Evildoers beware! The crime fighting pooch with the kung fu moves makes his way to DVD….if only his faithful sidekick Spot will let him out of the filing cabinet.
Janitor Penry Pooch is the janitor at the police station, but when he hears the police call to action he jumps into action and a convenient filing cabinet to change into his alter ego – Hong Kong Phooey. Hong Kong Phooey (Scatman Crothers) is a crime fighting canine that relies on the Hong Kong Book of Kung Fu for his martial arts moves. Speaking of relying, Hong Kong is really a bit of a bumbler and is helped out of most situations by his much smarter cat Spot (Don Messick).
The stationhouse is manned by Sergeant Flint (Joe E. Ross) and dispatcher/operation Rosemary (Jean Vander Pyl or Kathy Gori), who has a crush on Hong Kong Phooey. Hong Kong Phooey hops into his Phooey-mobile, which has the ability to change into all manner of vehicles, and pursues all manner of villains. Other vocal work in the show is provided by Richard Dawson, Casey Kasem, Paul Winchell, and Alan Oppenheimer to name but a few.
The show is spread out over two DVDs. Disc 1 is single sided and Disc 2 is doubled sided. The cover of the disc promises all 31 episodes, however each 20 minute show really has two 11 minute sections, except for the final episode Comedy Cowboy, so there’s really only 16 episodes (if you describe an episode as what comes between the opening and closing credits).
Honk Kong Phooey and Spot in the Phooeymobile
Each section features its own villain or adventure (except Comedy Cowboy in which Hong Kong is jailed and other characters take the forefront. Joe Barbera was trying out a cowboy spin-off show). Warner Brothers has broken the chapter breaks to coincide with those sections.
Disc 1:
Disc 2: Side A:
Disc 2: Side B:
Hong Kong Phooey is really probably going to be more appreciated the younger you are. The episodes are rather silly to me, but my kids seemed to like them. What the show does have is the wonderful Scatman Crothers’ vocal work and his performance of the theme song. Joe E. Ross also does his “Ooh Ooh” routine that he made famous in Car 54, Where are You?
Hong Kong Phooey is presented in fullscreen as it was shown on television. Special features include commentary by design supervisor Scott Jeralds, creative producer Iwao Takamoto, and layout unit manager Willie Ito on The Claw/Hong Kong Phooey and Comedy Cowboy. Next is the 11 minute “Phoo-nomenon” featurette.
It has interviews with layout unit manager Willie Ito, producer of WB animation Scott Jeralds, creative producer Iwao Takamoto, and character designers Marty Murphy and Jerry Eisenberg. There is also a 12 minute storyboard of “The Batty Bat Gang.” It features an introduction by Iwao Takamoto as to what a storyboard is and then has the episode split screened with the storyboard. Finally there’s trailers for other WB animation DVDs.
Rosemary, Penry, and the Sarge
Hong Kong Phooey is a show that brings back nostalgic memories of Saturday morning cartoons. What struck me most as an adult watching the show was the nostalgia for Scatman Crothers, and also his fabulous performance of the theme song. The show is rather rudimentary to my now adult eyes, but the younger you are I think that you won’t care. They do include some interesting special features for us old fogies.
Hong Kong Phooey - The Complete Series is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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