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 and the United Kingdom.

Background

Top Cat was created as a parody of The Phil Silvers Show, a successful military comedy whose lead character 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, Harvey Bullock, and Kin Platt.

Premise

The title character, Top Cat, 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, 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 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. This enforcement of the social order by police ensures, says Lehman, that the cats will not escape their current living conditions.
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 characters

  • Top Cat is a yellow cat with a purple hat and vest who is the leader of the gang and titular character of the series. He is a clever, smooth-talking con-artist who is always hatching get-rich-quick schemes.
  • Benny the Ball is a blue cat with a white sports jacket who is Top Cat's sidekick who often falls into and assists with his schemes, but is innocent and kind-hearted and is willing to help anyone.
  • Choo-Choo is a pink cat with a white turtleneck sweater who is Top Cat's loyal right-paw cat and his voice of reason. He has a nervous personality and speaks with a thick Brooklyn accent, and gets anxious when it comes to dating mates, but he usually has a caring attitude. He is often referred to as "Chooch" by the other members.
  • Brain is an orange cat with a purple shirt with a black band on the bottom who, despite his sarcastic name, is the slow, dim-witted member of Top Cat's gang, usually not understanding the tasks given to him and failing to keep secrets. Despite this, he is a loyal member of Top Cat's gang and is helpful to the other cats.
  • Spook is an olive-green cat with a black tie who is a member of Top Cat's gang. He speaks with a stereotypical 1960's beatnik slang, but in the theatrical movies, he speaks like a surfer dude. He has a laid-back attitude and an appreciation for music.
  • Fancy-Fancy is a brown cat with a white scarf who is a member of Top Cat's gang. Like Spook, he has a laid-back personality but unlike Choo-Choo, he has a romantic knack for mates and is often seen flirting with them, until Top Cat calls for him. Despite his name, the word Fancy can sometimes be said once or twice.
  • Officer "Charlie" Dibble is a strict but well-meaning police officer who is usually the target of Top Cat's schemes, and always patrols the alley to keep a watchful eye on Top Cat and his gang, especially when it comes to using the police phone located on a pole in the alley.
Additional voices:

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 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.
DVD nameRelease dateAdditional information
Top Cat – The Complete Series30
  • Commentary on various episodes
  • Back to Hoagy's Alley: The Making of Top Cat
  • Interviews: Cool Cats in Interview Alley
  • Top Cat sing-along
  • Production Sketches: Top Cat Collection
  • Storyboards: Storyboard Showcase
  • TV Spot: Top Cat Kellogg's commercials
    • 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 – Top Cat
    • Volume 2: Green – Choo-Choo
    • Volume 3: Red – Fancy Fancy
    • Volume 4: Blue – Benny
    • Volume 5: Orange – 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 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.

    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.