Henry's Cat
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Henry's Cat is an animated children's television program, 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
Characters[edit]
Henry's Cat's friends[edit]
- 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.
His enemies[edit]
- 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.
Henry[edit]
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.
Episode list[edit]
| Series 1 (produced: 1982; aired: 1982-1984) | Series 2 (produced: 1984; aired: 1984-1986) | Series 3 (produced: 1985; aired: 1985-1989) | Series 4 (produced: 1986-1987; aired: 1986-1991) | Series 5 (produced: 1991-1992; aired: 1991-1993) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hobby (1982) | The Magic Tummy Button (1984) | The Treasure Hunt (1985) | Once Upon a Time (1986) | The Mystery of the Missing Santa (1991) |
| The Race (1982) | The Secret Weapon (1984) | The Day of Terrible Jokes (1986) | The Birthday Caper (1987) | When Time Went Wrong (1992) |
| The Circus (1982) | The New Year's Resolution (1984) | The Case of the Pilfered Pearls (1987) | Out for the Count (1988) | The New President (1992) |
| The Competition (1982) | The Good News Day (1984) | The Lost World (1987) | The Funny Feeling (1989) | Valentine's Day (1993) |
| The Moon Trip (1982) | The Cat's Eye Kid (1984) | The Computer (1988) | The Jingle (1990) | |
| The Hypnotist (1982) | The Hot Day (1985) | The Correspondence Course (1989) | The Great Adventure (1991) | |
| The Holiday (1982) | The Merry Men And Women (1985) | |||
| The Treasure (1983) | The Actor (1985) | |||
| The Ill Wind (1983) | The Weatherman (1985) | |||
| The Diet (1983) | The Invitation (1985) | |||
| The Fortune Teller (1983) | The Ventriloquist (1986) | |||
| The Explorer (1983) | The Clever Trick (1986) | |||
| The Whale (1983) | The Hero (1986) | |||
| The Invention (1984) | Caveman Cat (1986) | |||
| The Dream (1984) | The Abominable Snowman (1986) | |||
| The Robbery (1984) | ||||
| The Christmas Dinner (1984) | ||||
| The Film (1984) | ||||
| The Disco Dance (1984) | ||||
| The Artist (1984) |
Trivia[edit]
- "Reading" down Henry's Cat's face spells "Miiow" (M= ears, II= eyes, O= nose, W=mouth).
- Although a cat, Henry's Cat has no tail, similar to a real-life Manx cat.
- Intentional or not, there are similarities between the partnership of Henry's Cat and Chris Rabbit to that of Tony Hancock and Sid James in the classic 1950s radio/TV series Hancock's Half Hour (Henry's Cat/Hancock - the gullible, easily lead, sometimes pompous dreamer; Chris Rabbit/Sid - the crafty chancer, never misses a trick).
- 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.
- The three videos The Case of the Pilfered Pearls, The Computer and Once Upon a Time have a promotional Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends advert before the first story.
- Bob Godfrey Films' closing logo of this series was Henry meowing. The opening logo seemed to parody the MGM logo.
Credits[edit]
Series 1 (1982-1984)[edit]
- Created by: Stan Hayward
- Script: Stan Hayward
- Narrated by: Bob Godfrey
- Music and Sound: Peter Shade
- Animation: Bob Godfrey, Paul Stone, Kevin Baldwin
- Camera and Editing: Derek Phillips
- Production: Mike Hayes
- Produced and Directed by: Bob Godfrey
Series 2 (1984-1986)[edit]
- Created by: Stan Hayward
- Script: Stan Hayward
- Narrated by: Bob Godfrey
- Music: John Hyde / DeWolfe Ltd
- Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Malcolm Hartley, Drew Mandingo, Paul Stone, Mark Oz
- Trace and Paint: Tancy Baran, Beryl Godfrey, Louise Unwin
- Dubbing: John Wood Studios
- Camera: Derek Phillips
- Editing: Sean Lenihan, John Daniels
- Production: Mike Hayes
- Produced and Directed by: Bob Godfrey
Series 3 (1985-1989)[edit]
- Created by: Stan Hayward
- Script: Stan Hayward, Kevin Baldwin, Mike Knowles, Bob Godfrey
- Narrated by: Bob Godfrey
- Music: Rowland Lee
- Title Music: Jonathan P. Hodge
- Animation: Kevin Baldwin
- Additional Animation: Jeff Goldner, Neil Salmon, Bob Godfrey
- Storyboard and Layout: Kevin Baldwin
- Backgrounds: Bob Godfrey
- Trace and Paint: Denise Hambry, Lisa Smith, Jazvinda Phull, Beryl Godfrey, Ricky Arnold
- Camera: Heather Reader
- Editing: Picturehead
- Production: Mike Hayes
- Produced and Directed by: Bob Godfrey