Hong Kong Phooey

It's funny how as a kid you watch some programs on Saturday morning and don't realise how quickly they are repeated. I was amazed to discover HKP only existed for 16 episodes. It felt like I grew up watching him for years.

I absolutely loved this show, more than Flintstones, more than Jetsons, even more than Birdman and that's saying something.

They just don't make funny harmless cartoons for kids anymore (and I should know, I'm the self appointed censor against the drivell that is on TV for my kids these days .... Pokemon? Poke Off I say!) and that's a shame because being a kid should be about growth and fun, not violence and fierce competition. Plenty of time for those life lessons once childhood is behind you

In the mid 1970's Hanna-Barbera began to make cartoons that were based on real-life trends. From "Devlin" (Evil Knevil), to "Jabberjaw" ("Jaws"), and "These are the Days" ("The Waltons"), they were great concepts (execpt "Jabberjaw" that one sucks). But the best show they did at this time was a show that focused on martial arts, and that show was "Hong Kong Phooey".

This show was cool for so many reasons: First off, we have Penrod who's just a janitor dog, but he also has a double life as a martial arts crime fighter who along with his sidekick a cat named Spot, would always stop criminals in a way that inspired other toons like "Inspector Gadget" (In which someone else solves the crime, but the hero gets all the credit when he/she does nothing but bumble) but in a different kind of way in which our feline sidekick isn't pleased that he doesn't get the credit he really deserves since he solved the crimes himself!

I got to admit, this is up there with many of H-B'S other greats ("Scooby-Doo", "Flinstones", "Jetsons" etc.). Hopefully, Cartoon Network will get it together, and air all of the 16 eps again like they used to.10/10

What superhero was a dog who changed into a black mask and robe in a file cabinet before emerging to fight off evildoers throughout the land? The answer? Hong Kong Phooey,of course. Number One Superguy. Hong Kong Phooey,quicker than the human eye. This was one of the best of the Hanna-Barbera produced shows that was part of ABC-TV's Sunshine Saturday Morning schedule which produced 16 episodes from its premiere on September 7,1974-September 4,1976,and from there switch networks over to NBC-TV until September 5,1981. However,the original 16 episodes aired during the show's first season from 1974-1975. During the years from 1975 until 1981,the series aired repeated episodes three times during the remainder of the decade from the mid-1970's all the way toward the early 1980's. However,the ABC-TV years were from 1974-1976,and then it went to NBC-TV in repeated episodes from 1978 until 1981. What makes "Hong Kong Phooey" such a standard astoundishment during the heyday of 1970's Saturday Morning cartoons? Not since the "Underdog" series of the early 1960's,you might be hard pressed to figure out why "Hong Kong Phooey" remains a object of cult worship among veterans of Saturday Mornings. And it is to this day a cult animated classic. For one,it is one of the first ever pedestrian Hanna-Barbera fare which has the adventures of an inept superheroic cartoon dog and his cat assistant.

The other secret has to do with repeated exposure:the original episodes,16 produced were recycled three times during the remainder of the 1970's. Much of it was the totally successful theme song,one of the all-time Saturday Morning greats. More of it was Scatman Crothers' warm and humorous performance as the voice of Hong Kong Phooey. And let us not forget that the show appeared in the middle of a major cultural craze for Asian martial arts,and this came at a time when Kung-Fu mania when wild in the movies and on television,when everybody was Kung-Fu fighting. Not to mention at the time the show came out,R&B singer Carl Douglas had one of the biggest hits of the 70's playing on the radio which was a huge smash hit(hince the title of the song:Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting). Speaking of which the show itself was indeed hilarious to boot since it supported genuinely funny writing,ranging from gags centered on Phooey's secret identity as a janitor in a police station to his use of a book of martial arts instructions as a means in a middle of a fight with a supervillain. It not only spoof the Kung-Fu movie craze,but also the writers took elements from several shows,and in one episode based on Don Knotts' character of Barney Fife(from the Andy Griffith Show),and another was poking fun of just about every police-cop show that came out during the 70's and for good reason.

My nostalgia trip is going full-force. This year alone I have gone through the Flintstones, Top Cat, Scooby-Doo and numerous other Cartoon Network classics. Hong Kong Phooey was another one off my list, but I have to say I do not have many memories of it as a child. With so few episodes it is easy to understand why, but I was willing to pay the small amount to try and re-live my childhood.

Let's get this straight; Hong Kong Phooey comes from a simpler time when cartoonists had much more slack from censorship. The title alone is enough to stir controversy today. Add to that a stereotypical goofy robe and faux karate moves (with plenty "Hiyaaahhh's") and you have a cartoon that wouldn't even get past pre-pre- pre-production today! However, as I said, it is a reflection of the time it was created in.

Penry, a lowly janitor of a police station, forms the basis of Hong Kong Phooey's alter ego. He is clumsy and incompetent and yet somehow clings onto his job. His superhero counterpart is equally as useful, but his trusty sidekick gets the job done whilst Hong Kong Phooey gets the praise. It is a simple formula that forms the basis of every episode. For the first few episodes it was entertaining, however it grew somewhat repetitive and many episodes seemed to merge into one. Perhaps this is why I had so few memories of this as a child.

Although I have mentioned many negatives, I did enjoy watching this short series, although I do rank other Hanna-Barbera classics much higher. The villains in some episodes were hilarious in their own right. I mean, a guy with a contraption that makes it rain uses it to sell umbrellas...genius, right? Also, the racial stereotypes themselves made me laugh but not in the way they were originally intended. It was more like a "I can't believe they got away with this" kind of way!

If you have some spare time and cash, you might want to give this show a watch. It is short, will fulfil your nostalgia trip and is probably about as close as we are going to get to time travel. Despite its obvious flaws, Hong Kong Phooey remains a Hanna- Barbera classic for a reason.

Though Hanna-Barbera Productions went into "trends" in their Saturday morning shows (they were everywhere on NBC or ABC, CBS was mostly Filmation's playground), this superhero Kung Fu beagle was one of the exceptions.

I discovered this "Kung Fu" addict on Laff-A-Lympics, another HB classic where our superhero beagle was part of the "Scooby-Doobies". And French- dubbed (from Paris) here on the TVA Network in the 80s.

Story is a bit like "the sidekick who never gets credits for the hero's goofs". Police station janitor (and naive) Penry Pooch overhears many police complains from phone receptionist Rosemary, and despite the rants of Sergeant Flint, gets into grab from the help of his sidekick cat Spot and gets into the Phooey Mobile (which changes shape with the sound of the gong) to get all the criminals and crooks.

Most of the time, the hero reads a book of "Hong Kong book of Kung Fu" in front of the bandits, however, most of the time, it is Spot which saves the day, but the masked beagle takes credit, to the poor cat's dismay...

At the time, many Hanna-Barbera had shows which missed the mark with all the trends shown (in my book, the best HB shows in the 70s were this one, Scooby Doo, Super Friends, Laff-A-Lympics, Dynomutt, Speed Buggy, and Captain Caveman) and the 50s-60s punch and originality were fading away. Hong Kong Phooey reminded me a bit of Quick Draw McGraw, but on the Kung Fu style...

To watch mostly for its wackiness...