Herman And Katnip
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''Herman and Katnip'' are a duo of
cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
characters, Herman the Mouse and Katnip the Cat, that starred in theatrical animated shorts produced by
Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...
in the 1940s and 1950s.
Arnold Stang Arnold Sidney Stang (September 28, 1918 – December 20, 2009)
''The New York Times'', 22 December 2 ...
and
Allen Swift Ira Stadlen (January 16, 1924 – April 18, 2010), known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American voice actor, best known for voicing cartoon characters Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the ''Underdog'' cartoon show. He took his pro ...
were the regular voices of Herman, while
Sid Raymond Sid Raymond (born Raymond Silverstein, January 21, 1909 – December 1, 2006) was an American comedian and character actor. Early years Born Raymond Silverstein in Manhattan, Raymond dropped out of New York University and became the recreation ...
was the regular actor for Katnip, although one or both of the characters would occasionally be voiced by Jackson Beck and
Jack Mercer Winfield B. Mercer (January 31, 1910 – December 7, 1984), professionally known as Jack Mercer, was a prolific American voice actor, animator and TV screenwriter. He is best known as the voice of cartoon characters Popeye the Sailor Man and ...
, respectively.


History

From 1944 to September 1950, Herman the Mouse, voiced by
Arnold Stang Arnold Sidney Stang (September 28, 1918 – December 20, 2009)
''The New York Times'', 22 December 2 ...
and
Allen Swift Ira Stadlen (January 16, 1924 – April 18, 2010), known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American voice actor, best known for voicing cartoon characters Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the ''Underdog'' cartoon show. He took his pro ...
, (occasionally by Jackson Beck) was a solo star of theatrical animation shorts produced by
Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...
and distributed by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. Katnip the Cat, voiced by
Sid Raymond Sid Raymond (born Raymond Silverstein, January 21, 1909 – December 1, 2006) was an American comedian and character actor. Early years Born Raymond Silverstein in Manhattan, Raymond dropped out of New York University and became the recreation ...
(occasionally by
Jack Mercer Winfield B. Mercer (January 31, 1910 – December 7, 1984), professionally known as Jack Mercer, was a prolific American voice actor, animator and TV screenwriter. He is best known as the voice of cartoon characters Popeye the Sailor Man and ...
), made his first appearance in November 1950 with "Mice Meeting You". The two characters continued to star in animated cartoons until 1959. In 1958, they and the other original Famous characters were purchased by
comic-book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
publisher
Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfr ...
, which continued to promote the characters under the name Harveytoons. The 1944 to 1950 Herman the Mouse cartoons (originally released as part of the
Noveltoon ''Noveltoons'' is a series of cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios from 1943 to the end of the studio during 1967. The series was known for bringing to life characters from Harvey Comics, such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, We ...
series) were sold by Paramount in 1955 to U.M. & M. TV Corporation for television distribution.Herman and Katnip
at
Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on April 11, 2015.


Filmography


Legacy

Animation historian
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
described the ''Herman and Katnip'' series as a prime stereotype of the "violent cat versus mouse" battles that were commonplace among Hollywood cartoons of the 1920s through the 1960s. The violence in this series, while intended for comedic effect, often reached a level of brutality that surpassed both ''
Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
'', ''
Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse is an American animated anthropomorphic superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''The Mouse of Tomorro ...
'', and Warner Brothers' '' Sylvester the Cat. All of Herman's battles with Katnip ended with Herman victorious. Only two cartoons, "You Said a Mouseful" and "Katnip's Big Day", had Katnip sharing in Herman's victory. Frequently Herman and his mouse companions would sing a victory song as they observed Katnip being brutally tortured; e.g. being eaten by sharks, killed in a rockslide while mountain climbing, strung up with Christmas lights and plugged into an electric socket, getting electrocuted by a "shock tester" machine, then flattened by it; or even dying and his ghost being warned about " the fiery furnace" in "Of Mice and Menace." It had been originally intended that Herman and Katnip would make a cameo appearance in the film ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 1 ...
'' in the scene called "Acme's Funeral". However, the scene was cut out of the film. Katnip later appeared in the episode "Self Help Huey" of the animated series ''
The Baby Huey Show ''The Baby Huey Show'' is an animated television series which ran in syndication during the 1994–95 and 1995-96 TV seasons. The show featured the Famous Studios/Harvey Comics character Baby Huey. 26 episodes were produced by combining old theatr ...
'' as a cat redeemed by his persecutions of the past and tries that the Fox follow the same path with
Baby Huey Baby Huey is a gigantic and naïve duckling cartoon character. He was created by Martin Taras for Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios, and became a Paramount cartoon star during the 1950s. Huey first appeared in ''Quack-a-Doodle-Doo'', a ''Novel ...
. ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' writer/producer
Mike Reiss Michael L. Reiss ( '; born ) is an American television comedy writer and author. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series ''The Simpsons'' and co-created the animated series ''The Critic''. He created and wrote ...
insists ''
The Itchy & Scratchy Show ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' (often shortened as ''Itchy & Scratchy'') is a fictional animated television series featured on ''The Simpsons''. Description The show depicts a blue mouse named Itchy who repeatedly and violently maims or kills a ...
'' is based on ''Herman and Katnip'', which he calls a "cheap, ultra-violent knockoff" of ''Tom and Jerry''. Director David Silverman supports this, stating ''Herman and Katnip'' "is hilarious because it's just bad."


Supporting characters


Henry

Prior to his pairing with Katnip, Herman teamed up in several cartoons with the henpecked rooster Henry. Henry's nemesis is his domineering wife, Bertha (a.k.a. Chicken Pie), who makes him do all the work around the house, even saying that if she catches Henry loafing again, "I'll clip your wings and chop you down to a croquette!" Bertha is deathly afraid of mice, however: always "bawking" in shock every time Herman scares her. With Herman's help, Henry tries to manipulate Bertha into treating him more fairly ("Hey! Listen, you old hen! From now on, I'll do no more work!"). The title cards for the team-up shorts read "Featuring Herman and Henry"; the first such short was ''Henpecked Rooster'' (1944), and the last ''Sudden Fried Chicken'' (1946), in which Bertha beats the rooster hard enough to hospitalize him. Under the new name Hector, the rooster was featured in Dell Publishing's ''Animal Comics'' #7-17 (1944–1945), with Herman as ongoing co-star, and artist
Walt Kelly Walter Crawford Kelly Jr. (August 25, 1913 – October 18, 1973), commonly known as Walt Kelly, was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip ''Pogo (comic strip), Pogo''. He began his animation career in 1936 at The Walt ...
('' Pogo'') drawing several of the later stories. In ''Sudden Fried Chicken'' the cartoons also adopted the name Hector, though the "Henry" title card for unknown reasons remained unchanged.


Buzzy

Katnip also had his share of running battles with Buzzy, a singing black
crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...
in a flat straw hat, who spoke in stereotypical "black dialect" and per historian
Don Markstein Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonop ...
was "a take-off on the gravely voice of
character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
Eddie Anderson, who played Rochester on
Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...
's show, with id/nowiki> Raymond (Baby Huey) as Katnip, sounding like Benny himself."Buzzy the Crow
at
Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on April 5, 2015.
Katnip's battle with Buzzy was usually based on Katnip trying to kick an ailment. He would read a rhyming verse from a medical book that suggested crow meat as the sure cure. Once confronted by Katnip, however, Buzzy would propose another solution in an attempt to save his own skin, to which the cat usually replied, "Hmmmm, that sounds logical," but these solutions usually "failed" at the expense of Katnip, who would finally lose his patience and say, "This time, I'm doing what the book says!" This would result in a chase between the two characters--with Buzzy making occasional puns at Katnip's expense along the way--and end with Buzzy victorious and Katnip nowhere near the road to recovery. Buzzy the Crow was introduced in the 1946
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
cartoon, produced by
Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...
, '' The Stupidstitious Cat''. Buzzy's mannerisms and voice were based on what are now considered the offensive stereotypes of African-Americans of the time. Jackson Beck voiced Buzzy. There were censorship issues related to Buzzy as a black stereotype. On the television series ''Casper and Friends'', Buzzy's voice is redubbed to remove any offending content. Buzzy also frequently appeared in
Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfr ...
' ''
Baby Huey Baby Huey is a gigantic and naïve duckling cartoon character. He was created by Martin Taras for Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios, and became a Paramount cartoon star during the 1950s. Huey first appeared in ''Quack-a-Doodle-Doo'', a ''Novel ...
'' comic books in the 1960s and 1970s, in a rivalry with a cat resembling Katnip but of a different color. Sometimes, this cat was named Katsy Cat.


Video

All "Herman and Katnip" and some Herman solo shorts have been released on
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
videocassette Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette ...
s and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
s. Some prints have the U.M. & M. or NTA logo at the start and end, masking the old
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
titles. However, the
UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...
restored these shorts to their original Paramount titles. In 1997, Classic Media issued ''Herman and Katnip: The Complete Series'', a DVD collecting all of Herman and Katnip's appearances together. Also included were two Katnip solo shorts, ''Feast and Furious'' and ''City Kitty''. The cartoons were presented in shortened TV prints from the anthology series ''
The Harveytoons Show ''The Harveytoons Show'' is a television series presenting theatrical animated cartoons produced by Famous Studios from 1950 until 1964, which were acquired by Harvey Entertainment. History This show features Harvey Comics characters and series inc ...
'', with abbreviated opening titles, no end titles, and (in the case of ''Drinks on the Mouse'') some censorship. Prints of ''Mice Meeting You'' and ''Mice Paradise'' bear the "Featuring Herman" card as seen on Herman's solo shorts, even though these two shorts also feature Katnip.


See also

* List of Herman and Katnip cartoons *
Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
* List of Tom and Jerry cartoons *
Itchy and Scratchy ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' (often shortened as ''Itchy & Scratchy'') is a Story within a story, fictional animated television series featured on ''The Simpsons''. Description The show depicts a blue mouse named Itchy who repeatedly and violen ...
*
Squeak the Mouse ''Squeak the Mouse'' is an Italian adult black comedy comic strip and later comic book created by artist Massimo Mattioli. The comic depicts attempts by its title character, the anthropomorphic Squeak the Mouse, to outwit a cat who is chasing ...
* Sylvester the Cat * Little Roquefort *Dingbat and Sylvester the Fox *
Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks ''Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks'' is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon television series that featured as a regular segment of the television series ''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' from 1958 to 1961. Plot The cartoon series stars two mice, the bow-tied Pix ...
*
Motormouse and Autocat ''Cattanooga Cats'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired on ABC from September 6, 1969, to September 4, 1971. The show was a package program similar to the Hanna-Barbera/NBC show ''The Banana Splits' ...
* Punkin' Puss and Mushmouse *
Krazy Kat ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-American, New Yor ...


References


External links

* {{Famous Studios Film characters introduced in 1944 Film series introduced in 1944 Famous Studios series and characters Harvey Comics series and characters Animated duos
Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Min ...
Television series by U.M. & M. TV Corporation Fictional rivalries DreamWorks Classics Male characters in animation