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Henry's Cat

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Henry's Cat
DVD cover
GenreComedy
Adventure
Created byBob Godfrey
Stan Hayward
Written byKevin Baldwin
Bob Godfrey
Stan Hayward
Mike Knowles
Directed byBob Godfrey
Voices ofBob Godfrey
Narrated byBob Godfrey
Theme music composerPeter Shade
John Hyde
Rowland Lee
Jonathan Hodge
Opening themeHenry's Cat Theme
Ending themeHenry's Cat Theme (Instrumental)
No. of series5
No. of episodes51
Production
Executive producerBob Godfrey
ProducerBob Godfrey
Running time4-5 minutes (series 1 & 2)
14-15 minutes (series 3 & 4)
12 minutes (series 5)
Production companyBob Godfrey Films Ltd.
Original release
NetworkBBC1
ReleaseSeptember 12, 1983 (1983-09-12) –
June 10, 1993 (1993-06-10)

Henry's Cat is a British animated children's television series, created by Stan Hayward and directed by Bob Godfrey,[1] who was also the producer of Roobarb and Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk. The show starring a yellow feline, known only as Henry's Cat, and his many friends and enemies.[2] In every episode, narration and character voices were provided by Bob Godfrey.

Henry's Cat was first screened by BBC Television in the United Kingdom on September 12, 1983, and aired for 5 series and 51 episodes.[3][4] The show was re-dubbed for American audiences with the voice of Dom DeLuise.

Characters

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Main

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  • Henry's Cat – The main protagonist, a laid-back daydreamer with a great passion for eating and adventure.[5]
  • 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.

Antagonists

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  • Farmer Giles – A crotchety human farmer with a West Country accent who is occasionally inconvenienced by Henry's Cat and his Friends' antics. He only appears in the first season.
  • Constable Bulldog – A stern but fair policeman (or police dog) who takes a very dim view of the gang's well-meaning escapades but is usually willing to negotiate.
  • Rum Baa Baa – The main antagonist: a criminal mastermind sheep who is Henry's Cat's archenemy.

Henry

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Henry himself never appeared on screen; the name is thought by some to be an allusion to an earlier one-off Hayward/Godfrey collaboration, Henry 9 'til 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. Henry's Cat creator Stan Hayward included the official explanation for the character's lack of a name on the official Henry's Cat Special Edition DVD in 2000: Henry (who never appeared in the series proper) was Henry's Cat's original owner, but one day, he moved away, and Henry's Cat had forgotten to go with him. The cat had a terrible memory, and eventually even forgot his own name, and so became known simply as "Henry's Cat".

Episode list

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Series 1 (1983)

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Each episode in this series is 4–5 minutes long.

# Title Summary Original air date
1 The Race Henry's Cat holds a race with all his friends racing with their own talents. 12 September 1983
2 The Hypnotist Henry's Cat is inspired by the TV to try out hypnotism to help his friends, but soon decides to undo his hypnosis. 13 September 1983
3 The Hobby Henry's Cat is inspired to find a hobby of his own and watches his friends doing theirs. 14 September 1983
4 The Treasure Henry's Cat and Chris Rabbit try to find treasure with a dividing stick. 15 September 1983
5 The Whale Henry's Cat goes fishing for a whale to get something new to eat. 16 September 1983
6 The Diet Henry's Cat takes the advice of a weighing machine to cut down on overeating and take exercise. 19 September 1983
7 The Invention Henry's Cat is inspired to invent a machine and ends inventing something for Captain McGregor. 20 September 1983
8 The Circus Henry's Cat sees a circus and sees this as an exciting opportunity. 21 September 1983
9 The Holiday Henry's Cat goes on holiday on a sailing boat at sea. 22 September 1983
10 The Competition Henry's Cat, Chris Rabbit and Mosey Mouse dress up as a one-man band for a competition. 23 September 1983
11 The Film Henry's Cat gets an old film cine camera to make a film starring his friends. 26 September 1983
12 The Artist Henry's Cat tries to learn about art and how artists see things differently. 27 September 1983
13 The Moon Trip Henry's Cat and Chris Rabbit go in a balloon for a journey to the moon. 28 September 1983
14 The Fortune Teller Henry's Cat goes to a fortune teller at a funfair with his future near at hand. 29 September 1983
15 The Disco Dance Henry's Cat takes his friends to a disco dance competition. When that does not work out, they join a carnival. 30 September 1983
16 The Ill Wind A sick Henry's Cat imagines himself dying and going to the afterlife. 13 September 1983
17 The Dream Henry's Cat falls asleep after eating a lot, dreaming about vivid things. 20 September 1983
18 The Robbery Henry's Cat becomes detective, but runs into Mosey Mouse's uncle. 27 September 1983
19 The Explorer Henry's Cat goes exploring to find the West Pole. 4 October 1983
20 The Christmas Dinner Henry's Cat helps Chris Rabbit prepare a Christmas Dinner but they get themselves stuck. 24 December 1983

Series 2 (1984)

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Each episode in this series is 4–5 minutes long.

# Title Summary Original air date
21 The Secret Weapon Henry's Cat dreams about himself and Chris Rabbit as scientists defending the earth from little blue men. 11 October 1984
22 The Hot Day On a hot day in France, Henry's Cat unknowingly finds captain joining the Foreign Legion in the hot desert. 18 October 1984
23 The Invitation Henry's Cat is invited to dinner party with Lady Snotgrove, but he feels unprepared without proper table manners. 25 October 1984
24 The Magic Tummy Button Henry's Cat and his friends search a museum for the lost temple of Aki-Kun-Bubu to find the magic tummy button. 1 November 1984
25 The Actor Henry's Cat decides to become a famous actor and does in the Theatre by accident. 8 November 1984
26 The Ventriloquist Henry's Cat enters a contest as a ventriloquist with Chris Rabbit as his dummy, but it all goes wrong. 15 November 1984
27 The Hero Henry's Cat imagines his Great Uncle Felix's adventure as a First World War ace fighter pilot against Baron Von Baa Baa in 1916. 22 November 1984
28 The Catseye Kid Henry's Cat imagines himself as the cowboy Catseye who is out to stop the cattle rancher, Bandit Baa Baa. 29 November 1984
29 The Clever Trick Henry's Cat learns a trick to bend objects, which eventually makes him famous around the world. 6 December 1984
30 The Abominable Snowman Henry's Cat and Chris Rabbit go an expedition which winds them up in trouble. 13 December 1984
31 Caveman Cat Henry's Cat daydreams about being a cave cat with his inventing neighbour Chris Rabbit. 20 December 1984
32 The New Year's Resolution Henry's Cat is prompted to take exercise for New Year with a backwards running race with his friends. 28 December 1984
33 The Good News Day On a day when nothing happens, Henry's Cat dreams he is a heroic captain of a plane that cruises across the world. 3 January 1984
34 The Merry Men and Women Henry's Cat dresses as Robin Hood and recruits his friends as his Merry Men and Women. 10 January 1984
35 The Weatherman Henry's Cat becomes a weatherman to report good weather forecasts. 4 December 1984

Series 3 (1986)

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Each episode in this series is 14–15 minutes long.

# Title Summary Original air date
36 The Treasure Hunt Henry's Cat dreams of being a member of his own crew at sea after reading in 18th Century Treasure Island. 8 January 1986
37 The Day of Terrible Jokes Henry's Cat fascinated by Medieval Knights dreams that he is a bold knight winning a jousting tournament against Sir Loin of Lamb. After that he is sent to capture a three-headed dragon. 15 January 1986
38 The Case of the Pilfered Pearls Henry's Cat imagines himself as Sherlock Holmes on the trail of Rum Baba (here operating under the name of Rumbini) who has been using his magic shows as a means to steal expensive jewellery from the rich. 22 January 1986
39 The Lost World Henry's Cat fascinated by a TV program called Tarzan dreams that he himself is a jungle man with the huge responsibility to take care of the Lost World. The next day Henry's Cat must keep Rum Baa Baa from capturing the mighty King Kongo. 29 January 1986
40 The Computer Henry's Cat goes to a computer exhibition. There he rents a small computer robot he calls Pooter. Trying to buy Pooter is hard and keep his house orderly is difficult for Henry's Cat. 5 February 1986
41 The Correspondence Course After seeing a cartoon advertisement on TV, Henry's Cat decides to become an animator himself. This episode features a character called Big Bob, who is a caricature of Bob Godfrey. 12 February 1986

Series 4 (1986–87)

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Each episode in this series is 14–15 minutes long.

# Title Summary Original air date
42 Once Upon a Time Henry's Cat imagines himself meeting various fairy tale characters – and a wolf who wants to eat Little Red Riding Hood's Granny. 22 December 1986
43 The Birthday Caper Fed up on his birthday, Henry's Cat decides to both go to Hollywood and try becoming a famous film star. 13 February 1987
44 The Funny Feeling Mosey Mouse catches Clownitis, a disease a year on Mid-Summer's Day after he drank Moo-Moo Juice. Henry's Cat rushes to the Moo-Moo Juice factory to stop Rum Baa Baa (who is controlling the machine). 20 February 1987
45 Out for the Count Henry's Cat and Chris Rabbit are in a blowing gum match, but get lost and enter the creepy castle of Count Rum Baa Baa. Together they thwart his experiments. 22 September 1987
46 The Jingle Henry's Cat and Chris Rabbit go to Cyril Chipper to help in his advertising campaign becoming successful. 1 December 1987
47 The Great Adventure Henry's Cat and his friends go to space in a flying carrot, eat food tablets and try to get Rum Baa Baa caught. 8 December 1987

Series 5 (1992–93)

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Each episode in this series is 12 minutes long.

# Title Summary Original air date
48 The Mystery of the Missing Santa Henry's Cat and Chris Rabbit as detectives go on a caper to find the kidnapped Father Christmas. They both break in the chateau, rescue Father Christmas and get Count Rum Baa Baa arrested. 24 December 1992
49 When Time Went Wrong After attempting to fix his cuckoo clock, Henry's Cat along with Chris Rabbit travel in time to Prehistoric Times. As they try to go back to the Present, they travel from one Epoch to another. 30 December 1992
50 The New President Henry's Cat applies to be the new president of the United States of America and have his portrait carved into Mount Rushmore. Chris Rabbit tells him about the history of America featuring George Washington, Charlie Chaplin and the Seven Dwarfs. 29 April 1993
51 Valentine's Day Henry's Cat sees Pansy Pig on TV, wearing a paper bag on her head, thinking she is ugly and nobody loves her. He pities her, so he and his pals put on a "blind dates" show for her.
Note: This episode along with "The President's Day" won a Cable Ace Award in 1994 for Best Children's TV Series.		 10 June 1993

Notes

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  • For some reason, all of the Henry's Cat episodes from Series 1 are dated 1983 and from Series 2 to Series 5 are dated 1984 in the credits.
  • Bob Godfrey Films' opening logo of this series was Henry's Cat meowing, in a direct parody of the MGM logo.
  • The companies that released the videos were Guild Home Video, Castle Vision/Playbox Video, Children's Choice, and Screen Legends/Pickwick Video. Despite airing on Children's BBC, it was never licensed to home video by BBC Video. Family Home Entertainment and HBO Video also had released VHS tapes in the US in 1986 and 1989 respectively.
  • In January 2008, a promotional DVD containing all Series 1 episodes was distributed by The Times newspaper.

Credits

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Series 1

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  • 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 & Directed by: Bob Godfrey

(c) Stan Hayward Bob Godfrey Films Ltd. 1983

Series 2

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  • Created by: Stan Hayward
  • Script: Stan Hayward
  • Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Malcolm Hartley, Drew Mandigo, Paul Stone
  • Assistant Animator: Malou Bonicos, one episode, series 2, The Hot Day
  • Music: John Hyde / de Wolfe Ltd.
  • Dubbing: John Wood Studios
  • Editing: Sean Lenihan
  • Camera: Derek Phillips
  • Production: Mike Hayes
  • Produced, Directed and Narrated by: Bob Godfrey

(c) Stan Hayward Bob Godfrey Films Ltd. 1984 (From Series 2 to Series 5)

Series 3

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  • Created by: Stan Hayward
  • Script: Stan Hayward
  • Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Malcolm Hartley, Mark Oz, Paul Rosevear
  • Music: John Hyde / de Wolfe 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

Series 4

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  • Created by: Stan Hayward
  • Script: Stan Hayward
  • Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Neil Salmon
  • Additional Animation: Steve Roberts
  • Music: Jonathan Hodge
  • Trace and Paint: Beryl Godfrey, Louise Unwin
  • Camera: Julian Holdaway, Heather Reader
  • Editing: Picture Head
  • Production: Mike Hayes
  • Narrated, Directed and Produced by: Bob Godfrey

Series 5

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  • Created by: Stan Hayward
  • Script: Stan Hayward, Mike Knowles, Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey
  • Storyboard, Layouts, Animation: Kevin Baldwin
  • Additional Animation: Jeff Goldner, Neil Salmon, Bob Godfrey, Jody Gannon.
  • Trace and Paint: Denise Hambry, Lisa Smith, Jazvinda Phull, Beryl Godfrey, Ricky Arnold
  • Music: Rowland Lee
  • Title Music: Jonathan P. Hodge
  • Camera: Jeremy Moorshead
  • Backgrounds: Bob Godfrey
  • Editing: Picturehead
  • Production: Mike Hayes
  • Narrated, Produced and Directed by: Bob Godfrey

Home media

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Australian VHS releases

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VHS Title Release Date Episodes
Henry's Cat and Friends: The Hobby and Other Stories (102984) 14 March 2001 'The Hobby'; 'The Race'; 'The Circus'; 'The Competition'; 'The Moontrip'; 'The Film'; 'The Holiday'; 'The Treasure'; 'The Ill Wind'; 'The Diet'; 'The Fortune Teller'; and 'The Explorer'.
Henry's Cat and Friends: The Whale and Other Stories (102985) 13 June 2001 'The Whale'; 'The Invention'; 'The Dream'; 'The Robbery'; 'The Christmas Dinner'; 'The Hypnotist'; 'The Disco Dance'; 'The Artist'; 'The Magic Tummy Button'; 'The Secret Weapon'; 'The New Year's Resolution'; and 'The Good News Day'.
Henry's Cat and Friends: The Cat's Eye Kid and Other Stories (102986) 3 September 2001 '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'; and 'The Abominable Snowman'.

References

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  1. ^ 80s cartoons website
  2. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. p. 119. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. ^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 133. ISBN 9781476672939.
  4. ^ BFI | Film & TV Database | HENRY'S CAT
  5. ^ 80s cartoons website
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