Felix the Cat (TV series)
| Felix the Cat | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Cartoon series, Adventure, Comedy |
| Created by | Joe Oriolo |
| Voices of | Jack Mercer |
| Theme music composer | Winston Sharples |
| Composer(s) | Winston Sharples |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 126 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Joe Oriolo |
| Running time | 30 min. |
| Production company(s) |
Felix the Cat Productions Paramount Cartoon Studios Broadway Video |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution (current) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Original release | October 2, 1958 – May 16, 1962 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995–1997) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Felix the Cat is 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 co-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. 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. Those cartoons were divided into two parts, because when Felix was in distress, or in a jam, the announcer would intone before the concluding episode: "What will happen to Felix , in the next exciting episode, in the "Adventures of Felix the Cat?"
The show did away with Felix's previous supporting cast and introduced many new characters. These characters were performed by voice actor Jack Mercer. 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.
This TV series also helped introduce the character of Felix the Cat to audiences in Japan. A Japanese language dub of the series aired on NHK in 1960 and was rerun three years later on Fuji TV. Four decades later, Felix would be the star of his own anime series.
The program is also remembered for its distinctive theme song. It was written by Winston Sharples and performed by 1950s big band singer Ann Bennett.
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Wikipedia