children's television
Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...
series, created by Stan Hayward and directed by
Bob Godfrey
Roland Frederick Godfrey MBE (27 May 1921 – 21 February 2013),80s cartoons website /ref> who was also the producer of '' Roobarb'' and '' Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk''. The show starring a yellow feline, known only as Henry's Cat, and his many friends and enemies. In every episode, narration and character voices were provided by
Bob Godfrey
Roland Frederick Godfrey MBE (27 May 1921 – 21 February 2013),BFI , Film & TV Database , HENRY'S CAT /ref> The show was re-dubbed for American audiences with the voice of
Dom DeLuise
Dominick DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009) was an American actor, comedian, director, musician, chef, and author. Known primarily for comedy roles, he rose to fame in the 1970s as a frequent guest on television variety shows. He is widely ...
.
Characters
Main
*Henry's
Cat
The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
– The main protagonist, a laid-back daydreamer with a great passion for eating and adventure.
*Chris
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...
– Henry's Cat's best friend, an ever-enthusiastic, highly energetic blue rabbit.
*Mosey
Mouse
A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...
– The opposite of Chris Rabbit, Mosey is dour and realistic.
*Douglas
Dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...
, Sammy
Snail
A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...
, Pansy
Pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
, Denise
Duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
, Ted
Tortoise
Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...
, Philippe
Frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
– miscellaneous friends of Henry's Cat. They all mean well, but often overestimate their own abilities in various ways.
Antagonists
*Farmer Giles – A crotchety human farmer with a
West Country accent
West Country English is a group of English language varieties and accents used by much of the native population of the West Country, an area found in the southwest of England.
The West Country is often defined as encompassing the officia ...
who is occasionally inconvenienced by Henry's Cat's antics. He only appears in the first season.
*Constable
Bulldog
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...
– A stern but fair policeman (or
police dog
A police dog, also known as a K-9 (phonemic abbreviation of canine), is a dog that is trained to assist police and other law enforcement officers. Their duties may include searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, findin ...
) who takes a very dim view of the gang's well-meaning escapades but is usually willing to negotiate.
*Rum Baa Baa – The main antagonist: a criminal mastermind sheep who is Henry's Cat's archenemy.
Henry
Henry himself never appeared on screen; the name is thought by some to be an allusion to an earlier one-off Hayward/Godfrey collaboration, ''Henry 9 'til 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. ''Henry's Cat'' creator Stan Hayward included the official explanation for the character's lack of a name on the official ''Henry's Cat Special Edition'' DVD in 2000: Henry (who never appeared in the series proper) was Henry's Cat's original owner, but one day, he moved away, and Henry's Cat had forgotten to go with him. The cat had a terrible memory, and eventually even forgot his own name, and so became known simply as "Henry's Cat".
Episode list
Series 1 (1983)
Each episode in this series is 4–5 minutes long.
Series 2 (1984)
Each episode in this series is 4–5 minutes long.
Series 3 (1986)
Each episode in this series is 14–15 minutes long.
Series 4 (1986–87)
Each episode in this series is 14–15 minutes long.
Series 5 (1992–93)
Each episode in this series is 12 minutes long.
Notes
*For some reason, all of the Henry's Cat episodes from Series 1 are dated 1983 and from Series 2 to Series 5 are dated 1984 in the credits.
*Bob Godfrey Films' opening logo of this series was Henry's Cat meowing, in a direct parody of the
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
BBC Video
2 Entertain Video Limited, trading as BBC Studios Home Entertainment, is a British video and music publisher founded in 2004 following the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International by BBC Worldwide and the Woolworths (United Kingd ...
. Family Home Entertainment and HBO Video also had released VHS tapes in the US in 1986 and 1989 respectively.
*In January 2008, a promotional DVD containing all Series 1 episodes was distributed by The Times newspaper.
Credits
Series 1
*Created by: Stan Hayward
*Script: Stan Hayward
*Animation: Bob Godfrey, Paul Stone, Kevin Baldwin
*Music & Sound: Peter Shade
*Narrated by: Bob Godfrey
*Camera & Editing: Derek Phillips
*Production: Mike Hayes
*Produced & Directed by: Bob Godfrey
(c) Stan Hayward Bob Godfrey Films Ltd. 1983
Series 2
*Created by: Stan Hayward
*Script: Stan Hayward
*Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Malcolm Hartley, Drew Mandigo, Paul Stone
*Assistant Animator: Malou Bonicos, one episode, series 2, The Hot Day
*Music: John Hyde / de Wolfe Ltd.
*Dubbing: John Wood Studios
*Editing: Sean Lenihan
*Camera: Derek Phillips
*Production: Mike Hayes
*Produced, Directed and Narrated by: Bob Godfrey
(c) Stan Hayward Bob Godfrey Films Ltd. 1984 (From Series 2 to Series 5)
Series 3
*Created by: Stan Hayward
*Script: Stan Hayward
*Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Malcolm Hartley, Mark Oz, Paul Rosevear
*Music: John Hyde / de Wolfe Ltd
*Trace & Paint: Tancy Baran, Beryl Godfrey, Louise Unwin
*Camera: Derek Phillips
*Editing: John Daniels
*Production: Mike Hayes
*Produced, Directed and Narrated by: Bob Godfrey
Series 4
*Created by: Stan Hayward
*Script: Stan Hayward
*Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Neil Salmon
*Additional Animation: Steve Roberts
*Music: Jonathan Hodge
*Trace and Paint: Beryl Godfrey, Louise Unwin
*Camera: Julian Holdaway, Heather Reader
*Editing: Picture Head
*Production: Mike Hayes
*Narrated, Directed and Produced by: Bob Godfrey
Series 5
*Created by: Stan Hayward
*Script: Stan Hayward, Mike Knowles, Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey
*Storyboard, Layouts, Animation: Kevin Baldwin
*Additional Animation: Jeff Goldner, Neil Salmon, Bob Godfrey, Jody Gannon.
*Trace and Paint: Denise Hambry, Lisa Smith, Jazvinda Phull, Beryl Godfrey, Ricky Arnold
*Music: Rowland Lee
*Title Music: Jonathan P. Hodge
*Camera: Jeremy Moorshead
*Backgrounds: Bob Godfrey
*Editing: Picturehead
*Production: Mike Hayes
*Narrated, Produced and Directed by: Bob Godfrey
Home media
Australian VHS releases
*
Roadshow Entertainment
Roadshow Entertainment (formerly known as Roadshow Home Video from 1982–1993) is an Australian home video, production and distribution company that is a division of Village Roadshow (formerly Roadshow Home Video and Roadshow Entertainment) th ...