REAL SCARY STORIES

 

REAL SCARY STORIES / SCARY…BUT TRUE
(FOX Family, October 21, 2000-March 10, 2001)
 
Highland Entertainment

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Hollie Ralph – Narrator
Patrick Russell – Narrator

 

            Real Scary Stories was a documentary-style series that saw a different group of teenagers from around the country set out to confront an unusual occurrence in their area; from haunted mansions and firehouses to urban legends. The viewers would then follow along as the teens trapsed around spooky locations, being terrified by various sounds or near-encounters.

Exploring the U.S.S. Hornet.

            Created, produced and co-directed by Don Wells through his production company, Highland Entertainment, the series relied on the submissions of real teenagers who have had ghostly encounters or knew of a local legend. Once the production selected the story they wanted to follow, they organized an expedition to bring those teens into a direct encounter with whatever entity was involved; most commonly by having them spend the night in a haunted location or an investigation of an affected area after sunset. Of course, since the supernatural really doesn’t appear on camera on demand, these adventures were often sweetened by clever sound design, specific editing cuts, and intentional camera angles. Supplementing the main action and were interviews with other locals and relatives to add more details to the phenomenon. After the encounter, the teens would gather for a recap of what they just experienced.

Spending the night in a haunted firehouse.

            Real Scary Stories debuted on FOX Family (now Freeform) on October 21, 2000; renamed Scary…But True for international airings. Depending on length, two or three different story segments aired per half-hour episode. Hollie Ralph and Patrick Russell served as the monotone narrators; introducing the scenario and the players involved. The two would alternate turns, generally marked by briefly overlapping and reading the same line together as one faded in and the other faded out in order to create an eerie, otherworldly effect with their voices. Each episode would end with a P.O. Box address that viewers could send submissions to potentially wind up as a future segment. The series was written by Wells along with Michael Koegel, Christopher Manahl and Helen Demeranville.  Music was composed by Shuki Levy, Haim Saban (as Kussa Mahchi), John Majkut and Barry Kolsky.

Strange emanations appear in photographs of Diane.

            After 13 irregularly scheduled episodes, the series ultimately ended up being cancelled in favor of the very similar Scariest Places on Earth, which debuted on the network two days later and featured star power in the form of The Exorcist’s Linda Blair and Poltergeist’s Zelda Rubinstein. Real would remain on the network for a while as a schedule-filler, even after it was taken over by Disney and renamed ABC Family. It last aired during 2002’s 13 Nights of Halloween programming block, but would return for one more time in 2010 on the now-defunct channel Chiller TV under its Scary title. In the years since, almost every episode has found its way to YouTube through fan uploads.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Rest in Peace / Haunted Home Video / Green Man Tunnel” (10/21/00) – After buying a new bed from an antique shop, Jason feels a presence in his room. / Heather discovers a ghost on her family’s Christmas tape. / An antisocial figure haunts the train tunnels in a Pennsylvania town.

 

“Cell Block Four / Seacoast Theater Poltergeist” (10/28/00) – Danny explores Eastern State Penitentiary with a team of ghost hunters. / A poltergeist haunts a local theater and causes havoc during the final performances of shows.

 

“Jersey Devil / The Grey Ghost / Ray the Banisher” (11/18/00) – The 13^th generational descendant of the Jersey Devil decides it’s time that they meet. / Four teens investigate the possible haunting of the USS Hornet. / Ray is your average teenager—except he’s able to communicate with the dead. 

 

“Bachelor’s Grove / The Vortex” (11/25/00) – Mark and his classmates investigate the hauntings at Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery. / Ray and his friends see if ghosts remain at the ruins of an exploded munitions factory.

 

“The Haunted Lighthouse / The Altamaha Sea Monster / Martha” (12/2/00) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

 

“Anges, Are You There? / Room 347 / Bodie’s Curse” (11/16/00) – Erin attempts to communicate with the ghost of the woman entombed in her school’s walls. / C.J. returns to the hotel where he once befriended a ghost girl. / Two girls investigate the curse of bad luck that befalls anyone that removes something from the ghost town of Bodie.

 

“Virginia City Dare / 13 Curves” (1/20/01) – Jaena and Chris dare each other to stay in Virgina City’s two most haunted houses until midnight. / Joe sets out to make a documentary about a dangerous stretch of road, complete with a séance led by a psychic.

 

“Gurdon’s Light / Condie’s Ghost” (1/27/01) – Teens investigate the railroad tracks where a railroad foreman was murdered and his headless ghost now roams. / While visiting her friend at college, Sarah discovers that her dormitory is haunted.

 

“McPike Mansion / The Search for Bigfoot / The Haunting of Diane” (2/3/01) – Drew and his friends investigate the ruins of the most haunted mansion in town. / Richie leads an expedition into the woods to try and discover if Bigfoot is really out there. / Diane looks into why strange objects appear around her whenever she’s photographed.

 

“The Lady in Gray / The Deacon” (2/10/01) – Zach plots to make a ghost angry enough to manifest in the library she haunts. / Local kids investigate a ghost known as The Deacon that supposedly watches over the Depreciation Lands Museum.

 

“Lemp Mansion / The Haunted Firehouse / The Winchester Mansion” (2/24/01) – Teens investigate the abandoned home of a family driven to extinction by madness. / Kurt plans to spend a night in the firehouse where a heartbroken fireman killed himself. / Three teens investigate the mansion of Sarah Winchester, designed to keep her safe from the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles.

 

“The Myrtle Plantation / Manresa Castle” (3/3/01) – Erin and Shalita plan to spend the night at a haunted plantation. / Joey and Kasey spend the night in a castle haunted by the ghost of a priest that committed suicide.

 

“Mansfield Prison / The Ghost of the Inyos” (3/10/01) – Rob and his friends investigate the most haunted prison in the country. / Chareen and Felicia see if the ghost of mass murderer Antoine Benoit is still haunting the Inyo Mountains where he died.

LITTLE DRACULA

 

LITTLE DRACULA
(FOX, Fox Family, September 3, 1991-October 13, 1999)
 
Steven Hahn Productions, Sachs Family Entertainment, Bandai Entertainment

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Edan Gross – Little Dracula
Joe Flaherty – Big Dracula
Jonathan Winters – Igor, Granny
Kath Soucie – Mrs. Dracula, Millicent, Spirits of the Netherworld Operator
Melvyn Hayes – Deadwood
Joey Camen – Werebunny
Brian Cummings – Garlic Man
Neil Ross – Maggot
Danny Mann – No Eyes, Twin-Beaks

 

Little Dracula is a British series of children’s books that centered on the daily adventures of Dracula’s son, nicknamed Little D. Along with his father, Little D lived in Castle Dracula in Transylvania with his mother, Mrs. Dracula, little sister, Millicent, and his Granny. Other residents included Igor, Dracula’s all-purpose servant who had a removable eye; Slave, a zombie servant that was frequently used and abused by everyone, especially Igor; Handy, a disembodied sentient hand; and their pets, Cat, Batty and later Rover, a werewolf cub. During the day, the nearby villagers were out and about, but at sunset they would retreat to their homes and the night belonged to the Draculas.

One of the series' two-page spreads.

The books were written by Martin Waddell and illustrated by Joseph Wright. They took some inspiration from Charles Addams’ The Addams Family strips and its adaptations by blending macabre imagery with humor and enough silliness to be kid-friendly. For instance: liberal use of blood as beverages or condiments; skulls doubling as bowling or croquet balls; emptying the contents of a severed human head into a frying pan for breakfast; eating a sandwich made from a severed human leg; getting blood delivered like bottles of milk; Little D sawing his sister in half and later gluing her back together; an iron maiden complete with skeletal occupant as a Christmas gift, etc. All of this was conveyed through Wright’s highly-detailed artwork, infusing safe-yet-grotesque sight gags into every picture. Each book would open with a two-page spread of the Dracula castle grounds showcasing the occupants and other beings doing various activities within and without. A number next to some characters would correspond to a list identifying who each character was; including random characters that played no part in the actual story such as a werewolf and Frankenstein’s monster.

The first Little Dracula book.

The first book in the series, Little Dracula’s First Bite, debuted in 1986 and was published by Walker Books. Seven books followed through 1992; however, the Fiendishly Funny Joke Book was done by the different creative team of Alan Durant and Paul Tempest. Candlewick Press would pick up the international rights to the series and release the books in North America, and four of the books would see reissues as late as 2001.

Little D with Igor, Deadwod, Dracula, Millicent, Mrs. Dracula, Werebunny, Batty and Granny.

In the 1990s, it was decided to adapt Little Dracula into an animated series. Produced by Steven Hahn Productions in association with Sachs Family Entertainment, the cartoon took deep inspiration from the books. However, since the books were very short, didn’t have too much depth to their stories, and weren’t many of them, some liberties were taken to flesh them out further in order to fill an entire season of television episodes. Little D (Edan Gross) still lived in the caste with Big Dracula (Joe Flaherty, as a nod to his Count Floyd character from SCTV), Mrs. Dracula (Kath Soucie), Millicent (also Soucie), and his Granny (Jonahtan Winters, sounding fairly close to his Maude Frickert character). On his birthday, Little D was gifted the Scepter of the Draculas, which could create a doorway to anywhere or open any locked door, an amulet that would allow him to communicate with anyone, and a hat that would allow him to go out into the sunlight unharmed. Little D combated his difficulty with flying by designing a flying car, the Dracster (a vampire-themed play on dragster).

Igor presenting the Draculas with his Santa-catching trap.

Igor (also Winters), on top of being Dracula’s servant and Little D’s keeper, was also the live-in mad scientist who cooked up bizarre inventions for the Draculas. That included a special top hat that allowed Little D to go outside in the daytime. Slave was renamed Deadwood (Melvyn Hayes), likely to avoid the controversy of the Draculas being slave-owners. He was often Igor’s guinea pig or tool. He would often make sarcastic comments about situations or predicaments, but nobody ever seemed to hear him clearly. Handy helped out around the castle and was excellent at sleight-of-hand magic. Along with their established pets Battie and Wolfie (renamed from Rover), Cat was replaced by a fuzzy spider.

Little D taking Werebunny for a ride in the Dracster.

Newly-created for the series was Little D’s best friend, Werebunny (Joey Camen); a blue-furred half werewolf, half bunny with a single eye. There was also Twin-Beaks (a play on “Twin Peaks”, voiced by Danny Mann), a two-headed vulture that often hung out in the dead trees by the castle and whose heads tended to bicker with each other. Both attended the same Ghoul School as Little D…in Twin Beaks’ case because their right head was held back for 17 years. As Little D was unable to fly just yet, he turned his car, the Dracster, into a flying car to compensate for it.

The sinister Garlic Man.

Other new characters were antagonists for the show. Dracula’s sworn enemy was Garlic Man (Brian Cummings), who wanted nothing more than to destroy him (since vampires hated garlic, after all). He had a garlic head and a stench to match. Whenever he was defeated, Garlic Man would be reduced to a garlic clove, but be could be resurrected via a ceremony of planting it and reciting a chant. He was served by two lackies: the aptly-named No Eyes (Mann), who also had an interchangeable mechanical hand, and the boil-covered Maggot (Neil Ross).

The Man With No Eyes and Maggot saluting their boss (while dealing with his stench).

Little Dracula debuted on FOX on September 3, 1991 as part of the Fox Kids programming block. The series was written by Pamela Hickey and Dennys McCoy, with Frank Ward and Trish Stewart serving as special consultants. Character and background designs were handled by John Norton, Gary Selvaggio, Craig Clark, Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, Jeff Myers, Debbie A. Silver, Sung-Woo Hong, Emily Schwappach Michels, John Petrovitz and Vadim Sokolov. The series’ music was done by The Music Team, Andrew Dimitroff and Stephen C. Marston, and animation duties were handled by Island Animation, Inc. (now part of Dong Woo Animation).

Little D with his scepter and protective hat.

Little Dracula had an interesting run. It aired from Tuesday through Saturday its debut week, and was then replaced by Beetlejuice on weekdays and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures on Saturday. The next episode wouldn’t air until Halloween that year. The remaining seven episodes wouldn’t run until the series was rerun on Fox Family Channel (now Freeform) in 1999. Although it was never seen in North America again, second season of 13 episodes was commissioned overseas by Fance’s M6 network. Co-produced in France and Germany by IDDH and Renaissance-Atlantic Films, it aired exclusively in Europe under the title Draculito, Mon Saigneur.

An equally short-lived toyline was co-produced by DreamWorks, who handled the North American release, and Bandai, who handled other territories. Two versions of Little D, Deadwood, Garlic Man, Igor, Maggot, The Man With No Eyes, Twin Beaks and Werebunny were released, along with the Dracster, the Garlicmobile, the Drac-Moto and the Coffin Car. Additionally, Little D’s scepter and amulet were offered as roleplay toys. Harvey Comics published a 3-issue mini-series seeing Little D on the trail of whoever staked his parents so that they can remove the stakes and bring his parents back to un-death. Like the books, the first issue featured a two-page introduction spread of Dracula’s castle. The comic was done by Michael Gallagher, Dave Manak, Jorge Pacheco, and In Color.

The Harvey Comics version of the two-page introduction spread.

Between 1993-94, Abbey Home Media released episodes of Little Dracula across four VHS collections in PAL regions. Little Dracula’s Fangtastic Video featured “Little ‘D’ Goes Hawaiian”, “Bat Boys” and “Easy Biters”; Little Dracula’s Video Full of Frightfull Suprises featured “Little D’s Surprise”, “Deadwood’s Complaint” and “The Chamber of Unspeakable Terrors”; and Little Dracula’s Video With a Bite had “Little D’s First Bite” and “The Curse of the Ghastly Minimum Wage”. “Little D’s Surprise” was also featured on The Biggest Ever Saturday Morning Heroes Video by Tempo Video, which also included episodes of The Adventures of T-Rex, James Bond Jr., Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Captain N: the Game Master, and Transformers. The original FOX-run episodes have been uploaded by viewers to YouTube.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:
“The Curse of the Ghastly Minimum Wage” (9/3/91) – Little D unwittingly becomes an employee for a new burger joint in town created solely to get rid of Dracula.
 
“Little D’s First Bite / Ghoul Days” (9/4/91) – It’s Little D’s first day of school, and Garlic Man enrolls Maggot in order to steal the Scepter of the Dracula’s from him.
 
“Little D’s Surprise” (9/5/91) – It’s Little Dracula’s birthday, and he’s finally of age to embrace his heritage—if he can master the flying that he’s neglected practicing.
 
“The Bite Before Christmas” (9/6/91) – While the Draculas anticipate the arrival of Santa, Garlic Man decides to disguise himself as Santa in order to infiltrate their castle.
 
“Little ‘D’ Goes Hawaiian” (9/7/91) – Sick of the Transylvanian weather, Dracula decides to take everyone on a vacation to Hawaii.
 
“Little D’s Halloween” (10/31/91) – The Draculas dress as ordinary people to accompany Little D on his first time trick-or-treating in the village with Garlic Man in hot pursuit.
 
“Bat Boys” (9/12/99) – Little D battles Garlic Man and his minions in a game of baseball with his schoolmates.
 
“Easy Biters” (9/14/99) – Igor changes Little D’s bike into a motorcycle, leading to him and his friends crossing paths with a bad motorcycle gang looking for a challenge.
 
“Deadwood’s Complaint” (9/17/99) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Chamber of Unspeakable Terror” (9/17/99) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Bite at the Ghoul Schol Corral” (10/3/99) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Midnight Madness” (10/11/99) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Deadly Screentest” (10/13/99) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

MOTOR MOUSE

 

MOTOR MOUSE
(ABC, September 12, 1970-January 9, 1971)
 
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Thames International

 

MAIN CAST:
Marty Ingels – Autocat
Dick Curtis – Motormouse
Daws Butler – Lambsy Divey
Allan Melvin – Bristlehound
Paul Lynde – Mildew Wolf
Bill Callaway – Country (archive)
Julie Bennett – Kitty Jo, Chessie (archive)
Jim Begg – Scoots (archive)
Casey Kasem – Groove (archive)

  

Hanna-Barbera attempted to duplicate the success they found with The Banana Splits Adventure Hour by creating a new variety series headlined by a new fictional band of anthropomorphic animals, the Cattanooga Cats. Cattanooga Cats ultimately wasn’t received as well as they hoped; however, two of its segments, Motormouse and Autocat and It’s the Wolf! ended up standing out with audiences. For the next season, the hour-long program was broken up into two separate shows: Cattanooga Cats moved to Sundays, while Motor Mouse took over the Saturday timeslot with all-new episodes.

Autocat chasing Motormouse in one of his wacky vehicles.

The titular segment, Motormouse and Autocat, was essentially a Tom and Jerry clone. Autocat (Marty Ingles) was a fast-talking race car-driving cat that was hired to get rid of the motorcycle-riding Motormouse (Dick Curtis, using an over-enunciation of various words) from a garage. His tools of choice: bizarre vehicles he concocted designed to either trap or outrace Motormouse. Of course, those vehicles would often fail on Autocat or Motormouse would simply outsmart his opponent. Once Autocat clocked out, animosities would cease and the pair would be friendly with each other. Hanna-Barbera would also utilize strange vehicle chases as a central theme of Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines, which debuted the same year.

Mildew attempts to trick Lambsy into thinking he's one of his kind.

Despite the show’s title, the first segment aired was It’s the Wolf! It centered on hungry wolf, Mildew (Paul Lynde, who was uncredited), attempting to make a dinner out of sure-footed lamb, Lambsy Divey (inspired by the lyrics of the 1943 novelty song “Mairzy Doats” composed by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston, voiced by Daws Butler), utilizing various schemes and disguises. A recurring gag would have Lambsy easily see through Mildew’s disguises and give several incorrect rhyming guesses as to his true identity before crying out “It’s the wool-uff!” and summoning his protector, sheepdog Bristlehound (Allan Melvin). Bristelhound would appear, snag Mildew with his cane, pound him and send him flying off into the horizon. This segment was largely inspired by the Warner Bros. theatrical shorts featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, running from 1953-63. For Japanese airings, It’s the Wolf! was renamed Ramji-chan, giving Lambsy top billing due to their love of cute characters.

Motormouse tries to earn some extra dough as a taxi driver.

Motor Mouse debuted on ABC on September 12, 1970. Despite not having a starring feature in the show, the Cattanooga Cats shorts were rerun between story segments. The series was written by Larz Bourne, Eddie Brandt, Tom Dagenais, Len Janson, Earl Klein, Michael Maltese, Chuck Menville, Bill Perez, and Dalton Sandifer. Mike Curb served as musical director for the Cats shorts, while Ted Nichols did the rest of the show. Both series left the network at the start of the 1971 season, and wouldn’t be seen again until the various segments aired intermittently on Cartoon Network beginning in 1995 until 2000 and on sister channel Boomerang beginning in 2000 until 2012.

Bristlehound flattens Mildew, disguised as a horse.

The two segments would be featured strips in the anthology series Hanna-Barbera Fun-In from Gold Key Comics, Heroes de la Tele from Ediciones Recreativas in Spain, and in Wacky Races Annual Featuring Motormouse and Autocat and The Funky Phantom Annual Featuring Motormouse and Autocat by Brown Watson Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Motormouse and Autocat would headline their own German comic series published by Bastei-Verlag (now Bastei Lübbe), Auto Katz und Motor Maus, for 7 issues; a French series by Editions Williams, Autochat et Mimimoto, for 13 issues; a Spanish series, Troquelados Teledibujos. Serie Motormouse y Autocat, for four issues; and their own UK annual, Motormouse and Autocat with “It’s the Wolf!”, all in 1973. They would then headline their own German anthology series, Motor Maus, from 1977-79 for 56 issues. An episode was included as one of the reels for use in Kenner’s Easy-Show Movie Projector.

Mildew and Snagglepuss reliving their Laff-A-Lympics careers on Jellystone!

Mildew, arguably the most popular character, would go on to star in Laff-A-Lympics as an announcer voiced by John Stephenson, and would become a recurring character in Jellystone! voiced by Bernardo de Paula. Lambsy would also appear, voiced by Dana Snyder, after last appearing in 1972’s Yogi’s Ark Lark, as would Bristlehound as an employee of the town courthouse. All three Wolf characters would also become featured costumed characters walking around Kings Island amusement park in Cincinnati, Ohio, when it was opened in 1972 by then-Hanna-Barbera parent company, Taft Broadcasting.

  

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Lamb Scout Cook Out / Catch as Cat Can” (9/12/70) – Mildew uses Lambsy’s new membership in the Lamb Scouts as a ploy to trap him. / Autocat hires a mouse-catching expert to help him catch Motormouse.

 

“Wolf in a Sheep’s Clothing / Catnapping Mouse” (9/19/70) – Mildew dons disguises while Bristlehound and Lambsy search for Little Bo Peep’s lost sheep. / Autocat tries to catch Motormouse as he sleepwalks.

 

“To Beach His Own / Paint That Ain’t” (9/26/70) – Mildew plans to ruin Bristlehound and Lambsy’s day at the beach. / Motormouse’s new paint job gives Autocat ideas on how to snag him.

 

“Sheep Scene Stealer / I’ve Been Framed” (10/3/70) – Mildew uses Lambsy’s acting against him./ Motormouse takes up painting.

 

“Kookie Cook Book Cook / Match Making Mouse” (10/10/70) – Mildew’s recipe calls for lamb, and he wants Lambsy to be it. / Autocat interrupts Motormouse’s picnic and ends up having to deal with his girlfriend.

 

“Train Tripped / Electronic Brainstorm” (10/17/70) – Mildew follows Bristlehound and Lambsy on a train trip. / Autocat uses a computer to help him figure out a way to catch Motormouse.

 

“I Never Met a Lamb I Didn’t Like / Brute Farce” (10/24/70) – Mildew tries to cure Lambsy’s boredom as a ploy to trap him. / After Autocat gets fired, Motormouse finds himself dealing with an even rougher cat.

 

“Bouncing Buddies” (10/31/70) – Motormouse tries to get his package from the post office while evading Autocat.

 

“Channel Chasers / Ramblin’ Wreck from Texas” (11/7/70) – Mildew tricks Lambsy into thinking he’s a film director while he pretends to be on TV. / Autocat’s uncle comes to town to visit and helps pursue Motormouse.

 

“Two Car Mirage” (11/14/70) – Autocat pursues Motormouse as he goes for a ride through the desert.

 

“Alacazap” (11/21/70) – Motormouse uses his new magic kit to foil Autocat’s traps.

 

“Genie and the Meanie” (11/28/70) – Autocat finds a genie in a carburetor and uses his wishes to try and catch Motormouse.

 

“Choo Choo Cheetah” (12/5/70) – Autocat hides an escaped cheetah and in return he helps try to capture Motormouse.

 

“The Fastest Mouse in the West” (12/12/70) – Autocat follows Motormouse to his uncle’s ranch.

 

“Cat Skill School” (12/19/70) – Autocat’s nephew seems more interested in befriending Motormouse than catching him.

 

“The Cool Cat Contest” (12/26/70) – Autocat challenges another cat to capture Motormouse for a date with a female cat.

 

“Lights! Action! Catastrophe!” (1/2/71) – A producer films a movie at the garage and seems to want Motormouse to star more than Autocat.

 

“Follow That Cat” (1/9/71) – Motormouse tries to run a taxi service while evading Autocat.

CATTANOOGA CATS

 CATTANOOGA CATS
(ABC, September 6-December 27, 1969)
 
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Thames International

 

 

MAIN CAST:

Bill Callaway – Country

Julie Bennett – Kitty Jo, Chessie

Jim Begg – Scoots

Casey Kasem – Groove

Michael Lloyd & Peggy Clinger – Cattanooga Cats singing voices

Bruce Watson – Phineas “Finny” Fogg Jr.

Janet Waldo – Jenny Trent

Don Messick – Hoppy, Smirky, Opening Announcer

Daws Butler – Crumden, Lambsy Divey

Allan Melvin – Bumbler, Bristlehound

Paul Lynde – Mildew Wolf

Marty Ingels – Autocat

Dick Curtis – Motormouse

 

 

Hanna-Barbera sought to further bolster their offerings in the growing fictional band genre while duplicating the success they found with The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. They created a new variety program with an anthropomorphic band as the headliners. However, this time around, it would be completely animated. The resulting program was Cattanooga Cats.

Promotional art of Groove, Country, Kitty Jo and Scoots with super-fan Chessie and Teeny Tim.

The titular segment focused on the Cattanooga Cats (a play on Chattanooga, Tennessee) band comprised of Country (Bill Callaway), the lead singer and guitarist who also drove their converted bus, Gashopper; Kitty Jo (Julie Bennet), a singer and dancer that occasionally also drove the bus; Scoots (Jim Begg), the bassist with a magic crayon that could create anything out of thin air to get the group out of a jam; and Groove (Casey Kasem), the drummer that always spoke in rhyme. A fifth member, a keyboardist mouse named Cheesie, made it as far as storyboards but ultimately cut out of the final production. Ads for the series would also feature 5 members and presumably older, mod-inspired designs, rather than their final ones. They usually ended up embroiled in some kind of misadventure along the way to a gig; be it pestered by the supernatural—both real and man-made—or eluding a persistent autograph hound. Only nine full episodes were made with the Cats, however they would appear in bumpers and musical numbers between the other cartoons with the addition of Kitty Jo’s big blue dog, Teeny Tim (named after the Tiny Tim character from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens).

The Cattanooga Cats album.

Producer Mike Curb served as the series’ musical director and co-wrote all of the Cats’ songs along with Valjean Johns, Guy Hemric, Shaun Harris, Johnny Cymbal, Harley Hatcher, Jerry Styner, Roger Christian, Debra Clinger, Michael Lloyd and Peggy Clinger. Lloyd and Peggy Clinger also provided the Cats’ singing voices. 34 songs were produced in all, not including the series’ theme. Several songs were covers previously handled by Curb Records. “Cold Wisconsin Night (Sittin’ by the Fireside)” was recorded in 1968 by The American Revolution as “Cold Wisconsin Nights”; “I Wish I Was a Fire” and “My Girlfriend is a Witch” were recorded in 1968 by October Country; “My Birthday Suit” was composed for the 1968 independent hicksploitation comedy Jennie: Wife/Child, aka Albert Peckinpaw’s Revenge; the melody of “The Day That Love Won’t Stay Away” originated from the traditional Irish ballad, “The King of the Fairies”; and “Sing a Song of Sixpence” and “Johnny Johnny Jump Up” were based on traditional children’s songs.

Title card for It's the Wolf! featuring Bristlehound, Mildew and Lambsy.

It’s the Wolf! centered on hungry wolf, Mildew (Paul Lynde, who was uncredited), attempting to make a dinner out of sure-footed lamb, Lambsy Divey (inspired by the lyrics of the 1943 novelty song “Mairzy Doats” composed by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston, voiced by Butler), utilizing various schemes and disguises. A recurring gag would have Lambsy easily see through Mildew’s disguises and give several incorrect rhyming guesses as to his true identity before crying out “It’s the wool-uff!” Lambsy was under the watchful guard of sheepdog Bristlehound (Melvin), and when Lambsy called out Bristelhound would appear, snag Mildew with his cane, pound him and send him flying off into the horizon. This segment was largely inspired by the Warner Bros. theatrical shorts featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, running from 1953-63. For Japanese airings, It’s the Wolf! was renamed Ramji-chan, giving Lambsy top billing due to their love of cute characters.

Around the World in 79 Days title card featuring Crumden and his crew looking at Phineas and his.

Around the World in 79 Days was a sequel to the Jules Verne novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. Phineas “Finny” Fogg Jr. (Bruce Watson) was the American great-great-grandson of Phileas Fogg who set out to not only beat his relative’s record, but gain a £1,000,000 inheritance by doing so. Joining him along the way were teenaged reporters Jenny Trent (Janet Waldo) and Hoppy (Don Messick). Attempting to stop him and get the money himself was Crumden (Daws Butler), the crooked butler of Phileas, his idiotic chauffer, Bumbler (Allan Melvin), and his pet monkey, Smirky (Messick). Unlike the other segments, 79 Days was serialized rather than episodic. Another unrelated attempt at adapting the novel would come 3 years later on rival network NBC.

Title card for Motormouse and Autocat, with the titular characters in mid chase.

Motormouse and Autocat was essentially a Tom and Jerry clone; however, utilizing various wild vehicles. Autocat (Marty Ingles) was a fast-talking race car-driving cat that was hired to get rid of the motorcycle-riding Motormouse (Dick Curtis, using an over-enunciation of various words) from a garage. To do so, he continually concocted bizarre vehicle contraptions in order to snag him. Of course, those vehicles would often fail on Autocat or Motormouse would simply outsmart his opponent. Hanna-Barbera would also utilize strange vehicle chases as a central theme of the concurrently-airing Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines.

The Cats in the Gashopper.

Cattanooga Cats debuted on ABC on September 6, 1969. The series was written by Neal Barbera, Larz Bourne, Eddie Brandt, Tom Dagenais, Len Janson, Earl Klein, Bill Lutz, Michael Maltese, Chuck Menville, Bill Perez, Joe Ruby, Dalton Sandifer, Martin Smith and Ken Spears. Along with Curb, producers William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were credited with the series’ theme. Ted Nichols handled the rest of the series’ music. To coincide with the series’ release, an album of 11 of the Cats’ songs were released by Forward Records and EMI, along with the singles “Mother May I” and “Merry-Go-Round”. The music has never seen a reissue, but as the album’s copyright was allowed to lapse in 1997 pirated recordings found their way online and for sale as bootleg CDs. While working on the show, layout artist Jerry Eisenberg had some fun with his new Super 8 camera during lunch breaks. He filmed and directed a live-action spoof of It’s the Wolf starring animator Bonita Versh as Lambsy, layout artist Alex Ignatiev as Bristlehound, and animator/layout artist Joel Siebel as Mildew.

Mildew disguised as a little old lady.

As part of their hopes for another hit, Cattanooga Cats had a decent merchandising blitz. All but 79 Days would be featured strips in the anthology series Hanna-Barbera Fun-In from Gold Key Comics, Heroes de la Tele from Ediciones Recreativas in Spain, and in Wacky Races Annual Featuring Motormouse and Autocat by Brown Watson Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Ben Cooper produced a costume based on Country in 1969. Western Publishing Company made a Cats tray puzzle in 1969, followed by a Magic Slate and coloring book the next year. Plastirama made party favors including a hat and wrist bracelets featuring the Cats’ images. Selex Decal produced a set of Cats stickers. Country, Motormouse and Lambsy were featured on the design for a footrest for The Happy Kingdom of Hanna-Barbera.

The air race has turned into an ice race between Phineas and Crumden.

Unfortunately, the series failed to achieve the success Hanna-Barbera was looking for. At least in part. It’s the Wolf and Motormouse and Autocat turned out to be the stand-outs, and were split off into their own half hour the following year with brand new entries. Cattanooga Cats and 79 Days would be paired up for reruns on ABC Sunday mornings until both shows left the network the following season. Reruns of the various segments, particularly Motormouse and Wolf, would air intermittently on Cartoon Network beginning in 1995 until 2000 and on sister channel Boomerang beginning in 2000 until 2012. The complete series has never seen a home media release, but Walton Home Movies released 3 of the music videos and the theme and several episodes of Motormouse on Super 8 in 1971, and 12 Wolf episodes were released by Hanna-Barbera Home Video on VHS in 1988.

Mildew in Laff-A-Lympics.

Mildew would appear as an announcer on the series Laff-a-Lympics, voiced by John Stephenson impersonating Lynde. Lambsy would appear on his own in 1972’s Yogi’s Ark Lark. Mildew (Bernardo de Paula), Lambsy (Dana Snyder), and the Cattanooga Cats (as animatronics) would go on to make appearances in the streaming series Jellystone! Plans were in place to revive The Cattanooga Cats along with The Hair Bear Bunch and Snooper and Blabber as rotating features of the second season of 2 Stupid Dogs, but were ultimately scrapped.

            

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Witch Whacky / It’s the Wolf! / The Race is On / Wheelin’ and Dealin’” (9/6/69) – A witch plans to make Kitty Jo her replacement so she can finally retire. / Mildew Wolf plans to have Lambsy for dinner—if he can get past Bristlehound first. / Crumden attempts to end Phinny’s trip early in Paris. / Motormouse and Autocat compete with their newly-arrived upgrades.

Songs: “How Did I Ever Get So Lucky”, “My Group Has Too Many Cavities”

 

“Geronihoho / When My Sheep Comes In / Swiss Mis-Adventure / Party Crasher” (9/13/69) – The Cats deal with a Native American chief set on chasing tourists off his land to preserve it. / Mildew attempts to snag Lambsy while he’s on his way to an Australian sheep show. / A rescue dog saves the crew after Crumden leaves them frozen in the Alps. / Autocat attempts to crash Motormouse’s party.

Songs: “My Girl Friend is a Witch”, “Alle Alle Oxen Free”

 

“The Big Boo-Boo / A Sheep in the Deep / Arabian Daze / Water Sports” (9/20/69) – A princess’ servant decides to kidnap Kitty Jo so that the princess may learn the Cats’ dances. / Mildew finds Bristlehound and Lambsy on a deserted island. / Crumden kidnaps Jenny to give to a sheik to be his princess. / Autocat tries to get Motormouse back to the garage from vacation to avoid being fired.

Songs: “Wait a Minute for Country”, “She’s the Right One”

 

“The Wee Greenie Goofie / High Hopes / Winter Blunder-Land! / Madrid or Busted / What’s the Motor with You?” (9/27/69) – The Cats deal with a mischievous leprechaun that followed Kitty Jo’s uncle home from Ireland. / Mildew becomes the Crimson Baron in order to snatch Lambsy out of the sky. / Dinner will be served cold if Mildew can catch Lambsy in the snow. / Crumden steals the crew’s map, leaving them lost in Spain. / Autocat tries to stop Motormouse’s testing of a new motorcycle.

Songs: “Country Carnival”, “Come and Play with the Cattanooga Cats”

 

“Mummy’s Day / Merry Go Roundup! / Mr. Bom Bom / Mini Messenger” (10/4/69) – The Cats end up locked inside a museum for the night and run afoul of a reanimated mummy looking to steal a ruby. / Bristlehound builds an amusement park for Lambsy. / Crumden’s storm causes the crew to become acquainted with a gorilla. / Autocat attempts to stop Motormouse’s new delivery service.

Songs: “My Birthday Suit”, “Super Love”

 

“Zoo’s Who / Super Sceintific Sheep Sitting Service / India or Bust / Wild Wheelin’ Wheels” (10/11/69) – The Cats try to figure out how to get a homesick elephant out of the zoo and back home. / Bristlehound employs a video security system to keep an eye on Mildew. / Crumden cuts away Phinny’s balloon after failing to trick him with an abominable snowman. / Unable to catch Motormouse, Autocat decides on some drastic actions and crafts new automobiles.

Songs: “Cold Wisconsin Night”, “Mother May I”

 

“Autograph Hounded / Any Sport in a Storm / Snow Slappy / Soggy to Me” (10/18/69) – The Cats try to get away from a very persistent autograph hound. / Lambsy just wants to play sports, but Mildew has other plans. / Crumden plots some dirty tricks at the North Pole. / Autocat ends up all wet after Motormouse becomes a firefighter.

Songs: “Johnny Johnny Jump-Up”, “Day When Love Won’t Stay Away”

 

“The Caribbean Kook / Magic Wanderer / Finney, Finney, Fun, Fun / Crash Course” (10/25/69) – The Cats take on a pirate that crashes their cruise ship gig. / Mildew, Lambsy and Bristlehound add prestidigitation to their chase. / Crumden forces the crew to land in an area where trespassing is a jailable offense. / Autocat tries to keep Motormouse out of a motorcycle race only to end up in it himself.

Songs: “Merry Go ‘Round”, “Story of My Life”

 

“Ghosting A-Go-Go / Runaway Home / The Argentiny Meany / Fueling Around” (11/1/69) – The Cats end up in a haunted house where a ghost is determined to put the fright into them. / Lambsy decides to run away from home to seek his fortune. / Crumden and Bumbler saw off the spot where the crew landed their balloon in Argentina. / Autocat tries to come up with his own super fuel to rival Motormouse’s.

Songs: “Hoot Owl”, “I Wish I Was a Fire”

 

“Smart Dummy / The Tree Man / Buzzin’ Cousin” (11/8/69) –Mildew increases his odds by creating mechanical duplicates of himself. / Bumbler downs the crew’s balloon, but they end up rescued by a jungle man. / Motormouse decides to have some fun with Autocat when his identical cousin comes to visit.

Songs: “Do You Dig the Music”, “It’s Summertime”

 

“Cat Caper / Saucy Aussie / Snow-Go” (11/15/69) – Paths get crossed as a cat attempts to catch a bird while Mildew goes after Lambsy. / Kangaroos help the crew retrieve the balloon Crumden lets loose. / Autocat comes up with snow-bound vehicles to catch Motormouse in the winter.

Songs: “We’re Incompatible”, “Love Could Be”

 

“Mask Me No Questions / Crumden’s Last Stand / Hard Day’s Day” (11/22/69) –Lambsy writes to his favorite TV super hero to help protect him from Mildew. / Crumden ends up betrothed to an Indian chief’s daughter. / Autocat creates a remote-controlled device to deal with Motormouse.

Songs: “Pretty as a Picture”, “Stop Right There”

 

“Freeway Frenzy / Egyptian Jinx / Tally Ha Ha” (11/29/69) –Mildew attempts to catch Lambsy as he plays on an unfinished highway. / Crumden attempts to scare off the crew with a fake haunted pyramid. / Leadership of a club comes down to who can capture Motormouse.

Songs: “Magic Machine”, “Come Back, Baby, Come Back”

 

“Slumber Jacks / Border Disorder / Hocus Focus” (12/6/69) – Bristlehound is unable to stay awake while Mildew pursues Lambsy. / Crumden recruits a Mexican criminal to help stop the crew. / Motormouse takes pictures to win a new motorcycle in a contest, despite Autocat’s best efforts to interrupt him.

Songs: “Children Understand”, “Up, Down and On the Ground”

 

“Pow-Wow Wolf / Troubles in Dutch / Kitty Kitty Bang Bang” (12/13/69) –Mildew goes after Lambsy as he pretends to be a Native American. / Phinny enters an ice-skating competition to pay for some prize-winning tulips Crumden caused them to crush. / Autocat tries to keep Motormouse from going on his cruise vacation.

Songs: “She Sure Got Soul”, “Cash Register Romance”

 

“Ghost of a Chance / The Fiji Weegees / King Size Kaddy” (12/20/69) – Mildew plays ghost when Bristelhound and Lambsy take shelter in an abandoned house. / Crumden tricks a tribe into thinking the crew are evil spirits. / Autocat interrupts Motormouse’s golf game.

Songs: “I Want to Sleep Tonight”, “Sing a Song of Sixpence”

 

“Hawaiian Hangup” (12/27/69) – Crumden plots to stop the crew during their Hawaiian break.

Songs: “Daydream”, “Honey”