Josie and the Pussycats (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Josie and the Pussycats |
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Title card
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| Created by | Dan DeCarlo Richard Goldwater |
| Developed by | Joe Ruby Ken Spears |
| Directed by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Voices of | Janet Waldo Sherry Alberoni Casey Kasem Jackie Joseph Jerry Dexter Barbara Pariot Don Messick Cathy Dougher Cherie Moor Patrice Holloway |
| Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Composer(s) | Ted Nichols |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Joseph Barbera William Hanna |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Distributor | Taft Broadcasting |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 12, 1970 – January 2, 1971 |
Josie and the Pussycats was a popular American animated TV show. It was based on the Archie Comics comic book series of the same name by Dan DeCarlo. The show was made by Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Sixteen episodes of Josie and the Pussycats were shown on CBS from 1970 to 1971. They were rerun in the next TV season. Later, in 1972, the show changed into Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space. This new version also had 16 episodes and aired on CBS. Reruns of the original series were shown on CBS, ABC, and NBC from 1974 to 1976. This means the show was on Saturday morning TV for six years!
Josie and the Pussycats was about a teenage all-girl pop music band. They traveled the world and got into strange adventures and mysteries. The band members were Josie, Valerie, and Melody. Other characters included their manager Alexander, his sister Alexandra, her cat Sebastian, and their strong roadie Alan.
The show was a lot like Hanna-Barbera's famous Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. People remember it for its catchy music and the girls' cool leopard print outfits. Valerie was also the first regular black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon. Each episode had a fun chase scene with a Pussycats song playing.
Contents
About the Show: Josie and the Pussycats
Josie and the Pussycats first aired on CBS on September 12, 1970. The first episode was called "The Nemo's a No-No Affair". This cartoon mixed ideas from other Hanna-Barbera shows like Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and Jonny Quest.
Like Scooby-Doo, Josie and the Pussycats originally had a laugh track. This was a common sound effect back then. Later versions on DVD often removed the laugh track. However, channels like Cartoon Network and Boomerang still show it with the original laugh track.
What Happens in Each Episode?
In every episode, the Pussycats and their friends were on their way to a concert or recording session. They would travel to exciting places around the world. Somehow, they would always get caught up in an adventure. Often, this happened because of something Alexandra did!
The bad guy was usually a crazy scientist, a spy, or a criminal. They always wanted to take over the world with some super high-tech invention. The Pussycats often found themselves holding the villains' secret plans or an important item. So, the bad guys would chase them to get it back.
In the end, the Pussycats would always stop the villain's plans. This led to a final chase scene with one of the Pussycats' songs playing. After the villain was caught, the band would go back to their music. The episode usually ended with Alexandra trying to mess up their performance or steal Alan from Josie, but failing in a funny way.
Meet the Characters
- Josephine "Josie" McCoy (voiced by Janet Waldo/sung by Kathleen Dougherty) - She's the red-headed lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Josie is the leader of the band. She and Alan, the road manager, like each other.
- Valerie Brown (voiced by Barbara Pariot/sung by Patrice Holloway) - Valerie plays the bass guitar and sings backup. She's usually the smartest one in the group and is great with machines. She often plays the tambourine.
- Melody Valentine (voiced by Jackie Joseph/sung by Cherie Moor) - Melody is the band's drummer and backup singer. She's a bit of a dumb blonde, but she's always sweet and positive. Her ears wiggle when there's danger!
- Alan M. Mayberry (voiced by Jerry Dexter) - Alan is the group's tall, blond, and muscular roadie. He is Josie's boyfriend.
- Alexander Cabot III (voiced by Casey Kasem) - He's the band's manager. You can spot him by his bright clothes and sunglasses. Alexander is Alexandra's twin brother. He admits he's a bit of a coward, but he's kind-hearted, unlike his sister.
- Alexandra Cabot (voiced by Sherry Alberoni) - Alexandra is Alexander's twin sister. She has long black hair with a white streak. She's smart but also selfish and often grumpy. She's not a band member, but she's always with the group. Alexandra is very jealous of the band's success and thinks she should be the star. She often tries to steal the spotlight (and Alan's attention) from Josie, but her plans always fail. Even though she's jealous, she's loyal and will help fight villains.
- Sebastian (voiced by Don Messick) - Sebastian is Alexandra's cat. His black and white fur looks like Alexandra's hair. He often snickers, like another famous cartoon dog, Muttley. Sebastian enjoys being mischievous and sometimes pretends to join the bad guys. But he usually does this to trick them and help the Pussycats escape. He can even use his claws to pick locks!
- Bleep (voiced by Don Messick) - Bleep is Melody's fluffy blue alien pet. He only appears in Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space. He makes a "bleep" sound, and only Melody can understand him. Bleep can also create invisible sound waves.
Voices Behind the Characters
Speaking Voices
- Janet Waldo as Josie
- Barbara Pariot as Valerie
- Jackie Joseph as Melody
- Jerry Dexter as Alan
- Casey Kasem as Alexander Cabot III, and other characters
- Sherry Alberoni as Alexandra Cabot
- Don Messick as Sebastian the cat, Bleep, and other characters
Singing Voices
- Cathy Dougher as Josie
- Patrice Holloway as Valerie
- Cherie Moor as Melody
Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space
| Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space | |
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Title card
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| Developed by | Bill Lutz Art Davis Brad Case |
| Starring | Janet Waldo Sherry Alberoni Casey Kasem Jackie Joseph Jerry Dexter Barbara Pariot Don Messick |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 21 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Distributor | Taft, H-B Program Sales Warner Bros. Television Distribution (current) |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 9 – December 23, 1972 |
In September 1972, a new show called Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space began. This show sent the characters into space! In the opening, the group is taking a photo at a spaceship launch. Alexandra, wanting to be the center of attention, pushes her way in. She accidentally starts the launch, sending everyone and the ship into deep space. Even though she'd never been in it before, Valerie somehow knows how to fly the spaceship!
Each episode of this spin-off was about the Pussycats finding a strange new planet. They would meet different alien races and often get captured. Then they would escape and try to find their way back to Earth.
Just like the first show, this one also had musical numbers and chase scenes with new songs. Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space also added Bleep, Melody's fluffy alien pet. Bleep could only say "Bleep," but Melody was the only one who understood him.
The 16 episodes of Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space were rerun in 1973–1974. CBS then canceled the show in January 1974. This version also had a laugh track, but it was a different one made by the studio.
After the Shows Ended
Josie and the Pussycats characters appeared one last time in a special episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies on September 22, 1973. The episode was called "The Haunted Showboat".
In 1976, a children's book based on the TV show was published. It was called Hanna-Barbera's Josie and the Pussycats: The Bag Factory Detour.
The original Josie and the Pussycats series was rerun on NBC on Saturday mornings in 1975–1976. It also aired on weekdays from 1977 to 1982. In the mid-1980s, both Josie shows were part of USA Network's Cartoon Express. Later, they appeared on Cartoon Network in 1992. As of 2014, both shows are available on Boomerang, which is a channel for classic cartoons.
Other Versions and Parodies
In 2001, Cartoon Network aired a short cartoon called "Musical Evolution". It showed the Pussycats performing their theme song in different music styles like pop, disco, and heavy metal. The animation style changed for each era.
That same year, a live-action movie was made. It starred Rachael Leigh Cook as Josie, Tara Reid as Melody, and Rosario Dawson as Valerie.
The TV show Drawn Together (2004–2007) had a character named Foxxy Love. She was an African-American musician who solved mysteries, and she was a direct parody of Valerie Brown from Josie and the Pussycats.
Some episodes of Speed Buggy, another Hanna-Barbera show, had similar plots to Josie and the Pussycats episodes. For example, "Island of the Giant Plants" in Speed Buggy was like "A Greenthumb is Not a Goldfinger" from Josie.
In 2016, Josie and the Pussycats was brought back as a comic book. This new version showed how the band first started. Josie, Melody, and Valerie formed the Pussycats, even though Josie's old friend Alexandra was jealous.
The live-action TV series Riverdale (starting in 2017) also featured Josie and the Pussycats. They were shown as African-American students at Riverdale High School. Ashleigh Murray played Josie, Hayley Law played Valerie, and Asha Bromfield played Melody. Ashleigh Murray later continued playing an adult Josie in the Riverdale spin-off Katy Keene.
Images for kids
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A scene from episode #14, "Spy School Spoof". From left to right: Melody, Josie, Valerie, Alan, Alexandra and Alexander.
See also
In Spanish: Josie and the Pussycats (serie de televisión) para niños
