechats.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Heathcliff / Super Mario Bros. | 2 | 2004 |
| Heathcliff: Fish Tales | 9 | February 24, 2004 |
| Heathcliff: Terror of the Neighborhood | 9 | February 24, 2004 |
| Heathcliff: The Movie | 1 | May 25, 2004 |
| Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats | 24 | September 20, 2005 |
| Heathcliff – Season One, Volume One | 32 | February 21, 2012 |
| Heathcliff – Season One, Volume Two | 33 | October 1, 2013 |
| Heathcliff – The Complete Series | 86 | August 2, 2016 |
Streaming
editHeathcliff is available through Paramount+ in several countries.[16]
Movie
editHeathcliff: The Movie was released to theaters on January 17, 1986, and subsequently on VHS in 1988 by Paramount Home Video. It includes seven segments from the original show:
- Cat Food for Thought
- Heathcliff's Double
- The Siamese Twins
- An Officer and an Alley Cat
- The Catfather
- Boom Boom Pussini
- Pop on Parole
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Heathcliff". This TV. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 398–400. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ "Heathcliff and the catillac cats". Pop Matters. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ^ a b DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats Episode Guide -DiC Ent". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "Mon 25 Mon 27 Sep 2010-Sun 3 Oct 2010". This TV. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
- ^ "TVArk – CBBC clip with Andi Peters referring to the show as 'Heathcliff Cats & Co'". Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ^ "36: Donna Christie interview (Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats, Dennis the Menace, Popples, Real Ghostbusters)".
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "DiC & UAV Home Video ads (2004) - Super Mario Bros., Heathcliff, Inspector Gadget, Gadget Boy". YouTube. 13 May 2019.
- ^ "Heathcliff & Super Mario Bros. Super Show!". Amazon.
- ^ Shout! Factory – Forum Thread with Brian Ward announcing the current ownership of 'Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats' Archived January 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Heathcliff DVDs". NCircle Entertainment. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
- ^ "Heathcliff (a.k.a. Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats) DVD news: Announcement for Season 1, Volume 1 and King of the Beasts - TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 8 January 2012.
- ^ "Heathcliff (a.k.a. Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats) DVD news: Announcement for Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats - Season 1, Volume 2 - TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 13 September 2013.
- ^ "Heathcliff (a.k.a. Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats) DVD news: Announcement for The Complete Series - TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 3 June 2016.
- ^ "Beverly Hills Teens - Volume 1 - 32 Episodes". Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (8 August 2019). "CBS All Access Adding Children's Programming; 'Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs', 'Danger Mouse', 'Inspector Gadget' Among Content". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 September 2019.