Hong Kong Phooey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hong Kong Phooey |
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| Genre | Animation Comedy |
| Created by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Directed by | Charles A. Nichols Wally Burr (recording director) |
| Voices of |
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| Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Composer(s) | Hoyt Curtin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 16 (31 sub-episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Producer(s) | Iwao Takamoto (creative producer) |
| Running time | 30 minutes (approximately) |
| Production company(s) | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Distributor | Taft Broadcasting |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Color |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original release | September 7 – December 21, 1974 |
Hong Kong Phooey is a fun American cartoon TV show. It was made by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show first aired on ABC from September to December 1974. It was so popular that it was shown again many times until the 1980s.
The main character is Hong Kong Phooey. He is a clumsy but brave superhero. His secret identity is Penrod "Penry" Pooch. Penry works as a janitor at a police station. His boss is the grumpy Sergeant Flint, also known as "Sarge".
Penry changes into Hong Kong Phooey by jumping into a filing cabinet. He always gets stuck inside! Luckily, his smart pet cat, Spot, helps him get out. Once he is Hong Kong Phooey, he drives the "Phooeymobile". This cool car can turn into a boat, a plane, or even a telephone booth!
Hong Kong Phooey tries to fight crime using his "Hong Kong Kung Fu Book of Tricks". But he is not very good at kung fu. Most of the time, his successes are thanks to Spot. Spot usually finds the real solution to the problem. Sometimes, Hong Kong Phooey accidentally solves the crime! The show is funny because Hong Kong Phooey is often clumsy.
Contents
Meet the Characters
This section introduces the main characters of the show. They help make the cartoon so much fun!
Penry and Hong Kong Phooey
Penry Pooch is a mild-mannered janitor. He works at the police station. When crime calls, he becomes the amazing, but clumsy, Hong Kong Phooey. He is a dog who tries his best to be a superhero.
Spot the Cat
Spot is Penry's pet cat. He is very smart and often saves the day. Spot helps Hong Kong Phooey get unstuck from the filing cabinet. He also secretly solves most of the crimes.
Rosemary the Operator
Rosemary is the police station's telephone operator. She is a bit ditzy but always answers the calls about crimes. She has a big crush on Hong Kong Phooey.
Sergeant Flint
Sergeant Flint, or "Sarge", is Penry's boss. He is a tough police sergeant. Sarge does not like Hong Kong Phooey. He thinks the superhero just gets in the way.
How Hong Kong Phooey Fights Crime
Each episode starts with Rosemary getting a call about a crime. She tells Sergeant Flint about it. Penry, the janitor, always overhears their talk.
Then, Penry quickly changes into Hong Kong Phooey. He slips into a hidden room. He jumps into the filing cabinet. Spot the cat helps him pop out of the top drawer.
After that, he slides down to the floor below. He bounces off a sofa and out a window. He lands in a dumpster outside! Then he drives off in his Phooeymobile.
Even when he causes a small accident, people are happy to see him. For example, he once drove through wet cement. The workers were splattered, but they said it was an honor to have their work ruined by "the great Hong Kong Phooey"! Criminals are scared of him, even though he is not very talented.
Show Music
The show's catchy opening song is called "Hong Kong Phooey". Hoyt Curtin, William Hanna, and Joseph Barbera wrote the music. Scatman Crothers, who voiced Hong Kong Phooey, sang the song. An instrumental version of the song played during the end credits.
Episodes List
There were 16 episodes of Hong Kong Phooey. Each episode had two shorter stories. Here is a list of the episodes:
| Nº | Title(s) | Air date | |
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| 1 | "Car Thieves / Zoo Story" | September 7, 1974 | |
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| 2 | "Iron Head the Robot / Cotton Pickin' Pocket Picker" | September 14, 1974 | |
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| 3 | "Grandma Goody (Cat Burglar) / Candle Power" | September 21, 1974 | |
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| 4 | "The Penthouse Burglaries / Batty Bank Mob" | September 28, 1974 | |
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| 5 | "The Voltage Villain / The Giggler" | October 5, 1974 | |
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| 6 | "The Gumdrop Kid / Professor Presto (The Malevolent Magician)" | October 12, 1974 | |
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| 7 | "TV or Not TV / Stop Horsing Around" | October 19, 1974 | |
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| 8 | "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall / Great Movie Mystery" | October 26, 1974 | |
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| 9 | "The Claw / Hong Kong Phooey vs. Hong Kong Phooey" | November 2, 1974 | |
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| 10 | "The Abominable Snowman / Professor Crosshatch" | November 9, 1974 | |
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| 11 | "Goldfisher / Green Thumb" | November 16, 1974 | |
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| 12 | "From Bad to Verse (Rotten Rhymer) / Kong and the Counterfeiters" | November 23, 1974 | |
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| 13 | "The Great Choo Choo Robbery / Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Bakery Man" | November 30, 1974 | |
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| 14 | "Mr. Tornado / The Little Crook Who Wasn't There" | December 7, 1974 | |
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| 15 | "Dr. Disguiso / The Incredible Mr. Shrink" | December 14, 1974 | |
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| 16 | "Comedy Cowboys" | December 21, 1974 | |
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Tin Nose frames Hong Kong Phooey for stealing a map. Other heroes help clear Phooey's name.
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Voice Actors
These are the talented people who gave voices to the characters:
- Scatman Crothers – Hong Kong Phooey/Penrod "Penry" Pooch
- Kathy Gori – Rosemary
- Joe E. Ross – Sergeant Flint
- Don Messick – Spot, The Narrator, and other voices
More Voices
- Daws Butler
- Richard Dawson
- Ron Feinberg
- Bob Holt
- Casey Kasem
- Jay Lawrence
- Peter Leeds
- Allan Melvin
- Alan Oppenheimer
- Robert Ridgely
- Fran Ryan
- Hal Smith
- Jean Vander Pyl
- Lee Vines
- Janet Waldo
- John Stephenson
- Lennie Weinrib
- Frank Welker
- Paul Winchell
Hong Kong Phooey in Other Media
Hong Kong Phooey has appeared in other cartoons, movies, and even books!
Movies
- In 2009, there were plans for a Hong Kong Phooey movie. Eddie Murphy was going to voice Penry/Hong Kong Phooey. Some test footage was leaked in 2012, but no more news has come out since then.
- Hong Kong Phooey briefly appears in the movie Scoob! (2020). You can see him on the side of an arcade machine.
TV Shows
- Hong Kong Phooey/Penrod "Penry" Pooch was in the TV series Laff-A-Lympics. He was part of the "Scooby Doobies" team.
- He also appeared in two episodes of Robot Chicken.
- Hong Kong Phooey/Penrod "Penry" Pooch was in the new Wacky Races episode "Hong Kong Screwy". He helped the racers fight an evil group called K.I.T.T.Y.
- Hong Kong Phooey will appear in the upcoming series Jellystone!.
Books
Two children's books about Hong Kong Phooey were published in the 1970s:
- Hong Kong Phooey and the Fortune Cookie Caper (1975)
- Hong Kong Phooey and the Bird Nest Snatchers (1976)
See also
In Spanish: Hong Kong Phooey para niños
