Henry's Cat

Henry's Cat is an animated children's television programme, written by Stan Hayward and produced by Bob Godfrey, who was also the producer of Roobarb, a similar cartoon series from the 1970s. The show starred a laid-back, ponderous yellow cat, known only as Henry's Cat, and his many friends and enemies.

Henry's Cat was first screened in 1983 and five series were made in total; the series has enjoyed repeated showings since. It developed a cult following and is still very popular along with shows such as Bod, Button Moon, Pigeon Street, The Flumps and Mr Benn.

Henry's Cat and his friends

 * Henry's Cat - laid-back, a daydreamer.
 * Chris Rabbit - Henry's Cat's best friend, an ever-enthusiastic, highly energetic blue rabbit.
 * Mosey Mouse - the opposite of Chris Rabbit, Mosey is dour and realistic.
 * Douglas Dog, Sammy Snail, Pansy Pig, Denise Duck, Ted Tortoise, Philippe Frog - miscellaneous friends of Henry's Cat. They all mean well, but often overestimate their own abilities in various ways.

His enemies

 * Farmer Giles - a (human) farmer with a Westcountry accent, frequently inconvenienced by Henry's Cat's adventures.
 * Constable Bulldog - a very stern policeman (or policedog) who takes a very dim view of the gang's well-meaning escapades.
 * Rum Baa Baa - a criminal mastermind, and the most evil sheep in the whole world.

Henry
Henry himself never appeared on screen; the name was an allusion to an earlier one-off Hayward/Godfrey collaboration, Henry 9 To 5 about a bowler-hatted commuter who escaped his boring everyday life by indulging in daydreams, mostly of a sexual nature. Henry's Cat shared the earlier character's tendency toward wild flights of fancy and laid-back approach to life. The name "Henry's Cat" was mostly an in-joke for those few people who remembered the earlier cartoon and did not mean that Henry's Cat had a "master", unseen or otherwise.

Series 1
Each episode in this series is 5 minutes long.

Series 2
Each episode in this series is 5 minutes long.

Series 3
Each episode in this series is 15 minutes long.

Series 4
Each episode in this series is 15 minutes long.

Series 5
Each episode in this series is 13 minutes long.

Trivia

 * The companies that released the videos were Castle Vision, Playbox Video, Screen Legends and Pickwick Video. Family Home Entertainment also had a USA release in 1987.
 * Bob Godfrey Films' closing logo of this series was Henry's Cat meowing, in a direct parody of the MGM logo.
 * In the United States, episodes from the first two series (i.e., the 5-minute cartoons) were sometimes shown on PBS right after Zoobilee Zoo, to round out the half-hour time slot. Also, an hour-long compilation (with the narration redubbed by Dom DeLuise) aired on HBO in 1986. In the early 1990s, the 15-minute episodes were aired on Showtime.

Series 1

 * Created by: Stan Hayward
 * Script: Stan Hayward
 * Animation: Bob Godfrey, Paul Stone, Kevin Baldwin
 * Music & Sound: Peter Shade
 * Narrated by: Bob Godfrey
 * Camera & Editing: Derek Phillips
 * Production: Mike Hayes
 * Produced & Directed by: Bob Godfrey

Series 2

 * Created by: Stan Hayward
 * Script: Stan Hayward
 * Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Malcolm Hartley, Drew Mandigo, Paul Stone
 * Music: John Hyde / de Wolfe Ltd.
 * Dubbing: John Wood Studios
 * Editing: Sean Lenihan
 * Camera: Derek Phillips
 * Production: Mike Hayes
 * Produced, Directed and Narrated by: Bob Godfrey

Series 3

 * Created by: Stan Hayward
 * Script: Stan Hayward
 * Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Malcolm Hartley, Mark Oz, Paul Rosevear
 * Music: John Hyde / de Wolfe Ltd
 * Trace & Paint: Tancy Baran, Beryl Godfrey, Louise Unwin
 * Camera: Derek Phillips
 * Editing: John Daniels
 * Production: Mike Hayes
 * Produced, Directed and Narrated by: Bob Godfrey

Series 4

 * Created by: Stan Hayward
 * Script: Stan Hayward
 * Animation: Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey, Neil Salmon
 * Music: Jonathan Hodge
 * Trace and Paint: Beryl Godfrey, Louise Unwin
 * Camera: Julian Holdaway, Heather Reader
 * Editing: Picture Head
 * Production: Mike Hayes
 * Narrated, Directed and Produced by: Bob Godfrey

Series 5

 * Created by: Stan Hayward
 * Script: Stan Hayward, Mike Knowles, Kevin Baldwin, Bob Godfrey
 * Storyboard, Layouts, Animation: Kevin Baldwin
 * Additional Animation: Jeff Goldner, Neil Salmon, Bob Godfrey, Jody Gannon
 * Trace and Paint: Denise Hambry, Lisa Smith, Jazvinda Phull, Beryl Godfrey, Ricky Arnold
 * Music: Rowland Lee
 * Title Music: Jonathan P. Hodge
 * Camera: Jeremy Moorshead
 * Backgrounds: Bob Godfrey
 * Editing: Picturehead
 * Production: Mike Hayes
 * Narrated, Produced and Directed by: Bob Godfrey

Parodies

 * Henry's Cat/Thomas
 * Henry's Cat/TUGS
 * Henry's Cat/Theodore Tugboat
 * Henry's Cat/Thomas and the Magic Railroad
 * Henry's cat/Superted
 * Henry's Cat/Sonic
 * Henry's Cat/Garfield
 * Henry's Cat/Noddy's Toyland Adventures
 * Henry's Cat/Alvin and the Chipmunks
 * Henry's Cat/The Simpsons
 * Henry's Cat/Futurama
 * Henry's Cat/South Park
 * Henry's Cat/Family Guy
 * Henry's Cat/Scooby Doo