''Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats'' is a 1988

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

made-for-television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

produced by

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

as part of the ''

Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 ''Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10'' is a series of 10 syndicated made-for-television animated films produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions as part of ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' programming block from 1987 to 1988, featuring the studio's ...

'' series. The two-hour film was aired in

broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

. The movie's plot is essentially an extended remake of the original show's episodes, "''The Missing Heir''" and "''The Golden Fleecing"''. In the episode, Top Cat and the gang help a teenager claim her inheritance.

Plot

The movie opens on what appears to be another average day in Hoagie's Alley (which, for the purposes of this story, has apparently been relocated closer to

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

) for Top Cat and his gang, who are today posing as

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

, out doing good deeds in the hopes of getting rewards. During the course of this, Benny the Ball saves the life of a

bag lady "Bag Lady" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu for her second studio album ''Mama's Gun'' (2000). Written by Badu and Isaac Hayes, the song is about a woman who is trying to begin a new relationship but has too much emotional b ...

. Unbeknownst to Benny, it is revealed afterwards that she is actually a rich woman named Gertrude Vandergelt, who plans to leave her fortune to her missing niece, a 16-year-old teenager named Amy. Meanwhile, Officer Dibble arrives to put an end to T.C.'s shenanigans after an unsuccessful attempt by Brain to wash his police car's windshield. Just when Dibble is about to arrest the gang, though, he gets a call saying that his application for retirement has been approved, so he can now retire from the police force, and thus he drops the charges against T.C. and the gang. A few days later at a gypsy store, Benny receives news from Mrs. Vandergelt's lawyer, Sid Buckman, that she has died and put his name in her will. Upon hearing of this, T.C. and the rest of the gang accompany Benny to the Vandergelt mansion, where Dibble is now working as a security guard. At the mansion, they meet the conniving butler Snerdly, and his

Muttley Muttley is a fictional dog created in 1968 by Hanna-Barbera Productions; he was originally voiced by Don Messick. He is the foil to the cartoon villain Dick Dastardly, and appeared with him in the 1968 television series '' Wacky Races'' and its ...

-esque wolfhound Rasputin. Buckman reads the will, which states that Benny inherits her fortune (seeing how the true heiress to the fortune, Amy, is nowhere to be found), provided that nothing bad happens to him within the next two days. This upsets Snerdly, for he had hoped to obtain the fortune himself, so he and Rasputin plot to do away with Benny. T.C. and the gang move into the Vandergelt mansion with Benny. After several failed attempts at murdering Benny, Snerdly realizes that to get to Benny, he'll have to get rid of the protective T.C. To do this, Snerdly calls up a femme fatale cat named Kitty Glitter, telling her that he has fixed her up a date with a handsome rich cat, as he describes T.C. Kitty is eager to have a rich cat for a husband (to the point that she puts on a wedding dress for the date), but this plan is foiled when she mistakes Brain for T.C. It's only when Snerdly calls her again, demanding to know where she is, that she realizes she's made a mistake. That night, Snerdly throws a costume party, making Benny wear a bulldog mask and then calling up the local dogcatcher and his pet doberman Dobey to say that there's a mutt roaming around the Vandergelt estate. Sure enough, the dogcatcher arrives and captures Benny. It doesn't take long for T.C. and the rest of the gang to realize that Benny is missing, so they go looking for him. Thanks to a tip-off from Dibble, T.C. finds out that Benny has been taken to the pound, so they take the limousine there and break Benny out. Just as they escape, though, the dogcatcher takes off after them in hot pursuit. As it turns out, the missing Amy has been working at a

car wash A car wash, carwash, or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior, and in some cases the interior of motor vehicles. Car washes can be self-service, full-service (with attendants who wash the vehicle), or fully automated (possi ...

as part of Snerdly's evil plot. While on the run from the dogcatcher, T.C. and the gang turn up in the car wash and recognize Amy from a portrait hanging in the mansion, so they decide to bring her back to the mansion so that the inheritance can be rightfully given to her. They arrive too late, as it is now midnight and Snerdly has just inherited the Vandergelt fortune, but Sid Buckman is then revealed to be Gertrude Vandergelt, alive and in disguise, which means that she, in fact, faked her death as part of a scheme to unmask Snerdly's crookedness. In their attempt to escape, Snerdly (who attempts to disguise himself using the aforementioned bulldog mask) and Rasputin are caught by the dogcatcher. In the end, T.C. and the gang return to their old lifestyle in Hoagie's Alley, and Dibble rejoins the police force. Kitty Glitter reappears, still wanting to be wed to the rich cat she believes T.C. to be, but she dumps him when Brain lets it slip that they're broke. Afterwards, Amy visits the alley to have a picnic with Top Cat, the gang and Dibble.

Voice cast

Arnold Stang Arnold Sidney Stang (September 28, 1918 – December 20, 2009)
''The New York Times'', 22 December 2 ...

Top Cat ''Top Cat'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast in prime time on the ABC network. It aired in a weekly evening time slot from September 27, 1961, to April 18, 1962, for a single season of ...

Avery Schreiber Avery Lawrence Schreiber (April 9, 1935 – January 7, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. He was a veteran of stage, television, and movies who came to prominence in the 1960s in a comedy duo with Jack Burns. He acted in an array of roles ...

as Benny the Ball *

Leo De Lyon Irving Levin (April 26, 1925 – September 18, 2021), known professionally by his stage name of Leo De Lyon, was an American actor best known for his role as Spook and Brain in the prime time animated series ''Top Cat''. Career De Lyon made his ...

Brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

and

Spook Spook is a synonym for ghost. Spook or spooks may also refer to: People * Spook (nickname), shared by several notable people * Per Spook (born 1939), Norwegian fashion designer * a ghostwriter * a racial slur referring to a black person * an unde ...

Marvin Kaplan Marvin Wilbur Kaplan (January 24, 1927 – August 25, 2016) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. Best known as Henry Beesmeyer in '' Alice'' (1978–1985). Early years Kaplan was born on January 24, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, t ...

as Choo-Choo * John Stephenson as Fancy-Fancy, Officer Charlie Dibble and Waiter *

Dick Erdman Richard Erdman ( John Richard Erdmann; June 1, 1925 – March 16, 2019) was an American character actor and occasional film and television Film director, director. He appeared in more than 160 films and television productions between 1944 and ...

as Sid Buckman and Car Wash Manager *

Teresa Ganzel Teresa Ganzel is an American actress and comedian. Career Ganzel was a recurring cast member of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' as the Matinee Lady in the "Tea Time Movie" skits. She has often played stereotypical ditzy blonde bimb ...

as Kitty Glitter *

Linda Gary Linda Gary (born Linda Gary Dewoskin, November 4, 1944 – October 5, 1995) was an American actress. Career Live-action appearances Gary worked as a voice-over artist in animation and also appeared in two live-action films, 1977's ''Joyride T ...

as Gertrude Vandergelt *

Kenneth Mars Kenneth Mars (April 4, 1935 – February 12, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in '' The Producers'' (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in ''Youn ...

as Dogcatcher and Film director *

Lilly Moon Lilly may refer to: * an archaic spelling of lily, a flowering plant Arts and entertainment * Lilly (film), ''Lilly'' (film), a 1958 Malayalam film * Lilly (album), ''Lilly'' (album), by Antonello Venditti, 1975 * "Lilly", a song by Pink Martin ...

as Amy Vandergelt *

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and three Anni ...

as James the Chauffeur, Lester Pester and Tour Bus Driver * Henry Polic, II as Snerdly *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

as Dobey and Rasputin

Home media

Hanna-Barbera Home Video released ''Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats'' on VHS on September 8, 1988. On August 9, 2011,

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

released ''Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats'' on DVD in NTSC picture format with all region encoding, as part of their

Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...

. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.

References

External links

*
The Big Cartoon Database
– Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats {{Top Cat Top Cat films 1988 television films 1988 animated films 1988 films Hanna-Barbera animated films 1980s children's fantasy films Films based on television series Animated films based on animated series American television films Hanna–Barbera Superstars 10 1980s American animated films Films directed by Charles August Nichols Television films based on television series American children's animated comedy films Films directed by Ray Patterson (animator) 1980s children's animated films

Plot

Voice cast

Home media

See also

References

External links