Felix the Cat (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Felix the Cat was the first television series featuring the famous cartoon character Felix the Cat
.
In 1954 Otto Messmer
retired from the Felix daily newspaper strips, and his assistant Joe Oriolo
(the Creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost
) took over. Oriolo struck a deal with Felix's new owner to begin a new series of Felix cartoons on television. Oriolo went on to star Felix in 260 television cartoons distributed by Trans-Lux
and produced by King Features Syndicate
and Paramount Cartoon Studios (formerly Famous Studios
) starting in 1958 (incidentally, Paramount was one of the previous distributors of Felix's theatrical cartoons). Like the Van Beuren studio before, Oriolo gave Felix a more domesticated and pedestrian personality, geared more toward children, and introduced now-familiar elements such as Felix's "Magic Bag of Tricks", a satchel that could assume the shape and characteristics of anything Felix wanted.
. Oriolo's plots revolve around the unsuccessful attempts of the antagonists to steal Felix's Magic Bag, though in an unusual twist, these antagonists are occasionally depicted as Felix's friends as well. The cartoons proved popular, but critics have dismissed them as paling in comparison to the earlier Sullivan-Messmer works, especially since Oriolo aimed the cartoons at children. Limited animation
(required due to budgetary restraints) and simplistic storylines did nothing to diminish the series' popularity.
and performed by 1950s big band
singer Ann Bennett.
Felix the Cat
Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in the silent film era. His black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combine to make Felix one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history...
.
In 1954 Otto Messmer
Otto Messmer
Otto James Messmer was an American animator, best known for his work on the Felix the Cat cartoons and comic strip produced by the Pat Sullivan studio....
retired from the Felix daily newspaper strips, and his assistant Joe Oriolo
Joe Oriolo
Joseph "Joe" Oriolo was an American cartoon animator, writer, director and producer, known as the creator of the Felix the Cat TV series.-Early life:...
(the Creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. As his name indicates, he is a ghost, but is quite personable...
) took over. Oriolo struck a deal with Felix's new owner to begin a new series of Felix cartoons on television. Oriolo went on to star Felix in 260 television cartoons distributed by Trans-Lux
Trans-Lux
Trans-Lux is a world leader in designing, selling, renting, installing and maintaining multi-color, real-time data and LED large-screen electronic information displays, but is primarily known as a major supplier of national stock ticker display devices for stock exchanges...
and produced by King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
and Paramount Cartoon Studios (formerly Famous Studios
Famous Studios
Famous Studios was the animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount acquired the aforementioned studio and ousted its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1941...
) starting in 1958 (incidentally, Paramount was one of the previous distributors of Felix's theatrical cartoons). Like the Van Beuren studio before, Oriolo gave Felix a more domesticated and pedestrian personality, geared more toward children, and introduced now-familiar elements such as Felix's "Magic Bag of Tricks", a satchel that could assume the shape and characteristics of anything Felix wanted.
Background
The show did away with Felix's previous supporting cast and introduced many new characters. These characters were performed by voice actor Jack MercerJack Mercer
Jack Mercer was an American animator, storyman and voice actor. He is best known as the voice of cartoon character Popeye the Sailor...
. Oriolo's plots revolve around the unsuccessful attempts of the antagonists to steal Felix's Magic Bag, though in an unusual twist, these antagonists are occasionally depicted as Felix's friends as well. The cartoons proved popular, but critics have dismissed them as paling in comparison to the earlier Sullivan-Messmer works, especially since Oriolo aimed the cartoons at children. Limited animation
Limited animation
Limited animation is a process of making animated cartoons that does not redraw entire frames but variably reuses common parts between frames. One of its major trademarks is the stylized design in all forms and shapes, which in the early days was referred to as modern design...
(required due to budgetary restraints) and simplistic storylines did nothing to diminish the series' popularity.
Characters
- Felix the Cat - The main character and star of the show. He has many adventures with his secret bag of tricks that often helps in dangerous situations. No matter what the situation he always ends up laughing.
- The Professor - First introduced in 1959, he's Felix's archenemyArchenemyAn archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction, often described as the hero's worst enemy .- Etymology :The word archenemy or arch-enemy originated...
or foilFoil (literature)In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
and always trying to seize his Magic Bag. He has a very amusing speech impediment and is quite eccentric. He is depicted as a bad guy scientist, very intelligent, yet very evil. He attempts many tricks such as the use of his inventions and many disguises to get Felix's magic bag, but always winds up failing in the end.
- - First introduced in 1959, he is the nerdy young nephew of the Professor. He is depicted as a stereotypical scientist; he is very intelligent and always wears thick coke-bottle glasses, a lab coat, and a mortarboardSquare academic capThe square academic cap, graduate cap, or mortarboard or Oxford cap, is an item of academic head dress consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upon a skull-cap, with a tassel attached to the center...
. A button on the chest of his lab coat acts as a control for whatever device the plot calls for. He helps his bumbling uncle concoct elaborate schemes to get Felix and capture his Magic Bag, though at times both are depicted as Felix's friends. Whenever he talks to Felix, he refers to him as "Mr. Felix".
- Rock Bottom - The Professor's bulldog-faced, bumbling sidekick, he tries to help the Professor to steal the Felix's Magic Bag. Rock Bottom's full name is Rock Bottom Age.
- Master Cylinder - An evil, cylindrical robot who first appeared in the 1960 cartoon "Master Cylinder-King of the Moon." He is always trying to kidnap Poindexter so that he can use his intellect to build weapons and equipment. It is revealed that he was once a pupil of the Professor at an academy until an explosion destroyed his original body.
- Vavoom - A small, unassuming and friendly InuitInuitThe Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
whose only vocalization is a (literally) earth-shattering shout of his own name "VAVOOM!" (but who is powerless if his mouth was taped shut). He first appeared in Felix and Vavoom
Theme Song
The program is also remembered for its distinctive theme song, written by Winston SharplesWinston Sharples
Winston Singleton Sharples was a composer known for his work with animated short subjects, especially those created by the animation department at Paramount Pictures...
and performed by 1950s big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
singer Ann Bennett.
Episodes
| Episodes and Title |
|---|
(Note: each episode was originally presented in two parts)
|
External links
- Cartoon list at the Big Cartoon DataBaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....
- Entertainment Rights