kids encyclopedia robot

Hong Kong Phooey facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Hong Kong Phooey
Hong Kong Phooey logo.jpg
Genre Animation
Comedy
Created by William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Directed by Charles A. Nichols
Wally Burr (recording director)
Voices of
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 (1974-09-07) – December 21, 1974 (1974-12-21)

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.

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:

Title(s) Air date
1 "Car Thieves / Zoo Story" September 7, 1974 (1974-09-07)
  • Car Thieves: Hong Kong Phooey tries to stop a group stealing cars.
  • Zoo Story: A kangaroo helps Phooey catch some animal thieves.
2 "Iron Head the Robot / Cotton Pickin' Pocket Picker" September 14, 1974 (1974-09-14)
  • Iron Head the Robot: A robot steals safes, and Phooey chases it to a gym.
  • Cotton Pickin' Pocket Picker: Phooey tries to catch a famous pickpocket named Fingers Fazoo.
3 "Grandma Goody (Cat Burglar) / Candle Power" September 21, 1974 (1974-09-21)
  • Grandma Goody (Cat Burglar): Cats are being stolen, even Spot! Grandma Goody is not who she seems.
  • Candle Power: Bad guys make the city use candles to build a wax museum.
4 "The Penthouse Burglaries / Batty Bank Mob" September 28, 1974 (1974-09-28)
  • The Penthouse Burglaries: Phooey looks into robberies happening in fancy apartments.
  • Batty Bank Mob: Phooey, Spot, and an octopus stop a bank robbery.
5 "The Voltage Villain / The Giggler" October 5, 1974 (1974-10-05)
  • The Voltage Villain: Phooey investigates a villain who controls electric things.
  • The Giggler: A clown-like criminal uses laughing gas to rob parties. Phooey must stop him!
6 "The Gumdrop Kid / Professor Presto (The Malevolent Magician)" October 12, 1974 (1974-10-12)
  • The Gumdrop Kid: Phooey investigates a small villain who wants to control all the candy.
  • Professor Presto (The Malevolent Magician): Phooey tracks down a magician who disappeared from the police station.
7 "TV or Not TV / Stop Horsing Around" October 19, 1974 (1974-10-19)
  • TV or Not TV: Phooey tries to stop thieves from stealing everyone's TVs.
  • Stop Horsing Around: Phooey finds a circus gang that is kidnapping horses.
8 "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall / Great Movie Mystery" October 26, 1974 (1974-10-26)
  • Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Phooey investigates robberies at a health salon.
  • Great Movie Mystery: Phooey acts in a movie bank robbery, but it turns out to be real!
9 "The Claw / Hong Kong Phooey vs. Hong Kong Phooey" November 2, 1974 (1974-11-02)
  • The Claw: Phooey investigates how a mechanical claw is stealing gold.
  • Hong Kong Phooey vs. Hong Kong Phooey: An impostor tries to take all of Phooey's credit.
10 "The Abominable Snowman / Professor Crosshatch" November 9, 1974 (1974-11-09)
  • The Abominable Snowman: Phooey tracks a snowman stealing things for a ski resort.
  • Professor Crosshatch: Phooey tries to catch a professor whose bird steals jewels.
11 "Goldfisher / Green Thumb" November 16, 1974 (1974-11-16)
  • Goldfisher: A bad gang tries to make fishing more expensive by stealing fish.
  • Green Thumb: Phooey tracks a gang that wants to remove all plants from the city.
12 "From Bad to Verse (Rotten Rhymer) / Kong and the Counterfeiters" November 23, 1974 (1974-11-23)
  • From Bad to Verse (Rotten Rhymer): The Rotten Rhymer plans to steal all the books.
  • Kong and the Counterfeiters: Phooey investigates a fake money scheme.
13 "The Great Choo Choo Robbery / Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Bakery Man" November 30, 1974 (1974-11-30)
  • The Great Choo Choo Robbery: Jim Shady plans to steal every train car.
  • Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Bakery Man: Phooey investigates jewels hidden in bakery food.
14 "Mr. Tornado / The Little Crook Who Wasn't There" December 7, 1974 (1974-12-07)
  • Mr. Tornado: Phooey tracks a villain who robs banks using strong wind power.
  • The Little Crook Who Wasn't There: Phooey tries to find a criminal who can disappear.
15 "Dr. Disguiso / The Incredible Mr. Shrink" December 14, 1974 (1974-12-14)
  • Dr. Disguiso: A master of disguise uses his skills to rob banks.
  • The Incredible Mr. Shrink: A bad businessman tries to force people to buy his umbrellas.
16 "Comedy Cowboys" December 21, 1974 (1974-12-21)
Tin Nose frames Hong Kong Phooey for stealing a map. Other heroes help clear Phooey's name.

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

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

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Hong Kong Phooey para niños

kids search engine
Hong Kong Phooey Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.