Video of the Week: Top Cat ABC Promo

 Top Cat June is almost over, so for our final video this month, I thought we'd go back to where it all started. Below is a 1961 promo that ABC aired for Top Cat. The advertisement itself isn't too unique, but do take note of the slightly different lyrics used for the theme song here. I don't really know why the theme would be different, but it's a cool detail nonetheless.

Hanna-Barbera Home Video Posters

 Remember when home video was a big deal? I sure do, and one of the things that made a home video release so exciting way back when was the marketing behind one. It wasn't uncommon to see big posters and other promotional materials hyping up a new release in your local video store. And today, I'll be looking at some of the many posters Hanna-Barbera Home Video produced to advertise their newest releases.

This poster found its way into stores in 1989, and promotes three videos based on Top Cat, Pixie and Dixie, and Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy. The poster proclaims that these are classic "cats and dogs...and mice too"!

I couldn't find when this poster was used, but it promotes videos for the summer season. Its a more colorful image than the previous one, featuring a bunch of characters taking on different activities. Most of them make sense within the summer setting, but I kind of scratch my head at Huckleberry Hound bowling. A little random, is it not?

The last poster for today comes from 1990, and advertises a whopping six VHS tapes, all based from the Yogi's Treasure Hunt series. If I'm being honest, I'm a little surprised they made that many tapes off of this show. Yogi and the gang seem to share my shock. You'll also notice an ad in the bottom for a Wendy's Yogi Bear kids' meal that was occurring at the time. Now that's some brand synergy right there!

TV Tinykins Store Displays

 Of all the oodles of merchandise that was created during the early years of Hanna-Barbera, I think Marx's line of TV Tinykins are among my favorites. These guys were nice, pocket-sized versions of the various Hanna-Barbera characters. Another great thing about them were the store displays, and today, I'd like to show off some of those in all their old-school glory.

This first display has a cool blue acting as the background color, and puts the focus on three shows: Top Cat, Quick Draw McGraw, and Huckleberry Hound. The artwork of the characters is a neat companion to the actual figures, but I've gotta say, something about T.C.'s face isn't sitting right with me.

The second one I'm showing off has purple as its background color, and adopts a "house" format to the display. There's more figures being shown off, but the character artwork is nowhere near as enticing as before. What's going on with Yogi?

The last one I'll be featuring isn't focused on the individual figurines, but the playsets instead. The artwork is much closer to the shows than that last one, and it does a good overall job at presenting all these distinct sets. Now I ask the question all of these ask: do you have them all?

Video of the Week: Everything's Sound with Top Cat

 Hey, remember those two Top Cat CG-animated films produced for Mexico? I'm sure many of you do, and many of you do not. I'll cover them more in-depth next week, but something I bet none of you will have heard of is this Top Cat PSA, which played in UK cinemas when the movie was brought over there in 2012. Using footage from the film, the clip lets viewers know that this theater is equipped with devices for those with auditory or visual problems. It's a pretty neat find, though it seems odd they used this film to promote those services out of all their options.

Top Cat Heads For Beverly Hills

  In 1987, Hanna-Barbera began to put out a series of made for TV movies known as the "Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10." The films covered many different characters and franchises, ranging from a Flintstones and Jetsons crossover to several Scooby installments. The films also allowed Hanna-Barbera to return to characters that the studio hadn't utilized in some time, and nowhere was that more evident than in the fifth film in the series to air, Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats.

Like other Hanna-Barbera classics, Top Cat was anything but that when it premiered on TV. The show was canceled after one season, but slowly began to take on a new life in reruns. Despite this, the characters were rarely seen again, save for the occasional crossover series. Finally, in 1988, Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats premiered, being the first Top Cat production in over twenty years. 

On paper, it sounds like a surefire hit. It brought back the surviving cast members, and stuck heavily to the formula the original series created. Barry Blitzer, a writer on the series, also came back to pen the script. Unfortunately, the special doesn't quite live up to the best episodes of the show, or even some of the weaker ones for that matter. I've discussed the film before, but for me personally, it feels more like an imitation of the series than a genuine continuation. After the first couple minutes and the wow factor of seeing these characters again wears off, you're left with a pretty unremarkable TV film.

Despite my feelings for the film, I felt I owed it at least one dedicated post during Top Cat June. From the Beaumont Enterprise on March 27th, 1988, here's a preview they did for the movie. They run through its storyline, the animation precess, and they also have a couple quotes from Top Cat himself, Arnold Stang for good measure. 

Top Cat and pals prowl Beverly Hills

By Lela Davis

    Try talking to a Top Cat, the coolest cat in the alley, and see how you feel.
    Arnold Stang has been the voice of the Hanna-Barbera Top Cat since the feline hereo first started scamming the alley with his buddies. Now, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera have created a new two-hour special called "Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats" which will air at 9 a.m. Sunday on KBMT (Channel 12). 

    The animated story is so full of high-sounding morals and low-sounding conniving that Stang had to talk fast, just to tell it.
    Top Cat and his buddies' latest scam is posing as "Alley Scouts." They do good deeds, whether they're needed or not, and then hit up their "victims" for a reward.
    During the Alley Scouts scam, Benny the ball saved the life of a bag lady without asking for a reward. And it turns out that the bag lady was the wealthy and eccentric Mrs. Vandergelt. She wore disguises so she could find out who her true friends were.
    Now, Benny has been summoned to the Vandergelt Mansion in Beverly Hills for the reading of her will.
    To everyone's surprise, Mrs. Vandergelt has left her entire fortune to her long-lost niece, Amy. But since Amy is long-lost, the bulk of the estate goes to good scout Benny the Ball—with one condition: If anything happens to Benny within the first 48 hours after the reading of the will, the estate reverts to the servants Snerdly and Rasputin.
    Top Cat suggests to Benny that he and the gang move in the mansion, where life can be great.
    "I don't want to tell much more about the plot," said Stang, "because I'd be giving away some surprises. But Top Cat and his friends get lonesome for the alley, so when they move out of the mansion, it's because they want to."
    The procedure for an animated Top Cat show is that Stang and the other characters record the story first, and then the animation begins. He and the other actors are directed by Gordon Hunt, a veteran director who guides actors through performances in recording sessions before a microphone almost in the same manner as he directs plays. 

    The animation process takes almost a year after the voices have been recorded.
    "Although it sounds easy, the acting challenge is greater when you're only talking to a mike," said Stang. "I find acting in the theater easier to do and more rewarding. There, I have direct contact with the audience. All of them are individuals. You marry them—have the same reactions, share a common experience. Depending on the intelligence and the emotions of the audience, you create a mutual experience. They are sending a signal that comes back.
    "It is more difficult to do the acting without audience reaction. You must create everything yourself—your own mind, your own voice. You rely on magic and imagination to compensate."
    Films call on other kinds of talent, he said. "It's a technical medium, a director's medium, an editor's medium. Your meaning can be changed by the way a movie is put together."
    Stang, who has played the role for many years, says he thinks of Top Cat as a person. "I know about his background, his family and his childhood," he said. "I know his personality—how he would react to a situation. The only way I can play him is to identify, which I do. He's raffish— a Huckleberry Finn kind of person who represents the escapes people wanted and didn't have."

A Toast to Top Cat

 If there's one kind of item you can always expect classic cartoon characters to show up on, it's drinking glasses. I can't say why, but Top Cat is no exception, and that's what I'm here to show today. This first glass was released in 1996 by Duo Penotti, and is pretty barebones as far as collectible glasses go. Just a couple images of Top Cat, Dibble, and the Top Cat and Cartoon Network logos. It would've been nice to see some of the other characters, but oh well. This was actually part of a series of Cartoon Network glasses, with the others being based on The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, and Wacky Races.

The glasses I'm about to discuss are definitely more interesting. These ones were made in 1997 by Nutella, and I believe only saw release in Italy. T.C., Choo Choo, Brain, and Fancy Fancy are all present and accounted for. What's also great about these ones is the art on each one is entirely different from one another. As far as I know, it also original art, too. And since it was the 90s, they threw Choo Choo on a skateboard for good measure. 

That's Mel Blanc's Line!

 Top Cat might be the focus of the blog this month, but it's not all I intend on talking about. While preparing things for the month, I also completely neglected to mention the legendary Mel Blanc's birthday, which was on the 30th of last month.

As one of the most notable men in the history of both Hanna-Barbera and classic animation in general, I feel I'd be doing a disservice to not post something for the day, late as it may be. Today, I want to share with you this fantastic clip of Mel Blanc on the short-lived 1980s TV series, That's My Line. Bob Barker, another TV legend, interviews the man of a thousand voices here, but he's not alone. Also joining in on the fun is his son Noel, who would briefly take over several of his father's roles after he passed away in 1989. Enjoy!