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:''This article is about the | :''This article is about the TV series. For other uses, see [[Hong Kong Phooey]].'' | ||
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Hong Kong Phooey'' (TV series)}} | {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Hong Kong Phooey'' (TV series)}} | ||
{{Infobox TV | {{Infobox TV | ||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
|prodcompany= [[Hanna-Barbera]] | |prodcompany= [[Hanna-Barbera]] | ||
|distributor= | |distributor= | ||
|released= September 7 | |released= [[September 7]]―[[December 21]], [[1974]] | ||
|run_time= 30 minutes | |run_time= 30 minutes | ||
|starring= [[Scatman Crothers]]<br />[[Kathy Gori]]<br />[[Joe E. Ross]]<br />[[Don Messick]] | |starring= [[Scatman Crothers]]<br />[[Kathy Gori]]<br />[[Joe E. Ross]]<br />[[Don Messick]] | ||
|execs= | |execs= [[William Hanna]]<br />[[Joseph Barbera]] | ||
|producers= [[Iwao Takamoto]] | |producers= [[Iwao Takamoto]] | ||
|music= [[Hoyt Curtin]] | |music= [[Hoyt Curtin]] | ||
|writer= | |writer= [[Bill Raynor]]<br />[[Fred Fox]]<br />[[Seamon Jacobs]]<br />[[Jen Janson]]<br />[[Chuck Menville]]<br />[[Larz Bourne]]<br />[[Jack Mendelsohn]] | ||
|director= [[Charles A. Nichols]] | |director= [[Charles A. Nichols]]<br />[[Wally Burr]] (voices) | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''Hong Kong Phooey''''' is an animated | '''''Hong Kong Phooey''''' is an American animated action-comedy television series produced by [[Hanna-Barbera|Hanna-Barbera Productions]] for [[ABC]]'s Saturday morning children's programming. It ran in [[1974]], airing 16 episodes, with each episode containing two stories, that spanned one season. | ||
Working as a police station's janitor, mild-mannered Penry Pooch is really [[Hong Kong Phooey (character)|Hong Kong Phooey]], who believes himself to be a competent and wise martial artist, when in fact is the complete opposite. His idiocy gets to the point where he has to be saved by his pet cat, [[Spot]], who makes Hong Kong look like a hero. | |||
[[Big Duke]], [[Blubber]] and [[Stick]] from the final episode titled, "[[Comedy Cowboys]]," would later be spun-off into [[Posse Impossible (segments)|their own segments]] of the ''[[CB Bears (TV series)|CB Bears]]'' television series. | |||
The entire series has also been released on [[Hong Kong Phooey: The Complete Series|DVD]]. | |||
==Production== | ==Production== | ||
===Development=== | ===Development=== | ||
''Hong Kong Phooey'' was developed by Hanna-Barbera as response to the kung fu fad popularized by [[wikipedia:Bruce Lee|Bruce Lee]]. Early in development, the series was considered to have [[Huckleberry Hound (character)|Huckleberry Hound]] as its main star, but was instead favored for the original character of [[Hong Kong Phooey (character)|Penry Pooch]].<ref>[https://comics.ha.com/itm/animation-art/concept-art/huckleberry-hound-as-hong-kong-phooey-cel-and-drawing-setup-concept-art-hanna-barbera-c-1970s-/a/7196-97671.s Huckleberry Hound as Hong Kong Phooey Cel and Drawing Setup Concept Art (Hanna-Barbera, c. 1970s).]</ref> The series also went by the name "Kung Phooey", but was changed to ''Hong Kong Phooey'' for its final production.<ref name = "Ito Model Sheet">[https://comics.ha.com/itm/animation-art/model-sheet/hong-kong-phooey-studio-master-model-sheet-art-by-willie-ito-hanna-barbera-1974-total-22-items-/a/7173-97429.s Hong Kong Phooey Studio Master Model Sheet Art by Willie Ito (Hanna-Barbera, 1974)]. ''Heritage Auctions''.</ref> | |||
===Casting=== | |||
Rather than have a traditional voice actor to provide a stereotypical Asian accent, the studio decided to have singer [[Scatman Crothers]] do the voice of Hong Kong Phooey.<ref name = "Ito Model Sheet" /> However, executive producer [[Joseph Barbera]] did not tell the ABC network of Crothers's name when he was cast, as he believed that they would not approve of a Black man in the role. Without knowing about his identity, the network found out that they enjoyed Crothers's performance due to his sense of humor.<ref>https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/joseph-barbera?clip=5</ref> | |||
==Music== | ==Music== | ||
The music was composed by [[Hoyt Curtin]]. | The music was composed by [[Hoyt Curtin]], with musical supervision from [[Paul DeKorte]]. The sound editor was [[Joe Sandusky]]. | ||
==Episodes== | ==Episodes== | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
! Episode | ! Episode | ||
! | ! Original air date | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x01 | | 1x01 | ||
| September 7, 1974 | * "[[Car Thieves]]" | ||
* "[[Zoo Story]]" | |||
| [[September 7]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x02 | | 1x02 | ||
| September 14, 1974 | * "[[Iron Head the Robot]]" | ||
* "[[Cotton Pickin' Pocket Picker]]" | |||
| [[September 14]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x03 | | 1x03 | ||
| September 21, 1974 | * "[[Grandma Goody (Cat Burglar)]]" | ||
* "[[Candle Power]]" | |||
| [[September 21]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x04 | | 1x04 | ||
| September 28, 1974 | * "[[The Penthouse Burglaries]]" | ||
* "[[Batty Bank Mob]]" | |||
| [[September 28]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x05 | | 1x05 | ||
| October 5, 1974 | * "[[The Voltage Villain]]" | ||
* "[[The Giggler]]" | |||
| [[October 5]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x06 | | 1x06 | ||
| October 12, 1974 | * "[[The Gumdrop Kid]]" | ||
* "[[Professor Presto (The Malevolent Magician)]]" | |||
| [[October 12]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x07 | | 1x07 | ||
| October 19, 1974 | * "[[TV or Not TV (Hong Kong Phooey)|TV or Not TV]]" | ||
* "[[Stop Horsing Around]]" | |||
| [[October 19]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x08 | | 1x08 | ||
| October 26, 1974 | * "[[Mirror, Mirror on the Wall]]" | ||
* "[[Great Movie Mystery]]" | |||
| [[October 26]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x09 | | 1x09 | ||
| November 2, 1974 | * "[[The Claw]]" | ||
* "[[Hong Kong Phooey vs. Hong Kong Phooey]]" | |||
| [[November 2]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x10 | | 1x10 | ||
| November 9, 1974 | * "[[The Abominable Snowman]]" | ||
* "[[Professor Crosshatch]]" | |||
| [[November 9]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x11 | | 1x11 | ||
| November 16, 1974 | * "[[Goldfisher]]" | ||
* "[[Green Thumb]]" | |||
| [[November 16]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x12 | | 1x12 | ||
| November 23, 1974 | * "[[From Bad to Verse (Rotten Rhymer)]]" | ||
* "[[Kong and the Counterfeiters]]" | |||
| [[November 23]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x13 | | 1x13 | ||
| November 30, 1974 | * "[[The Great Choo Choo Robbery]]" | ||
* "[[Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Bakery Man]]" | |||
| [[November 30]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x14 | | 1x14 | ||
| December 7, 1974 | * "[[Mr. Tornado]]" | ||
* "[[The Little Crook Who Wasn't There]]" | |||
| [[December 7]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x15 | | 1x15 | ||
| December 14, 1974 | * "[[Dr. Disguiso]]" | ||
* "[[The Incredible Mr. Shrink]]" | |||
| [[December 14]], 1974 | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 1x16 | | 1x16 | ||
| December 21, 1974 | * "[[Comedy Cowboys]]" | ||
| [[December 21]], 1974 | |||
|} | |} | ||
==Release== | |||
Dates are in order of release: | |||
* [[United States]]: September 7, 1974 at 9:00 am on ABC | |||
* [[United Kingdom]] and [[Ireland]]: [[March 17]], [[1975]] at 5:15 pm on [[BBC 1]] | |||
==Cast== | ==Cast== | ||
| Line 101: | Line 131: | ||
* [[Joe E. Ross]] as [[Sergeant Flint]] | * [[Joe E. Ross]] as [[Sergeant Flint]] | ||
* [[Don Messick]] as [[Spot]] and the Narrator | * [[Don Messick]] as [[Spot]] and the Narrator | ||
==Legacy== | |||
Hong Kong Phooey was memorable enough to be brought back in the Hanna-Barbera crossover series ''[[Laff-A-Lympics (TV series)|Laff-A-Lympics]]'' in [[1977]], as a member of the [[Scooby Doobies]]. Then in [[2001]] and [[2018]], he appeared in a [[Hong Kong Phooey (Web Premiere Toons)|web short]] and [[DC Comics]]' ''[[Black Lightning/Hong Kong Phooey Special/Issue 1|Black Lightning/Hong Kong Phooey Special]]'', respectively, with both times redoing him as someone serious and in complete control. | |||
He also guest-starred in the [[2017]] reboot of ''[[Wacky Races (2017 TV series)|Wacky Races]]''. | |||
[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] also attempted to make a live-action feature-length film, with Eddie Murphy in the lead. They only achieved producing a [[Hong Kong Phooey (film)|test film]] in [[2012]]. | |||
==In popular culture== | ==In popular culture== | ||
* In the ''Family Guy'' episode "I Never Met the Dead Man" | * In the ''Animaniacs'' segment "Back in Style," ''Chun-King Fooey'' is mentioned to have lost ratings by adding the Warner siblings. | ||
* The theme song appears on the Billboard for the Hot 100 Cartoon Songs in ''The Cleveland Show'' episode "Harder, Better, Faster, Browner" | * In the ''[[Family Guy]]'' episode "I Never Met the Dead Man," Peter can't resist the urge to jump into a children's ball pit at Cheesie Charlie's, shouting out "Hong Kong Phooey!" as he does. | ||
* The theme song appears on the Billboard for the Hot 100 Cartoon Songs in ''The Cleveland Show'' episode "Harder, Better, Faster, Browner." The writers are also mentioned underneath. | |||
* In ''The Goldbergs'' episode "Kara-te," Murray called Barry's karate performance for the talent show a "Hong Kong Phooey act." | |||
===''Comic Book Men''=== | ===''Comic Book Men''=== | ||
* "To the Bat Cave" | * "To the Bat Cave:" Walt says his favorite talking dog is Hong Kong Phooey. | ||
* "Dukes of Jersey" | * "Dukes of Jersey:" [[Kevin Smith]] used Hong Kong Phooey as an example of being a fan of something, but wouldn't be so drastic as to get a tattoo of a show he may later have no interest in. | ||
* "KITT and Caboodle" | * "KITT and Caboodle:" Walt mentions how Hong Kong Phooey was created during the kung fu craze of the 1970s. | ||
==Merchandise== | |||
===Home media=== | |||
On [[August 15]], [[2006]], [[Warner Home Video]] released ''[[Hong Kong Phooey: The Complete Series]]'' on DVD. | |||
===Reading material=== | |||
===Toys=== | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
[[Category:1974]] | |||
[[Category:ABC]] | |||
[[Category:Hanna-Barbera]] | |||
[[Category:Hong Kong Phooey]] | |||
[[Category:TV series]] | [[Category:TV series]] | ||
Latest revision as of 20:17, 24 March 2024
- This article is about the TV series. For other uses, see Hong Kong Phooey.
| Hong Kong Phooey | |
|---|---|
 On-screen title card. | |
| Network | ABC |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera |
| Original release | September 7―December 21, 1974 |
| Run time | 30 minutes |
| Starring | Scatman Crothers Kathy Gori Joe E. Ross Don Messick |
| Executive producer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Producer(s) | Iwao Takamoto |
| Music composed by | Hoyt Curtin |
| Writer(s) | Bill Raynor Fred Fox Seamon Jacobs Jen Janson Chuck Menville Larz Bourne Jack Mendelsohn |
| Director(s) | Charles A. Nichols Wally Burr (voices) |
Hong Kong Phooey is an American animated action-comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for ABC's Saturday morning children's programming. It ran in 1974, airing 16 episodes, with each episode containing two stories, that spanned one season.
Working as a police station's janitor, mild-mannered Penry Pooch is really Hong Kong Phooey, who believes himself to be a competent and wise martial artist, when in fact is the complete opposite. His idiocy gets to the point where he has to be saved by his pet cat, Spot, who makes Hong Kong look like a hero.
Big Duke, Blubber and Stick from the final episode titled, "Comedy Cowboys," would later be spun-off into their own segments of the CB Bears television series.
The entire series has also been released on DVD.
Production
Development
Hong Kong Phooey was developed by Hanna-Barbera as response to the kung fu fad popularized by Bruce Lee. Early in development, the series was considered to have Huckleberry Hound as its main star, but was instead favored for the original character of Penry Pooch.[1] The series also went by the name "Kung Phooey", but was changed to Hong Kong Phooey for its final production.[2]
Casting
Rather than have a traditional voice actor to provide a stereotypical Asian accent, the studio decided to have singer Scatman Crothers do the voice of Hong Kong Phooey.[2] However, executive producer Joseph Barbera did not tell the ABC network of Crothers's name when he was cast, as he believed that they would not approve of a Black man in the role. Without knowing about his identity, the network found out that they enjoyed Crothers's performance due to his sense of humor.[3]
Music
The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin, with musical supervision from Paul DeKorte. The sound editor was Joe Sandusky.
Episodes
| Episode | Original air date |
|---|---|
1x01
|
September 7, 1974 |
| 1x02 | September 14, 1974 |
| 1x03 | September 21, 1974 |
| 1x04 | September 28, 1974 |
| 1x05 | October 5, 1974 |
| 1x06 | October 12, 1974 |
| 1x07 | October 19, 1974 |
| 1x08 | October 26, 1974 |
| 1x09 | November 2, 1974 |
| 1x10 | November 9, 1974 |
| 1x11 | November 16, 1974 |
| 1x12 | November 23, 1974 |
| 1x13 | November 30, 1974 |
| 1x14 | December 7, 1974 |
| 1x15 | December 14, 1974 |
| 1x16 | December 21, 1974 |
Release
Dates are in order of release:
- United States: September 7, 1974 at 9:00 am on ABC
- United Kingdom and Ireland: March 17, 1975 at 5:15 pm on BBC 1
Cast
- Scatman Crothers as Hong Kong Phooey
- Kathy Gori as Rosemary
- Joe E. Ross as Sergeant Flint
- Don Messick as Spot and the Narrator
Legacy
Hong Kong Phooey was memorable enough to be brought back in the Hanna-Barbera crossover series Laff-A-Lympics in 1977, as a member of the Scooby Doobies. Then in 2001 and 2018, he appeared in a web short and DC Comics' Black Lightning/Hong Kong Phooey Special, respectively, with both times redoing him as someone serious and in complete control.
He also guest-starred in the 2017 reboot of Wacky Races.
Warner Bros. Pictures also attempted to make a live-action feature-length film, with Eddie Murphy in the lead. They only achieved producing a test film in 2012.
In popular culture
- In the Animaniacs segment "Back in Style," Chun-King Fooey is mentioned to have lost ratings by adding the Warner siblings.
- In the Family Guy episode "I Never Met the Dead Man," Peter can't resist the urge to jump into a children's ball pit at Cheesie Charlie's, shouting out "Hong Kong Phooey!" as he does.
- The theme song appears on the Billboard for the Hot 100 Cartoon Songs in The Cleveland Show episode "Harder, Better, Faster, Browner." The writers are also mentioned underneath.
- In The Goldbergs episode "Kara-te," Murray called Barry's karate performance for the talent show a "Hong Kong Phooey act."
Comic Book Men
- "To the Bat Cave:" Walt says his favorite talking dog is Hong Kong Phooey.
- "Dukes of Jersey:" Kevin Smith used Hong Kong Phooey as an example of being a fan of something, but wouldn't be so drastic as to get a tattoo of a show he may later have no interest in.
- "KITT and Caboodle:" Walt mentions how Hong Kong Phooey was created during the kung fu craze of the 1970s.
Merchandise
Home media
On August 15, 2006, Warner Home Video released Hong Kong Phooey: The Complete Series on DVD.
