Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater

Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater is an animated series based on the Japanese character, Hello Kitty.[1] produced by DIC Enterprises and animated by Toei Animation. The series involved Hello Kitty and her friends doing their own version of popular fairy tales and stories.[2] 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.[3]

Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater
Title card
GenreComedy
Family
Adventure
Fantasy
Created bySanrio
Developed byPhil Harnage
Directed byMichael Maliani
Voices ofCarl Banas
Tara Charendoff
Cree Summer Francks
Sean Roberge
Mairon Bennet
Noam Zylberman
Len Carlson
Elizabeth Hanna
Greg Morton
Denise Pidgeon
Fred Savage
Theme music composerDavid Pomeranz
Opening themeTitle Song Written & Performed By David Pomeranz
ComposersHaim Saban
Shuki Levy
Country of originCanada
United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producerAndy Heyward
ProducerMichael Maliani
Running timeapprox. 22–23 min.
Production companiesDIC Enterprises
Toei Animation
DistributorMGM/UA Television
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseSeptember 19 –
December 12, 1987 (1987-12-12)

Characters
  • Hello Kitty (voiced by Tara Charendoff) - The cheerful and kind kitten director of the theater. In many tales she is the protagonist or a supportive fairy.
  • Mama Kitty (voiced by Elizabeth Hanna) – Kitty's mother, who plays motherly roles in the tales.
  • Papa Kitty (voiced by Len Carlson) - Kitty's father, who plays fatherly roles in the tales.
  • Grandma Kitty (voiced by Elizabeth Hanna) - Kitty's grandmother. She casts as supporting roles in the tales.
  • Grandpa Kitty (voiced by Carl Banas) - Kitty's grandfather. He casts as supporting roles in the tales.
  • Tuxedo Sam (voiced by Sean Roberge) - The happy penguin stage helper of the theater. In many tales he is the protagonist or Kitty's sidekick or love interest.
  • My Melody (voiced by Mairon Bennett) - A very timid supporting bunny actress who is Kitty’s best friend. Her roles are often smaller and she needs assistance to perform perfectly.
  • Chip (voiced by Noam Zylberman) - A cheery supporting white seal pup actor. He has supporting roles with the protagonists.
  • Catnip (voiced by Cree Summer) - A green Siamese Cat, who sometimes plays tricks on her friends but remains sociable. She often takes the role of the antagonist in the tales (such as a mobster, Captain Hook, Count Dracula, Ebenezer Scrooge, etc.).
  • Fangora (voiced by Denise Pidgeon) - A purple Siamese Cat and Catnip's mother. She sometimes fills in for the role of a secondary antagonist in the tales.
  • Grinder (voiced by Greg Morton) - A dim-witted, naive and competent bulldog who often takes the role of a secondary antagonist or a bumbling accomplice to Catnip.
  • Mouser (voiced by Fred Savage) - A trickster mouse who plays scary tricks on Hello Kitty and her friends in the last episode.

Format

Each cartoon opens with a big huge modern theater located in the big city of London, England filling up with patrons, and usually a look at some comical goings-on backstage. The play then begins (with Hello Kitty or Tuxedo Sam saying "Once upon a meow") and the stage transforms into whatever setting the story calls for, like outer space, the American Old West, the Great Depression or the Middle Ages. Each show is a light-hearted takeoff of a children’s story or a popular movie. Catnip and Grinder were usually typecast as the villains.[4]

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 (specifically "Robin Penguin"); all the action in this story takes place backstage.

Episodes
Ep.CartoonSpoof of:Written byRelease Date
1The Wizard of PawsThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz Phil Harnage September 19, 1987
Pinocchio PenguinPinocchio Jack Hanrahan
Eleanor Burian-Mohr
2CinderkittyCinderella Phil Harnage September 26, 1987
The Pawed PiperThe Pied Piper of Hamelin Jim Lenahan
Martha Moran
3K.T. the Kitty TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Phil Harnage October 3, 1987
Peter PenguinPeter Pan Tony Marino
4Kittylocks and the Three BearsGoldilocks and the Three Bears Jack Hanrahan
Eleanor Burian-Mohr		 October 10, 1987
Paws the Great White Dog SharkJaws Phil Harnage
5Cat WarsStar Wars Tony Marino October 17, 1987
Tar-Sam of the JungleTarzan Pat Allee
Ben Hurst
6Sleeping KittySleeping Beauty Martha Moran October 24, 1987
Kitty and the KongKing Kong Jack Hanrahan
Eleanor Burian-Mohr
7Kitty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast Temple Mathews October 31, 1987
Little Red Bunny HoodLittle Red Riding Hood Phil Harnage
8Snow White Kitty and the One DwarfSnow White Phil Harnage November 7, 1987
FrankencatFrankenstein Phil Harnage
9CatulaDracula Matt Uitz November 14, 1987
Paws of the Round TableKnights of the Round Table, The Sword in the Stone Tony Marino
10RumpeldogskinRumpelstiltskin Jack Hanrahan
Eleanor Burian-Mohr		 November 21, 1987
Robin PenguinRobin Hood Jack Olesker
11Hello Mother GooseMother Goose Jack Hanrahan
Eleanor Burian-Mohr		 November 28, 1987
Crocodile PenguinCrocodile Dundee Phil Harnage
Martha Moran
12The Ugly QuacklingThe Ugly Duckling Jack Hanrahan
Eleanor Burian-Mohr		 December 5, 1987
Grinder Genie and the Magic LampAladdin, One Thousand and One Nights Phil Harnage
Martha Moran
13The Year Scroogenip Swiped ChristmasA Christmas Carol, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Night Before Christmas Phil Harnage December 12, 1987
The Phantom of the TheaterThe Phantom of the Opera Phil Harnage

Release

Region 1

On March 24, 1998, MGM Home Entertainment released Two VHS videocassettes each containing four cartoon shorts, as well as the opening and closing sequences.

  • Hello Kitty: 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 2003-2004, MGM Home Entertainment under their MGM Kids label released 5 DVD's each containing five cartoon shorts; the only one of the 26 not to be included was "The Year Scroogenip Swiped Christmas." The opening and closing sequences are not included.

  • Hello Kitty Becomes a Princess (February 4, 2003), (Cinderkitty, Kittylocks and the Three Bears, Sleeping Kitty, Kitty and the Beast, Snow White Kitty and the One Dwarf)
  • Hello Kitty Goes to the Movies (February 4, 2003), (K.T. The Kitty Terrestrial, The Wizard of Paws, Kitty and the Kong, Cat Wars, Paws: The Great White Dog Shark)
  • Hello Kitty Saves the Day (February 4, 2003), (Peter Penguin, Tar-Sam of the Jungle, Paws of the Round Table, Crocodile Penguin, Grinder Genie and the Magic Lamp)
  • Hello Kitty Plays Pretend (February 17, 2004), (The Phantom of the Theater, Frankencat, Catula, The Pawed Piper, Rumpeldogskin)
  • Hello Kitty Tells Fairy Tales (February 17, 2004), (Robin Penguin, Hello Mother Goose, The Ugly Quackling, Pinocchio Penguin, Little Red Bunny Hood)

Region 2

The same DVDs that were released in the United States were released in Region 2 by MGM Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Becomes a Princess, Goes to the Movies and Saves the Day were all released in September 2004, using the same prints as the US versions without the opening and closing sequences.

Plays Pretend and Tells Fairy Tales were not released in the United Kingdom until October 2012. These prints are not the same as the US versions, and do include the opening and closing sequences. Another DVD titled Hello Kitty Has Fun at Halloween was also released in the same year, featuring 3 episodes from Plays Pretend and an episode from Goes to the Movies. A boxset was also released, featuring all 5 of the original DVDs.

References
  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 274. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 402–403. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. CHARLES SOLOMON (1987-10-09). "Kidvid Reviews : Cartoon Debuts Are All Drawn Out - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  4. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. pp. 210–211. ISBN 978-0823083152.
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