Hong Kong Fu

Though Hanna-Barbera Productions went into "trends" in their Saturday morning shows (they were everywhere on NBC or ABC, CBS was mostly Filmation's playground), this superhero Kung Fu beagle was one of the exceptions.

I discovered this "Kung Fu" addict on Laff-A-Lympics, another HB classic where our superhero beagle was part of the "Scooby-Doobies". And French- dubbed (from Paris) here on the TVA Network in the 80s.

Story is a bit like "the sidekick who never gets credits for the hero's goofs". Police station janitor (and naive) Penry Pooch overhears many police complains from phone receptionist Rosemary, and despite the rants of Sergeant Flint, gets into grab from the help of his sidekick cat Spot and gets into the Phooey Mobile (which changes shape with the sound of the gong) to get all the criminals and crooks.

Most of the time, the hero reads a book of "Hong Kong book of Kung Fu" in front of the bandits, however, most of the time, it is Spot which saves the day, but the masked beagle takes credit, to the poor cat's dismay...

At the time, many Hanna-Barbera had shows which missed the mark with all the trends shown (in my book, the best HB shows in the 70s were this one, Scooby Doo, Super Friends, Laff-A-Lympics, Dynomutt, Speed Buggy, and Captain Caveman) and the 50s-60s punch and originality were fading away. Hong Kong Phooey reminded me a bit of Quick Draw McGraw, but on the Kung Fu style...

To watch mostly for its wackiness...

Penrod Pooch leads a secret life as Hong Kong Phooey a Kung Fu crime fighter. His faithful sidekick Spot the cat usually solved the crimes, but that was only a part of the charm. Rosemary the Telephone operator had a mad crush on the hero never realizing that Penry was the one and only Hong Kong Phooey..

Too bad the show only lasted 16 episodes. Hong Kong Phooey is not totally helpless... He caught the guys in Car Theves, and caught the Cat burglar in Grandma Goody. He would have had the claw if Spot hadn't used the claw to block Phooey from really getting the claw. He would have had the Giggler too if Spot did not kick open the Jack in the Box to grab him just seconds before Phooey lands in the very spot where the giggler stood...

Scatman Coruthers was great as Phooey! As was Joe E Ross as the Gruff Sgt Flint. I hope the series gets the DVD treatment... I miss this show. It planted the seeds for the love of the Martial arts. Hong Kong Phooey had a cool car too! Classic show!

In the mid 1970's Hanna-Barbera began to make cartoons that were based on real-life trends. From "Devlin" (Evil Knevil), to "Jabberjaw" ("Jaws"), and "These are the Days" ("The Waltons"), they were great concepts (execpt "Jabberjaw" that one sucks). But the best show they did at this time was a show that focused on martial arts, and that show was "Hong Kong Phooey".

This show was cool for so many reasons: First off, we have Penrod who's just a janitor dog, but he also has a double life as a martial arts crime fighter who along with his sidekick a cat named Spot, would always stop criminals in a way that inspired other toons like "Inspector Gadget" (In which someone else solves the crime, but the hero gets all the credit when he/she does nothing but bumble) but in a different kind of way in which our feline sidekick isn't pleased that he doesn't get the credit he really deserves since he solved the crimes himself!

I got to admit, this is up there with many of H-B'S other greats ("Scooby-Doo", "Flinstones", "Jetsons" etc.). Hopefully, Cartoon Network will get it together, and air all of the 16 eps again like they used to.10/10

The appeal of Hong Kong Phooey can be summed by one name, Scatman Crothers. One of the most talented individuals ever hired by Hanna Barbera to do voice overs. He pretty much carried this cartoon during it's scant 16 episode run. Quirky one liners and his constant talking to the audience seperated Hong Kong Phooey from the rest. Hanna Barbera ruled the seventies TV cartoon market. IF Cartoon Network would get off the anime band wagon(FAT CHANCE)they would have time to show some American classics such as this. Great Theme Song.

It's funny how as a kid you watch some programs on Saturday morning and don't realise how quickly they are repeated. I was amazed to discover HKP only existed for 16 episodes. It felt like I grew up watching him for years.

I absolutely loved this show, more than Flintstones, more than Jetsons, even more than Birdman and that's saying something.

They just don't make funny harmless cartoons for kids anymore (and I should know, I'm the self appointed censor against the drivell that is on TV for my kids these days .... Pokemon? Poke Off I say!) and that's a shame because being a kid should be about growth and fun, not violence and fierce competition. Plenty of time for those life lessons once childhood is behind you