Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater
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| Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | comedy |
| Developed by | Sanrio DIC Entertainment MGM/UA Television |
| Directed by | Michael Maliani |
| Voices of | (English Dubbing) Carl Banas Mairon Bennett Len Carlson Elizabeth Hanna Kyōko Hikami Denise Pidgeon Tara Charandoff Cree Summer Francks Noam Zylberman |
| Country of origin | United States Japan |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Andy Heyward |
| Producer | Michael Maliani |
| Running time | approx. 22-23 min. |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 19 – December 12, 1987 |
Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater (Japanese: サンリオ・アニメ世界名作劇場, Hepburn: Sanrio anime sekai meisaku gekijō, lit. Sanrio Anime World Masterpiece Theater) is a Japanese-American co-produced animated series based on the popular Japanese character, Hello Kitty. The series involved her and her friends doing their own version of popular fairy tales and stories. Each of the 13 episodes consisted of two 11-minute cartoons, for a total of 26 “shows”; each show was a spoof of a well-known fairy tale or movie.[1]
Characters and voices
- Tara Charandoff - Hello Kitty
- Elizabeth Hanna - Mama Kitty / Grandma Kitty
- Carl Banas - Grandpa Kitty
- Len Carlson - Papa Kitty
- Sean Roberge - Tuxedo J. Orville Sam
- Mairon Bennett - My Melody
- Noam Zylberman - Chip
- Cree Summer Francks - Catnip
- Denise Pidgeon - Fangora
- Greg Morton - Grinder
- Fred Savage - Mowzer
- Additional voices - Charlie Adler, Michael Bell, Peter Cullen, B.J. Ward and Frank Welker
Format
Each cartoon opens with the theater filling up with patrons, and usually a look at some comical goings-on backstage. The play then begins (with Hello Kitty or another character saying “Once upon a meow”) and the stage transforms into whatever setting the story calls for (outer space, the American Old West, et cetera). Each show is a lighthearted takeoff of a children’s story and a popular movie. At the end, the stage returns to normal, and the actors take their bow.
One exception to this format is the cartoon “The Phantom of the Theater,” which begins after the actors have finished a show; all the action in this story takes place backstage.
Episode list
| Ep. | Cartoon | Spoof of: |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Wizard of Paws | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz |
| Pinocchio Penguin | Pinocchio | |
| 2 | Cinderkitty | Cinderella |
| The Pawed Piper | The Pied Piper of Hamelin | |
| 3 | K.T.—The Kitty Terrestrial | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial |
| Peter Penguin | Peter Pan | |
| 4 | Kittylocks and the Three Bears | The Three Bears |
| Paws—The Great White Dog Shark | Jaws | |
| 5 | Cat Wars | Star Wars |
| Tarsam of the Jungle | Tarzan | |
| 6 | Sleeping Kitty | Sleeping Beauty |
| Kitty and the Kong | King Kong | |
| 7 | Kitty and the Beast | Beauty and the Beast |
| Little Red Bunny Hood | Little Red Riding Hood | |
| 8 | Snow White Kitty and the One Dwarf | Snow White |
| Frankencat | Frankenstein | |
| 9 | Catula | Dracula |
| Paws of the Round Table | Knights of the Round Table | |
| 10 | Rumpeldogskin | Rumpelstiltskin |
| Robin Penguin | Robin Hood | |
| 11 | Hello Mother Goose | Mother Goose |
| Crocodile Penguin | Crocodile Dundee | |
| 12 | Grinder Genie and the Magic Lamp | Aladdin |
| The Ugly Quackling | The Ugly Duckling | |
| 13 | How Scrinchenip Stole Christmas | Various Christmas stories |
| The Phantom of the Theater | The Phantom of the Opera |
Availability
Two VHS videocassettes were released, each containing four cartoon shorts, as well as the opening and closing sequences.
In 2003, five DVDs were released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, each containing five cartoon shorts; the only one of the 26 not to be included was “How Scrinchip Stole Christmas.” The opening and closing sequences are not included.
Home video
- Hello Kitty (TV Series): Kitty and the Beast (also includes “Grinder Genie and the Magic Lamp,” “Hello Mother Goose,” and “Little Red Bunny Hood”)
- Hello Kitty: Wizard of Paws (also includes “Snow White Kitty,” “Sleeping Kitty,” and “Peter Penguin”)
- In 1989, episodes from "Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater" were in a video called "Hello Kitty and Friends Get Along from Burbank Video.
DVD list
- Hello Kitty Becomes a Princess (February 4, 2003)
- Hello Kitty Goes to the Movies (February 4, 2003)
- Hello Kitty Saves the Day (February 4, 2003)
- Hello Kitty Plays Pretend (February 17, 2004)
- Hello Kitty Tells Fairy Tales (February 17, 2004)
iTunes
In 2008, all thirteen episodes were made available to download on iTunes for $1.99 an episode or $21.99 for the entire series. To promote the series, iTunes offered the episodes "Wizard of Paws and Pinocchio Penguin" as a free download for a limited time.
Hulu
In 2010, all 26 half episodes were made available to watch on hulu.
References
- ^ CHARLES SOLOMON (1987-10-09). "Kidvid Reviews : Cartoon Debuts Are All Drawn Out - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
External links
- Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater at IMDb
- Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater anime at the MyAnimelist
- Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater anime at the ANN
- Template:Tv.com show
- Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater episode guide at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater at Toonarific.com
- Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theatre on hulu.com