Classic Cartoons: Heathcliff
As a self-processed “nostalgia whore”, having a son has been a great thing for me. Introducing Ethan to stuff I enjoyed as a kid allows me to relive some of those great times for myself and one of my favorite parts about being a kid was cartoons. This is before cable TV all but destroyed the Saturday morning cartoon phenomenon and when USA’s Cartoon Express was in its heyday, showing a cavalcade of Hanna Barbera classics from the 60s, 70, and 80s.
Thanks to DVD collections, Netflix Instant Queue, and Hulu, (along with some other more nefarious methods, when necessary), Ethan and I have enjoyed hours of cartoons from my childhood. I figured chronicling some of these cartoons might not only be fun for me, but might also loosen some memories for you.
Let’s start out with a show I used to watch after school on one of the cable networks; probably WGN, USA, or TBS. Heathcliff was based on the comic strip of the same name, and the cartoon I watched as a kid – and the one I’ll be referencing today – was actually the second series to be based on that strip. This one was produced by DiC and starred the legendary Mel Blanc as Heathcliff. The cast included Heathcliff’s on-again/off-again partners, the Catillac Cats, headed by Riff Raff and including Hector, Wordsworth, and Mungo. Riff Raff also had a foxy girlfriend named Cleo who lived in a music store. The Catillac Cats were such an integral part of the Heathcliff series that they even had their own standalone segment.
Back to Heathcliff, the premise was pretty standard. Heathcliff is a trouble-making cat who “terrorizes” the neighborhood by stealing from the milkman, swiping fish from the market, and other shenanigans. Other characters included Spike the dog and Heathcliff’s jailbird, Humphrey Bogart-sounding father.
Surprisingly, and unlike many cartoons from that time period, Heathcliff stands up pretty well as children’s entertainment. The animation is pretty representative of the era and there’s enough goofball fun to be had to make the show worth checking out with your kids. Ethan got quite a few laughs out of the DVD we watched, which can be found here: Heathcliff: Terror of the Neighborhood
I’ll cover some more cartoons (The Hair Bear Bunch, Hong Kong Phooey, and more) in the coming weeks.
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Tags: Cartoons, heathcliff, nostalgia
February 9th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Oddly I keep the theme song to this and David the Gnome in my my music collection. I didn’t even like Heathcliff show when I was little, but that song was too fuckin’ catchy.
February 9th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Great stuff. I loved Heathcliff and David the Gnome too! I really miss old school cartoons/kids shows with their positive morals and catchy theme songs. Life is like a hurricaaaane, here in Duckburg…
February 12th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
God damn, that took me back. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I hope to see M.A.S.K. in this segment someday.