Josie und die Pussycats

With all the talk about comparing Josie's bunch with that of Scooby-Doo, I seem to vaguely remember that both groups were featured in an episode of the New Scooby-Doo Movies back in 1973. Casey Kasem must have needed a rest after supplying dialog for both Shaggy and Alexander, nervous breakdowns and all...at one point they even both sounded alike!!!! Furthermore with an expanded cast of eleven teens plus the animal mascots, it must have been tough trying to get the personalities straight - particularly with Alexandra as the sarcastic sounding-board. Then again, the animation would have suffered with so many people to keep track of, including the supporting cast of ghosts and ghouls.

Sarcastic Alexandra is really the star of this cartoon series, with her cantankerous manner and continual put-downs (she even tells her cat Sebastian off, as with this caveat while unloading the van: "How would you like a suitcase sombrero?"). Josie gets completely lost in the woodwork, offering no solutions and no banter; blonde Alan is also a dullard (is that why they put them together?). I enjoy "Josie and the Pussycats" somewhat more than the similar "Scooby Doo" series simply because it's about musicians in danger and not a motley crew of teenage sleuths (and the music is actually pretty jazzy for bubblegum). Still, there isn't much direction at work here...and no driving force.

When I was a kid, I used to enjoy looking at this show. However a few years after the show went off the air, I read the cartoon series, which is radically different from the television version. For instance, the comic book plays as more of a collegiate version of Archie (coincidentally, the Josie and the Pussycats comic book is published by the same company as the Archie comics) in which they are just your average girls with a rock band and they do not go all over the world fighting the wild villains as they do in the animated version of the series. However, the characters personalities are more or less the same, except for Alex. In the cartoon he is a lily livered coward, while in the comic book he is an ego-maniacal weasel much like Reggie Mantel is in the Archie series. I think I would have preferred to see that version of the show rather than this show, which plays like a combination of Scooby Doo and a juvenile version of The Avengers.

I rediscovered the cartoon when the 2001 movie starring Rachael Leigh Cook and Tara Reid was almost released. The show was broadcasted in a Canadian Cable Network (YTV).

I have watched it in 1972-73 and re-watching it was going into the same fun I had when I was a kid. Stories that were funny, written the "Hanna Barbera" way and with such a sense of humor. I can say here the show distanced a bit from the Archie comic book itself. For example, Alex left his arrogant ego in the comic book and becomes a coward in this one (and that voice from Casey Kasem, I burst out, this is funny ). For the rest, Alexandra with her envys of stealing Alan from Josie and give the Pussycats a "music lesson" and Melody with her everlasting ditziness makes the show...

Noticeable thing here: since the original series started when "Scooby Doo" took a break, I found that Josie and the Pussycats were patterned the same way, with same music and expressions like "meddling kids". Otherwise, the rest is fun to watch and was also a great geography course because in each show, they were in a different country. And even one of the shows did feature a chase around the world (one of the best episodes called "The Great Pussycat Chase"...).

A fun classic to be enjoyed over and over again...

I enjoy this cartoon, but the comic series was different. They've changed it in several ways: Alan is now the love interest, not Josie; Alexander is now like Shaggy (maybe so they could get Casey Kasem to play him), and Alan is like Fred! I thought only movies could change the stories on which they were based! On top of everything else, Alexandra pursues Alan endlessly. This is weird!