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
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."
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