Hong Kong Phooey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hong Kong Phooey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | animated series |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 31 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
William Hanna, Joseph Barbera |
| Producer(s) | Iwao Takamoto |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | September 7, 1974 – September 4, 1976 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Laff-A-Lympics, CB Bears |
| External links | |
| Production website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Hong Kong Phooey is a 16-episode (31 shorts) Hanna-Barbera animated series that first aired on ABC Saturday morning from September 7, 1974 to September 4, 1976. The star, Hong Kong Phooey, is the secret alter ego of Penrod Pooch, or Penry (sometimes mispronounced "Henry"), a "mild-mannered" police station janitor. Although Penry/Phooey appears to be the only anthropomorphic dog in the entire city where the series is set, no one ever connects his two identities.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Hong Kong Phooey is supposedly a master of kung fu and other martial arts. The stories begin at the police headquarters, where Hong Kong Phooey's alter ego, Penry, works as a mild-mannered janitor. He works with Sergeant Flint (Sarge) and Rosemary, the telephone operator, who has a major crush on Hong Kong Phooey. After Rosemary gets a call and explains the criminals' crime Penry would run into a filing cabinet to transform himself into Hong Kong Phooey. In each episode, he ends up needing help from his loyal (somewhat less anthropomorphic) striped cat and sidekick, Spot, to get him out. Hong Kong never quite notices Spot's help, but instead is always proud of himself because he thinks he is the one who does everything.
Phooey would get into his Phooeymobile and would use the "bong of the gong" to turn it into whatever sort of vehicle best suited the occasion. He would find the thieves committing their crime. Mostly, Spot was the one who found a way to capture the criminals and foil their crime, but on occasion Hong Kong Phooey captures the villain on his own through sheer dumb luck. But because Hong Kong was the reputed superhero, every time Spot would save the day, everyone else (including Phooey) credited Hong Kong Phooey with being the hero. Every episode would end with a return to police headquarters, where Penry would usually have some sort of accident that would cause Sarge to yell at him. Still, Penry was never hurt by Sarge's yelling but would find a way to compliment himself on his incognito crime-fighting prowess as Spot sighed.
A running gag was that Hong Kong Phooey was such a respected hero that, when his incompetence caused him to crash into, harm, or otherwise inconvenience a civilian, the passerby would declare what an honor it was to have so interacted with "the great Hong Kong Phooey." On one occasion, for example, he drove the Phooeymobile through some wet cement, splattering the workers, who said that it was an honor to have a whole day's work ruined by "the great Hong Kong Phooey."
[edit] Overview
Sergeant Flint was very similar both in voice and appearance to Botch, assistant zoo-keeper at the Wonderland Zoo on Help! It's The Hair Bear Bunch. Hong Kong Phooey was voiced by Scatman Crothers, who was also the voice of Scat Cat in Disney's The Aristocats (not to be confused with Scat Cat from the live-action show called The Skatebirds which Scatman also did the voice for). Sergeant Flint was voiced by Joe E. Ross, best known as Officer Gunther Toody in the 50's TV series Car 54, Where Are You?. As Flint, Ross revived Toody's famous "Oooh! Oooh!" exclamation. Like many Hanna-Barbera shows from this era, Hong Kong Phooey was originally broadcast with a laugh track. In the episode "Comedy Cowboys," several new cartoon characters (Honcho, The Mysterious Maverick, and Posse Impossible) appeared and helped to clear Hong Kong of a crime he didn't commit. Posse Impossible found their way onto The CB Bears Show.
The show's eponymous theme song later became a novelty hit, airing on The Dr. Demento Show several times. Ska-punk band Sublime would later cover this song for the 1995 album Saturday Morning Cartoon's Greatest Hits and later it would be released on the DVD of their posthumous 2006 boxset "Everything Under the Sun".
[edit] Episode guide
| Episode Number | Title/Production Number | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| HKP-1 | Car Thieves (prod. #74-1 Act 1) / Zoo Story (prod. #74-1 Act 2) | September 7, 1974 |
| HKP-2 | Iron Head, the Robot (prod. #74-2 Act 1) / Cotton Pickin' Pocket Picker (prod. #74-2 Act 2) | September 14, 1974 |
| HKP-3 | Grandma Goody (prod. #74-3 Act 1) / Candle Power (prod. #74-3 Act 2) | September 21, 1974 |
| HKP-4 | The Penthouse Burglaries (prod. #74-4 Act 1) / Batty Bank Mob (prod. #74-4 Act 2) | September 28, 1974 |
| HKP-5 | The Voltage Villain (prod. #74-5 Act 1) / The Giggler (prod. #74-5 Act 2) | October 5, 1974 |
| HKP-6 | The Gumdrop Kid (prod. #74-6 Act 1) / Professor Presto (prod. #74-6 Act 2) | October 12, 1974 |
| HKP-7 | TV or Not TV (prod. #74-7 Act 1) / Stop Horsing Around (prod. #74-7 Act 2) | October 19, 1974 |
| HKP-8 | Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (prod. #74-8 Act 1) / Great Movie Mystery (prod. #74-8 Act 2) | October 26, 1974 |
| HKP-9 | The Claw (prod. #74-9 Act 1) / Hong Kong Phooey vs. Hong Kong Phooey (prod. #74-9 Act 2) | November 2, 1974 |
| HKP-10 | The Abominable Snowman (prod. #74-10 Act 1) / Professor Crosshatch (prod. #74-10 Act 2) | November 9, 1974 |
| HKP-11 | Goldfisher (prod. #74-11 Act 1) / Green Thumb (prod. #74-11 Act 2) | November 16, 1974 |
| HKP-12 | From Bad to Verse (prod. #74-12 Act 1) / Kong and the Counterfeiters (prod. #74-12 Act 2) | November 23, 1974 |
| HKP-13 | The Great Choo Choo Robbery (prod. #74-13 Act 1) / Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Bakery Man (prod. #74-13 Act 2) | November 30, 1974 |
| HKP-14 | Mr. Tornado (prod. #74-14 Act 1) / The Little Crock Who Wasn't There (prod. #74-14 Act 2) | December 7, 1974 |
| HKP-15 | Dr. Disguiso (prod. #74-15 Act 1) / The Incredible Mr. Shrink (prod. #74-15 Act 2) | December 14, 1974 |
| HKP-16 | Comedy Cowboys (prod. #74-16 Act 1) / Storm Warning (prod. #74-16 Act 2) | December 21, 1974 |
[edit] Production credits
- EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: WILLIAM HANNA and JOSEPH BARBERA
- Directed by: Charles A. Nichols
- Creative Producer: Iwao Takamoto
- RECORDING DIRECTOR: Wally Burr
- EXECUTIVE STORY CONSULTANT: Myles Wilder
- STORY EDITOR: Bill Raynor
- STORYBOARD EDITORS: Alex Lovy, Lew Marshall, Cullen Houghtaling
- WRITERS: Fred Fox & Seaman Jacobs, Len Janson & Chuck Menville, Larz Bourne, Jack Mendelsohn
- VOICES: Scatman Crothers, Richard Dawson, Ron Feinberg, Kathy Gori, Bob Holt, Casey Kasem, Jay Lawrence, Peter Leeds, Allan Melvin, Don Messick, Alan Oppenheimer, Bob Ridgely, Joe E. Ross, Fran Ryan, Hal Smith, Jean Vander Pyl, Lee Vines, Janet Waldo, Frank Welker, Paul Winchell, Lennie Weinrib
- PRODUCTION DESIGN: Bob Singer
- PRODUCTION SUPERVISION: Victor O. Schipek
- TITLES: Iraj Paran
- MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Hoyt Curtin
- MUSIC SUPERVISION: Paul DeKorte
- CHARACTER DESIGN: Marty Murphy
- LAYOUT UNIT MANAGER: Willie Ito
- LAYOUT: Alvaro Arce, Ed Benedict, Jamie Diaz, Barry Goldberg, Gary Hoffman, Don Jurwich, Lin Larsen, Phillip Mendez, Dardo Valez
- UNIT DIRECTOR: Bill Keil
- ANIMATION: Robert Bemiller, Emil Carle, Steve Clark, James Davis, Lillian Evans, Marcia Fertig, Bob Goe, Julie Lackenby, Joan Swanson, Dave Tendlar, Ken Muse, Bill Nunes, Joan Orbison, Rod Parkes, Ed Parks, Tom Ray, Jay Sarbry, Joel Seibel, Hicks Lokey, Bob Maxfield, Russell Von Neida
- BACKGROUND SUPERVISION: Fernando Montealegre
- BACKGROUND: Lorraine Andrina, Richard Khim
- TECHNICAL SUPERVISION: Frank Paiker
- CHECKING AND SCENE PLANNING: Evelyn Sherwood
- INK AND PAINT SUPERVISION: Billie Kerns
- XEROGRAPHY: Robert "Tiger" West
- SOUND DIRECTION: Richard Olson, Bill Getty
- SUPERVISING FILM EDITOR: Larry Cowan
- MUSIC EDITOR: Joe Sandusky
- SOUND EFFECTS EDITOR: Milton Krear
- NEGATIVE CONSULTANT: William E. DeBoer
- POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISION: Joed Eaton
- CAMERA: Ralph Migliori, Louis Niemeyer, Roy Wade, Dennis Weaver
- PRODUCTION MANAGER: Art Scott
- ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER: Jayne Barbera
- A HANNA-BARBERA PRODUCTION
- © 1974 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.
[edit] DVD Release
On August 15, 2006, Warner Home Video released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Phooey- The Complete Series | 31 | August 15, 2006 |
|
[edit] Voices
- Scatman Crothers - Hong Kong Phooey/Penrod "Penry" Pooch
- Kathy Gori - Rosemary
- Joe E. Ross - Sergeant Flint
- Don Messick - Spot
[edit] Hong Kong Phooey in other languages
- Brazilian Portuguese: Hong Kong Fu
- Spanish: Hong Kong Phooey
- German: Hong Kong Pfui
- Japanese: ほえよ! 0011 (Hoeyo! 0011)
- Swedish: Hong Kong Phooey
- French: Hong Kong Foufou
- Portuguese: Hong Kong Phooey
[edit] Popular culture
Outside of his native cartoon, Hong Kong Phooey was later featured/referenced in several media:
- In Laff-A-Lympics, he was a member of the Scooby Doobies (a large Hanna-Barbara franchise group including fellow super-heroes Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, and Captain Caveman).
- Decades later, Hong Kong Phooey subsequently guest-starred in an episode of Duck Dodgers. A reimagining of the character also appeared in a Flash cartoon with a more serious, action-focused tone. The animation was originally viewable on the Cartoon Network website during 2001.
- Hong Kong Phooey appeared in the Robot Chicken episode "S&M Present" voiced by Seth Green. In the "Enter the Fat One" segment, he was one of the many opponents that Joey Fatone had to face in a martial arts tournament. In another episode of that series, "Ban on the Fun," the Laff-A-Lympics experiences the Munich massacre. Scooby finds out that Hong Kong Phooey is dead, and apparently just realized Phooey was a dog.
- 2006 McFarlane Toys released an action figure of the character through its Hanna-Barbera series of toys.
- A live-action adaptation produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions & Brett Rattner's Rat Entertainment is rumored for a 2010 release. Jackie Chan & Larry Joe Campbell have been rumored to have roles with Chan providing the voice of Hong Kong Phooey/Penrod "Penry" Pooch and Larry Joe Campbell in the role of Sergeant Flint. The film will be distributed by Warner Bros.[1][2]
- Hibernian F.C. right back Thierry Gathuessi is known affectionately among fans as "Hong Kong Thierry" on account of his amusingly aggressive playing style.
[edit] External links
- Hong Kong Phooey at the Internet Movie Database
- Big Cartoon DataBase: Hong Kong Phooey
- InternationalHero Hong Kong Phooey tribute
- Wingnut Toons episode list
- Cartoon Network Flash animation (updated version of 70's original) - cached copy from Internet Archives
- Warner Bros. - Hong Kong Phooey on DVD - The Official Site
- Cartoon Network: Dept. of Cartoons: Hong Kong Phooey - cached copy from Internet Archives
--68.188.91.144 (talk) 23:24, 2 June 2008 (UTC)
