Top Cat

''Top Cat'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast in prime time on the ABC network. It aired in a weekly evening time slot from September 27, 1961, to April 18, 1962, for a single season of 30 episodes. The show was a ratings failure in prime time, but became successful when repeated on Saturday morning television. The show also became popular in Latin American countries (especially Mexico), and the United Kingdom.

Background

''Top Cat'' was created as a parody of '' The Phil Silvers Show'' (1955–59), a successful military comedy whose lead character (Sergeant Bilko, played by Silvers) was a fast-talking con artist. Hanna-Barbera sold the cartoon to ABC based on a drawing of Top Cat. Arnold Stang's vocal characterization of the main character was originally based on an impression of Phil Silvers's voice. During the original network run, the sponsor objected to the Silvers impersonation—insisting that it was paying for Stang, not Silvers—so in later episodes Stang modified his characterization, bringing it closer to his own voice, though still copying Silvers. Additionally, Maurice Gosfield, who played Private Duane Doberman in ''The Phil Silvers Show'', provided the voice for Benny the Ball in ''Top Cat'', and Benny's chubby appearance was based on Gosfield's. Top Cat and his gang were also inspired by the East Side Kids, roguish, street-smart characters from a series of 1940s B movies.

This was only the second original cartoon series to premiere on prime time network television in the United States. ''Top Cat'' was conceived along the lines of a traditional, live-action situation comedy, and Hanna-Barbera recruited top sitcom writers of the day to furnish scripts, including Barry Blitzer (a ''Phil Silvers Show'' veteran), Harvey Bullock, and Kin Platt.

Premise

The title character, Top Cat (T.C.), is the leader of a gang of Manhattan alley cats living in Hoagy's Alley: Benny the Ball, Brain, Choo-Choo, Fancy-Fancy and Spook.

The gang constantly hatch get-rich-quick schemes through scams but they usually backfire, and a frequent plot thread revolves around the local police officer, Charles "Charlie" Dibble (voiced by Allen Jenkins), ineffectually trying to either arrest them, evict them from the alley, get them to clean the alley, or stop them using the policebox phone.

Like '' The Flintstones'', all the episodes feature a cold open, which is a small scene from the episode that takes place '' in medias res'', and after that, a long flashback that leads to the scene begins with the series' theme song "The Most Effectual Top Cat" and features Top Cat's misadventures that happen before the scene from the beginning plays. The story then continues from where it left off. In some episodes, the flashback stops near the middle when the same scene plays.

Broadcast

''Top Cat'' aired on Wednesday nights in prime time at 8:30 pm. Hanna-Barbera created 30 half-hour episodes. The show was broadcast in black-and-white but was created in color. The show aired on Saturdays in 1962 and 1963 on ABC, and was then rerun (now in color) in various Saturday-morning slots on NBC from 1965 to 1969, and occasionally in the 1980s.

Reruns of the series aired on Cartoon Network from 1992 until 2004, and on Boomerang from 2000 to 2014 and again from November 26 to 29, 2020. Reruns later returned to Boomerang on April 4, 2023. The show began airing on MeTV Toons on June 29, 2024.

Analysis

Animation historian Christopher P. Lehman says that the series can be seen as social commentary. The cats may represent disenfranchised people confined to living in a poor environment. Top Cat's get-rich-quick schemes are efforts to escape to a better life. The gang faces a human police officer who frustrates their efforts and keeps them trapped in the alley.Lehman (2007), p. 26 This enforcement of the social order by police ensures , says Lehman, that the cats will not escape their current living conditions. It is more likely that the cheerful amorality of the cats’ schemes is what draws police attention, and their own marginal morality that keeps them down. A staple of Hanna-Barbera cartoons is an authority figure of some kind, keeping the cartoon characters from going overboard, cf. Ranger Smith in the Yogi Bear cartoons.

Co-creator Bill Hanna said it was one of the wittiest and most sophisticated shows he produced, with a rare appeal to audiences of all ages.

Characters

Main voices:
* Arnold Stang as Top Cat
* Maurice Gosfield as Benny the Ball
* Leo De Lyon as Brain, Spook
* Marvin Kaplan as Choo-Choo
* John Stephenson as Fancy-Fancy
* Allen Jenkins as Officer Dibble

Additional voices:
* Bea Benaderet
* Herschel Bernardi
* Daws Butler
* Walker Edmiston
* Paul Frees
* Sallie Janes
* Don Messick
* Ge Ge Pearson
* Hal Smith
* Jean Vander Pyl
* Herb Vigran

Episodes

Series overview

Home media

Episodes of the series were released on VHS in Europe, as well as Worldvision Home Video in the United States.

The series' episode, "''All That Jazz''", was edited into a 7-minute preview as part of the "A Sample of Boomerang" tape, from Cartoon Network's sister channel, Boomerang.

Episodes of the series were also released on Laserdisc in the United Kingdom by Guild Home Video, as well as Image Entertainment in the United States.

Warner Home Video released the complete series on DVD on December 7, 2004. It was re-released on January 10, 2017, albeit as a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release via the Warner Archive. On June 6 of that year, ''Top Cat'' was re-released in stores again, albeit with all bonus features removed.

In the UK, the complete series box set was released in 2007, initially as a HMV exclusive until 2008. Alternatively, five single DVD volumes, each containing 6 episodes, were released. The covers were originally from the US edition but later re-released with a new design. Each volume shows a group picture of Top Cat using Dibble's phone with his gang beside him, but the colour-coding is:
* Volume 1: Primrose (episodes 1–6) – Top Cat
* Volume 2: Green (episodes 7–12) – Choo-Choo
* Volume 3: Red (episodes 13–18) – Fancy Fancy
* Volume 4: Blue (episodes 19–24) – Benny
* Volume 5: Orange (episodes 25–30) – Spook

The DVDs have since been made available for purchase from other retailers across the UK.

Warner Archive released the complete series on Blu-ray on September 17, 2024.

In other media

Comic books

The gang's adventures continued off-screen in comic books as Dell (which became Gold Key) published 31 issues from 1961 to 1970. Charlton Comics published 20 more issues from 1970 to 1973. In Mexico, Ediciones Latinoamericanas' "La Colección Primavera" featured Don Gato in 1968.

In 2012, there was a crossover between Top Cat and Chilean comic book character Condorito.

Top Cat had a backup story in ''Adam Strange/Future Quest Annual #1'' in where he escapes from prison and meets Batman through a cosmic portal. Unlike the cartoon, Top Cat is from a world where cats are the dominant species. As a follow-up, Top Cat also appears in one issue of a crossover series between DC and Hanna-Barbera, titled ''Superman/Top Cat Special'' (October 2018).

Books

Little Golden Books and Durabooks have both produced hardcover children's books starring Top Cat. In the UK, World Distributors published annuals during the 1960s sourced from the Dell comics strips. BrownWatson later published a 1978 annual entitled ''The Great Grape Ape and Boss Cat''.

View-Master

T.C. and friends appeared on three View-Master reels in 1962. These were titled "Medal for Meddling", "Zoo-Operation", and "No Cat Fishing".

Music

The Original TV Soundtrack, written and recorded by Hoyt Curtin, was released by Colpix Records in 1962, consisting of slightly edited versions of "The Unscratchables" and "Top Cat Falls in Love". Hanna-Barbera Records released an LP in 1965 titled ''Robin Hood Starring Top Cat''. T.C. and the gang were pictured as Merry Men on the cover. Its songs included "Top Cat", "M-O-N-E-Y", "Dibble", "Robin Hood", and "Buddies". It was re-released in 1977 on Columbia Records' Special Products label. A jazzy arrangement of the ''Top Cat'' theme can be heard most weeks over the end credits of Bob Dylan's '' Theme Time Radio Hour''.

The titles and underscore were released as part of the CD release, ''The Best of Hanna-Barbera: Tunes from the Toons'' by Music Club in 2002 in Europe.

Top Cat's cameos

* In "King for a Day", The Brain and Spook are reading comic books. At the right and at the bottom there is a '' Yogi Bear'' comic and a '' Huckleberry Hound'' comic.
* In "Rafeefleas", the gang is wandering through a museum at night when they come upon a group of statues labeled "Prehistoric Man". Choo-Choo insists that he's seen the figures before, maybe on TV, but TC waves this off. The statues are modeled after Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble.
* In "A Visit from Mother", graffiti of "El Kabong", Quick Draw McGraw's alter-ego, is seen on the wall in the background.

Top Cat's appearance in other shows

* Top Cat's theme is featured in '' The Flintstones'' episode "Surfin Fred" when Barney and Betty discover that Jimmy Darrock is in fact not a lifeguard.
* Officer Dibble makes a cameo appearance in ''The Flintstones'' episode "Time Machine" as a policeman in the future. Thus returning the favor done in the episode "Rafeefleas" when T.C and the gang found two statues of cavemen (Fred and Barney) in an art museum, while searching for the jewelry display case.
* Top Cat and his gang appeared in '' Yogi's Ark Lark''. While the others don't have dialogue, Top Cat was voiced by Daws Butler and Benny the Ball was voice by John Stephenson. It was presumed that Arnold Stang wasn't available at the time, while Maurice Gosfield died in 1964.
* In 1985, Top Cat appeared on '' Yogi's Treasure Hunt'' with Yogi Bear and other Hanna-Barbera toon stars; he was the one who assigned the treasure hunts. Officer Dibble also made an appearance in the end of the show's episode, "Yogi and the Beanstalk" voiced by John Stephenson.
* In 1987, Hanna-Barbera produced a feature-length television film based on the show titled '' Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats'' (part of the '' Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10'' film series), in which the gang helps a teenager claim her inheritance. During that time, John Stephenson reprised Officer Dibble while Benny the Ball was voiced by Avery Schreiber.
* In the ''Fender Bender 500'' segment of '' Wake, Rattle, and Roll'', Top Cat and Choo Choo were racers driving a trash can-modeled monster truck called the Alley Cat.
* In 1991, Top Cat was a teenage cat (but he still lived in a trash can) on '' Yo Yogi!'' voiced by Arte Johnson.
* Top Cat was seen in a Cartoon Network Rap in 1995.
* Top Cat made a cameo appearance in the background in '' What a Cartoon!'' segment "Buy One, Get One Free".
* In the '' Duck Dodgers'' episode "K-9 Quarry", Top Cat was amongst the poached characters on the Alien Hunter's ship.
* Top Cat and his gang appeared in the '' Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' episode "Mindless" with Top Cat and Choo Choo voiced by Tom Kenny, Benny the Ball voiced by Maurice LaMarche, and Fancy-Fancy voiced by Chris Edgerly. Brain has no dialogue and Spook is nowhere to be seen. In that episode, Harvey Birdman takes Top Cat and his gang home. Top Cat gets sued for bookmaking and running an illegal gambling service out of Harvey's home. He is found guilty and is sentenced to probation.
* Top Cat, Benny and Brain made a cameo appearance at the end of '' The Powerpuff Girls'' episode "Catastrophe". They can be seen at the bottom left corner of the screen (Note: Instead of his hat, Top Cat has a splat of slime on his head).
* Top Cat was seen briefly driving a motorcycle in the '' Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'' episode "Cheese a go-go".
* In the '' Futurama'' episode " That Darn Katz!" a picture of Top Cat is seen.
* Top Cat, Benny, and the rest of the alley cats appeared in the HBO Max original series '' Jellystone!'' Choo-Choo, Spook and Brain are females in this series. Spook is also renamed as Spooky and she is completely mute.
* Top Cat made a cameo appearance in ''Teen Titans Go!'' episode "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary".

Top Cat's appearances in comic strips

* Top Cat and his gang (except for Brain) appeared in the March 10, 2016, strip of '' Heathcliff''.

Television movies and specials

* '' Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats'' (1988)
* '' Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration'' (1989)

Theatrical films

The series has spawned two theatrical films produced by Mexican animation studio, Ánima Estudios. Both films have grossed a combined total of $19.3 million (MX$166.35 million pesos).

* '' Top Cat: The Movie'' (2011)
* '' Top Cat Begins'' (2015)

Box office

International broadcast

Australia

The show premiered on the Seven Network on September 27, 1961

Canada

''Top Cat'' premiered on the CTV Television Network on October 9, 1961.

Hungary

''Top Cat'' (''Turpi úrfi'') was one of the first American cartoons premiered on Hungarian television channels in 1969. It also broadcast later with '' The Huckleberry Hound Show'', '' Tom and Jerry'', ''Looney Tunes'', '' The Flintstones'' and '' The Jetsons'' on Magyar Televízió from 1985 to 1990, and tv2 from 1997 to 1999 (together with '' Wacky Races'', '' Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' and '' Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo''). Boomerang began broadcasting it in Hungarian in 2013 (the show had a one-off airing the year before as part of a cats-themed block).

Latin America

The show was dubbed to Spanish in Mexico in 1963, using some of the same voice actors who worked in '' The Flintstones''. It was renamed '' Don Gato y su pandilla'' (literally ''Mr. Cat and his gang'') and the main characters adopted different accents. The voice acting improved the show, adding new jokes and local references.

In spite of the modest success of the show in the United States, the show was a massive hit in Mexico, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Argentina, where it is recognized as one of the most famous Hanna Barbera characters ever.

Besides Top Cat, all the other characters from the show were famous, and their popularity is commonly attributed by the excellent dubbing and voice acting:
* Benny was renamed ''Benito B. Bodoque y B.'' and given a more childlike voice than was the case in the original dubbing.
* Choo Choo was renamed ''Cucho'' and spoke with a Yucatecan accent.
* Fancy-Fancy was ''Panza'' (belly).
* Spook renamed as the word's rough translation ''Espanto''.
* Brain was called ''Demóstenes'' (honouring the Greek statesman Demosthenes, with whom he shares a speech impediment).
* Officer Charlie Dibble renamed as ''Oficial Carlos "Carlitos" Matute''.

The adaptation and translation was made by Rubén Arvizu. The main voice actors were Julio Lucena (voice of Top Cat), Jorge Arvizu (voice of Benny and Choo Choo), Víctor Alcocer (voice of Dibble), and David Reynoso, among others. ''Top Cat'' is still rerun every few years.

In Brazil, the character is known as ''Manda-Chuva'' (Brazilian Portuguese for ''big shot'') and was voiced by actor Lima Duarte. The dub premiered in 1963 on TV Record in São Paulo and other stations in other cities. The series was later syndicated and was aired in the late 80s on TV Globo as part of '' Xou da Xuxa''. In addition, the city of New York was replaced by Brasília (federal capital) in the Brazilian version most of the time.

India

''Top Cat'' was one of the early favorites on Cartoon Network. It was aired in India in the 1990s. Top Cat was aired again in 2003 until 2004.

Japan

''Top Cat'' ( Japanese: ''ドラ猫大将'') first aired on TV Asahi back in 1963 under the title translating to ''Stray Cat Boss.'' It was then rebroadcast many times over the years. In 1990, A new dub was produced for VHS sold by Nippon Columbia and released under its original name in Katakana (''トップキャット''). This new dub was also carried over to airing on Cartoon Network Japan since its launch in 1997.

Sri Lanka

''Top Cat'' ( Sinhala: () literally ''Crazy Cat'') was one of the most popular cartoon shows in Sri Lanka early 1980s and it has been repeated several times on the national television channel " Rupavahini". The series is dubbed in Sinhala and directed by Titus Thotawatte.

United Kingdom

"Top Cat" premiered on the BBC Television Service (now BBC One) on May 16, 1962, under its original name but after only four weeks was renamed ''The Boss Cat'' on June 13, 1962. This was shortened on February 22, 1967, to ''Boss Cat''. This rapid name change was made because Top Cat was also the name of a then-popular British brand of cat food, and the cartoon was aired on the BBC which does not carry advertising. The dialogue and theme tune still referred to the character by his original name.

Despite the show being renamed ''Boss Cat'', the character's name was unchanged as Top Cat or the initials "TC". The ''Boss Cat'' title card was last used for a repeat run in summer 1989; From that point onwards the original US title sequence was used in full.

In 2016, the characters from the show (all the cats and Officer Dibble) were used as part of a set of television commercials for the British bank Halifax.

Name in different languages

* Brazilian Portuguese: ''Manda-Chuva'' (voice by Lima Duarte)
* English: ''Boss Cat''
* Bulgarian: ''Топ Кет'' (''Top Ket'')
* Canadian French: ''Top chatons''
* Czech: ''Kočičí banda''
* Danish: ''Top Kat''
* Dutch: ''Top Kat''
* American English: ''Top Cat''
* Finnish: ''Topi-katti'' ("Topi" does not mean 'Top', but is a Finnish nickname like "Tommy")
* French: ''Pacha''
* German: ''Superkater''
* Hungarian: ''Turpi úrfi'' (Lord Trick) in the series and ''Főmacsek'' (Main Cat) in the special.
* Italian: ''Top Cat (Temistocle)''
* Japanese: ()
* (''Tosho Machorot'')
* Norwegian: ''Top Katt''
* Persian: ''گربه استثنائی / داش پیشی / پیشی خان''
* Polish: ''Kocia Ferajna'' () and earlier translation ''Kot Tip Top'' ()
* Portuguese: ''similar to Brazilian''
* Romanian: ''Super Motanul'' (''The Super-Cat'')
* Russian: ''ГлавКот''
*
* Sinhala: ()
* Spanish: ''Don Gato y su pandilla'' (''Mr. Cat and his gang'')
* Swedish: ''Top Cat'' (voice by Per Sandborgh)

See also

* List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions
* List of Hanna-Barbera characters
* '' Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats''
* '' Yogi's Treasure Hunt''
* '' Jellystone!''

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

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{{Children's programming on NBC in the 1960s

1960s American animated comedy television series
1960s American children's comedy television series
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