Josie y sus Gatimelódicas

Based on the characters from Archie Comics,this show premiered in 1970 after the huge and critical success of "Scooby Doo,Where Are You",comes another winner from the team of Hanna-Barbera. This show was on the same ground as "Scooby Doo",but with a twist. You take an assortment of characters. The fearless redhead(Josie McCoy),the dingbatty not-so-very bright blonde(Melody Valentine),the ingenious and brains of the outfit sista(Valerie Brown,who was African-American),the hunky roadie(Alan Mayberry),the gutless and sometimes cowardly manager(Alexander Cabot,III),and his jealous catty raven sister who always get the group into trouble(Alexandra Cabot)along with her snickering shorttail feline companion Sebastian. Add to the mix a gallery of diabolical villains, some high adventure that puts the group into on situation after another. Along with a library of marvelous music and from there you have the perfect formula for a great cartoon series. One of the best from the Saturday Morning era of the early 1970's.

"Josie and the Pussycats" was just that...a group name of a trio of young female singers who performed in skin tight feline outfits which included adorable ears. Josie was the redhead lead singer of the band who played the tambourine,while Melody,the blonde was on the drums and Valerie played the guitar and other instruments and wrote all of the songs for the group. The girls along with their roadie Alan,and manager Alexander and his sister Alexandra were musicians who perform all around the world,and along the way in their adventures meet up with some diabolical villain set to take over the world(in some episodes the group is captured by the villain's hencemen or hencewomen and somehow escape or running away from certain dangers) while spending their spare time thwarting international schemes on those who may try to conquer the world and destroy mankind. It amazes me if Josie and her companions were part musicians or international agents working for a secret based underground organization. Could be. Some of the villains they faced were "The Countess", "Mr. X", "Evil Eye", "Midas", "Captain Nemo", and "The Scorpion".

Premiering on CBS-TV on September 12,1970, "Josie and the Pussycats",was a major hit Saturday Morning hit of the early 1970's,following in the comedy and bubblegum music mold of "The Archies". What made this animated cartoon so great was the casting of very well known Hanna-Barbera stockplayers who did the voices. One of them was actress Janet Waldo(who did the voice of Josie)who was also the voice-over for other H-B cartoon characters including the voice of Judy Jetson. Another Hanna-Barbera stockplayer was that of Casey Kasem (who did the voice of Alexander)who was also at the time did the voicework for Shaggy on "Scooby Doo",and other characters,while Jerry Dexter did the voice of Alan,and actress Sherry Alberoni did the voice-over for Alexandra. Regular H-B stockplayer Don Messick(who was legendary for several voiceovers for Hanna-Barbera)did the voice and animal sounds of Sebastian. Actress Barbara Pariot(who was the voice for Valerie,and one of the first minority characters to be featured as the lead in an animated series),and actress Jackie Joesph(did the voice of the dingy blonde Melody)were featured. The singing voices were done by Catherine Douglas,Patricia Holloway,and Cherie Moore(who later changed her professional name to Cheryl Ladd,and became an actress on the prime-time ABC 1970's hit Charlie's Angels in addition to having a short-lived singing career.) Out of the 17 episodes that were produced,the series ran for one season on CBS-TV from September 12,1970 until September 4,1971. CBS repeated these episodes from September 11,1971 until September 2,1972. Then after more than four years on CBS-TV,the series moved to NBC-TV where the episodes were repeated from September 6,1975-October 18,1975,and again from October 25,1975 until Spetember 4,1976. Only the original episodes from the first season aired during the 1970-1971 season,while repeated episodes aired during the 1971-1972/1972-1973 seasons on CBS,and were recycled when it moved to NBC for the 1975-1976 season. The original series and its sequel were recycled numerous times during the entire decade of the 1970's

It would be nearly three decades when I would see this cartoon again, having totally suppressed all my memories. As I watched a six episode marathon on Cartoon Network, when the song "Lie, Lie, Lie" began in "The Secret Six Secret", I was transformed to my childhood again. Since then I have collected comic books, recorded all the cartoons as well as various storybooks.

Josie began as a female Archie. Her creator, Dan DeCarlo, named her after his own wife. Alexander and Melody were there from the start, and yes, Alexander Cabot III was indeed very similar to Reggie Mantle in Archie.

Basically, Josie and Alexander were gender-reversed Archie and Veronica, to an extent.

When Alexandra appeared in the comic book, she was more of a soundboard for Alexander and would even befriend Josie.

Just before the Hanna Barbera cartoon would be launched six years later, Alan M. would be introduced as a folk-singer and an object of affection for Josie and Alexandra, bringing on what is one of the grandest rivalries this side of Betty & Veronica, totally devoid of any friendly terms.

Believe it or not, Sebastian would be introduced in the comic book as the reincarnation of an ancestor of Alexander and Alexandra. Rarely, if ever, would the comic book cat have the life of the cartoon version.

With the sudden creation of Valerie, the assortment would be complete for the cartoon, which was seeking to cash in on the success of the animated Archie and Scooby Doo.

Tho it would be on for only one year, it would end up a remarkable cartoon. All the other cartoons, Scooby Doo included, would have a group that would leave you wondering why they were there. Were Shaggy and Velma boyfriend and girlfriend, too? Did the Neptune band members in Jabber Jaw date as well, then in what order, since Clamhead and Shelly would run off together.

None of them would be as intertwined as the Josie group was, especially the interfering rivalry of Alexandra. She wanted to be leader of the Pussycats and she wanted Alan, both of which Josie possessed. Josie may have been totally devoid of character, but you had to have pity for the girl with Alexandra after her from both sides like that.

Sebastian's reincarnation would be totally dropped, much for the better. As an upright, anthropomorphic cat, Sebastian seemed more feline than he even might have as an ancestral Cabot wizard.

Alexander was clearly altered into Shaggy II, yes, to cash in on Casey Kasem's vocal talents. The only time this was damaging was in the Scooby Doo movie when Josie met the Scooby Doo gang and Shaggy and Alexander spoke at the same time. Alexander's voice changed.

Hands down, Alexander, Alexandra and Melody kept the cartoon moving. When the gang would split into groups (varying in order, unlike Scooby Doo, which nearly always sent Fred, Velma and Daphne out of the picture), for Alexander to go with Valerie and Melody and Alexandra with JOsie and Alan would be a delight, with character conflict on both ends. When Josie, Alan and Valerie were off together, the show would be uneven.

Alan would attempt a character with a "man of a thousand faces" bit in one episode, but that really bordered on insulting, with native American and oriental depictions. And the face change with pies to the kisser wasn't very entertaining either.

Song-wise, the show was smoother than Archie or Scooby Doo. Lie, Lie, Lie is undoubtably my favorite, but Road Runner, Voodoo, Beat of My Heart, Clock on the Wall are powerhouses unlike the songs in any other cartoon. The song in Midas Mix Up, played while the gang is fleeing down a snowy mountain on skis is truly wonderful.

The Josie gang would attempt to carry on as did Scooby Doo, but they would do the outrageous thing like going into outer space, which isn't regarded as anything near as good as the original show. They even got their own Scrappy Doo in the form of Bleep, a space cotton ball seal thing.

The Pussycats were a groundbreaker as an all-girl band, they were also original in that the female ratio outnumbered the male, unlike Scooby Doo or Archie, yet again, we could perceive why everyone was there.

And the band sequences were animation over real persons, much like Disney had done with Snow White thirty years earlier, another factor that makes the cartoon so endearing.

It would be nice to think that Josie and her gang got their big break some day, but the struggle was also a winner for the show.

The movie blew it by deciding Alan, Alexandra and Alexander were minor and trying to focus on the girl trio. The non-Pussycats would at least be prominently featured, but I would have just loved to see a black and white cat shown just once.

Was that too much to ask for?

Still, observing the transition from comic book to cartoon to movie is a fantastic journey.

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!

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.

This cartoon is great! While many people look at it as a poor man's version of Scooby Doo, this series was more urban, more hip & more fun. Prior to "Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?" this cartoon introduced me to geography and history and got me interested in learning about other places in the world. There was definitely more of an adult sense of humor and some interesting characters. The stories varied and often had a few surprises (unlike Scooby Doo). This series was good enough to spawn a spin-off series (Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space). Unfortunately, like many spin-offs, it wasn't as good as the original. If you get a chance to see the original Josie & the Pussycats, enjoy!