Fraidy Cat
A promotional cel for Fraidy Cat
Written byMichael J. O'Connor
Directed byDon Towsley
Voices ofAlan Oppenheimer
Lennie Weinrib
Lou Scheimer (uncredited)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes12 (+6 unproduced)
Production
Running time6 minutes
Production companyFilmation
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 6 (1975-09-06) –
November 22, 1975 (1975-11-22)

Fraidy Cat is a 1975 comical children's cartoon show that originally appeared as a segment on Filmation's short-lived ABC series Uncle Croc's Block.[1] 18 episodes were commissioned and planned for inclusion on Uncle Croc's Block; 12 were ultimately made. The remaining six were scrapped due to the show getting removed from Uncle Croc's Block when the latter was shortened to a half hour. Episodes would be aired in short 6-7 minute story formats.

The premise revolves around a paranoid alley cat who is haunted by his eight past ancestors, all from different time periods. He tries to avoid saying any single digit number (excluding zero), as doing so will cause one of the corresponding ghosts to appear and make the situation he is in worse.

The show was aired in the USA on ABC, Canal+ in France, Junior in Germany, TV2 in Portugal, Super Écran in French-speaking regions of Canada, and RTÉ2 in Ireland.

Background

The show stars Fraidy Cat (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer), an unlucky, stuttering, miserable cat who, like all cats, has nine lives, but has used up eight of them and is on his ninth and last life, where he wants to make it last the longest.[2]

The show is centered around the fact that as if Fraidy's life was not miserable enough, nearly every time Fraidy inadvertently says out loud any single-digit number (from one to eight), or any word/homonym that correlates to said number, a ghost representing one of his previous lives will appear from the Other Side and mistakenly tend to make things even worse for the hopeless cat.

In each episode, Fraidy gets himself into a predicament caused by his desire for sleep or food, or something else, such as a dog, or another aggressor. This can include ending up into a sketchy town, a junkyard, or a bird shop, and usually has the character inhabiting said area to interact with or harm Fraidy in some sort of action against him (although this format is broken in several episodes). Fraidy always ends up saying a number “one” through “eight” out of pure accident, and each ghost cat corresponding to that number tries to help Fraidy in the situation. Saying “nine” however, summons Cloud Nine, an evil storm cloud whose purpose is to electrocute Fraidy.

The spirits in the series include:

  1. Elafunt (voiced by an uncredited Lou Scheimer) - An overweight prehistoric saber-toothed tiger with a caveman motif. He owns a huge pet brontosaurus named "Ant" (voiced by Lennie Weinrib). Ant is usually a hiding spot for Fraidy if someone is on the lookout for him.
  2. Kitty Wizard (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A befuddled [[Magician (fantasywizard whose wand is often on the wrong setting. He is the most problematic of the ghosts with his goofing up causing Fraidy more hindering than help.
  3. Captain Kitt (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A pirate who is the self-proclaimed "buccaneer's buccaneer". Anything he sees that has value to it or is important he steals, such as keys, and money (which he calls “green printed parchment”).
  4. Sir Walter Cat (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A foppish Elizabethan nobleman who is also an expert swordsman. He tends to look out for Fraidy the most and is the most loyal of the spirits.
  5. Billy the Kit (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A western cowboy with a very loud voice, who carries a very problematic lasso. His name is a play on Billy the Kid.
  6. Jasper Catdaver (voiced by an uncredited Lou Scheimer) - An undertaker who is Fraidy's cousin and prefers to expedite his passing to the Other Side, though not out of spite. Jasper is ironically the least troublesome of the ghosts.
  7. Captain Eddie Kittenbacker (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A pilot who is a very erratic flier, usually resulting in his plane flying upside-down or sideways. His name is a play on Eddie Rickenbacker, a WWI fighter ace.
  8. Hep Cat (voiced by an uncredited Lennie Weinrib) - A zoot-suited jive-talking street cat with a beatnik accent. He actually seems to be the smartest of the lives, often providing assistance to Fraidy.
  9. Cloud Nine (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) - Whilst accidentally uttering any of the aforementioned numbers gives Fraidy a ghost, saying the number nine materializes Cloud Nine, a malevolent anthropomorphic deific number nine made from a storm cloud. Cloud Nine is always seen trying to electrocute him with his lightning bolts and he can regenerate if he mistakenly electrocutes himself.

Episode List

The twelve existing episodes listed were made before the cancellation of Uncle Croc's Block. The episodes listed after "A Semi-Star is Born" were in production and eventually scrapped after Uncle Croc's Block was shortened to a half-hour. However, excerpts of synopses for two of the scrapped episodes, "Fraidy Gone Fishin'" and "Double Trouble", have turned up in online eBay listings containing storyboards for said episodes.

No.TitleWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"The Not So Nice Mice"Mike O’ ConnorSeptember 6, 1975 (1975-09-06)33001
After getting chased by a dog, Fraidy stumbles into "Mouse Town," which is gang-owned territory owned by a gang of small but tough mice and their boss. After they endlessly trick Fraidy into saying many different numbers, he escapes from their clutches via Eddie Kittenbacker’s warplane. In a twist ending, he is unaware that he just stumbled into "Dog Town".
2"Cupid and the Cat"Mike O’ ConnorSeptember 13, 1975 (1975-09-13)33002
After saving an alluring female cat named Lulu (voiced by an uncredited Jay Scheimer) from a dog, Fraidy falls in love with her thanks to Danny Cupid's tricks. However, a bulky cat named Chuck is also in love with Lulu, and then he and Fraidy fight over who gets Lulu first. Unfortunately, Fraidy’s “showing off” drives Lulu away from him, and ultimately, she sticks to Chuck instead.
3"Over the Wall and Havin' a Ball"Alan DinehartSeptember 20, 1975 (1975-09-20)33003
Fraidy gets caught by animal control and is taken to the animal shelter, where he is recruited with two dog gangsters and their leader the "Grandfather" (a play on the Godfather) in a break-out operation so the Grandfather can see his favorite cartoon.
4"Feline Fortune"Mike O’ ConnerSeptember 27, 1975 (1975-09-27)33004
Fraidy Cat needs to pay his phone bill in two days and in a stroke of luck, he finds a purse full of stolen money and returns it and gets $10,000 in reward money. Promptly, a group of burglars dubbed "The Cat Burglars" chase Fraidy and his newfound wealth until they turn themselves in after they encounter a scare with Captain Kitt. When Kitty Wizard accidentally shrinks the money, the episode ends with Fraidy asking the operator if she takes "small bills".
5"Puss 'n' Boats"David Wise & Kathleen BarnesOctober 4, 1975 (1975-10-04)33005
After finding what seems to be the perfect spot for a nap, Fraidy wakes up to find that he is inside the hull of a cargo ship and to his dismay the crew, who are a flock of pirate gulls, parrots, and pelicans, threaten to throw him overboard unless if he works for them.
6"A Scaredy Fraidy"Haskell BarkinOctober 11, 1975 (1975-10-11)33006
In a search for food, Fraidy eats oat-flavored lollipops but then rejects the confectionaries. Conveniently, Kojacki the police horse catches Fraidy, tags him as the "lollipop burglar", and chases him into a pet cemetery. After Fraidy plays dead, Kojacki feels sorrowful, and when it turns out that Fraidy isn’t actually dead, the eponymous police horse makes amends with Fraidy by giving him the lollipops.
7"Meaner Than a Junkyard Cat"Alan DinehartOctober 18, 1975 (1975-10-18)33007
Tired, Fraidy accidentally lands in a junkyard after a fence post gives way, and in order not to get killed, he is hired by the junkyard dog named "Mr. Meaney" to stand guard while he tries to sleep after he accidentally summoned Sir Walter Cat. Fraidy however, has a hard time trying to stay awake, and after Kitty Wizard is called forth, the perplexed magician causes Fraidy to fly over into a cargo trainyard .
8"Love Is a Many Feathered Thing"Lorna SmithOctober 25, 1975 (1975-10-25)33011
Fraidy is caught between a big dog and three huge female birds in an exotic bird shop who are smitten for him. After many failed escape attempts, and some insufficient help from Billy the Kit and Kitty Wizard, Fraidy locks the dog in the cage with said birds, with the oversized birds switching their affections over to the defeated canine.
9"It's a Dog's Life"Chuck MenvilleNovember 1, 1975 (1975-11-01)33012
The alluring scent of food lures Fraidy into a dog show cafeteria, and at the worst possible moment, the contestants; four cultured dogs, walk in on Fraidy chowing down on their lunch. This instigates a high speed chase to ensue between Fraidy and the dogs, which in turn causes Fraidy to get splattered with black and white paint, causing him to be painted like a Dalmatian. Miraculously, Fraidy wins first prize, which instigates the contestants' jealousy.
10"Choo Choo Fraidy"David Wise & Kathleen BarnesNovember 8, 1975 (1975-11-08)33012
After stowing away on a freight train, Fraidy winds up in the desert. Thirsty, he encounters different animals including Ruth Buzzard (with a voice modeled after Ruth Buzzi) who knows Jasper Catdaver, Smiley Coyote (who happens to be a parody of Wile E. Coyote with a voice modeled after Harvey Korman), J. Edgar Cougar (with a voice modeled after Colonel Sanders), a prairie dog (with a voice modeled after a high pitched Don Rickles), and a cultured circus lion.
11"Magic Numbers"Mike O’ ConnerNovember 15, 1975 (1975-11-15)33016
After Fraidy gets mercilessly teased by the alleyway bullies Fatty Catty and Long Tail, they trick him into saying the dreaded "nine", and almost instantaneously, Cloud Nine sics himself onto Fraidy. Fraidy tries all his might to defend himself against the cloud such as a mirror, Ant’s tail, and even a phone booth in which the latter ultimately works in the end.
12"A Semi-Star Is Born"David Wise & Kathleen BarnesNovember 22, 1975 (1975-11-22)33018

Fraidy, with the help of retired animal actor Mister Fred (a parody of Mister Ed), disguises himself as famous star Boris the Cat (a parody of Morris the Cat) in an attempt to get food. He meets several stars such as Gentle Babs (a parody of Gentle Ben), Laughie (a parody of Lassie), Lawrence the Lop-Sided Lion (a parody of Clarence the Cross-Eyed One), and Cling Clong (a parody of King Kong), and unfortunately, the real Boris enters the retirement home, which causes all of the residents to chase Fraidy and Boris around, confusing one for the other.

Notes: The Pink Panther is also referenced with a phoney panther being thrown out of the Animal Actors Retirement Home.
13"Fraidy Gone Fishing"Unproduced (Unproduced)
Fraidy goes fishing at a lake in search for a meal. However being unproduced, information on this episode is scarce.[3]
14"Fraidy Come Home"Unproduced (Unproduced)
15"Double Trouble"Unproduced (Unproduced)

Fraidy has to take care of two twin kittens after they fall out of a truck. However being unproduced, information on this episode is scarce.[4]

Notes: Kitty Wizard was due to have an appearance in this episode.
16"Unlucky Fraidy"Unproduced (Unproduced)
17"This Cat for Hire"Unproduced (Unproduced)
Notes: This episode’s title is commonly incorrectly used for the episode "Puss ‘n’ Boats".
18"Culture Schlock"Unproduced (Unproduced)

Production

One of the few original series (outside of an adaptation) to be produced by Filmation. Among the three cartoon segments released on Uncle Croc's Block, Fraidy Cat had the longest continued existence with the Frightfully Funny Collection Volume 2 DVD set being the last release to officially contain all of the episodes, released in 2008 by BCI.

The series was supposed to conclude in 1976, with six more episodes commissioned by the network left to produce, but due to a business decision erected by ABC, Uncle Croc's Block was shortened to a half-hour time slot and, consequently, ultimately cancelled. Two of the segments, Fraidy Cat and Wacky and Packy, were cut from the shortened episodes, and only episodes of M-U-S-H were shown from then on. The remaining six episodes never made it past the writing and storyboard stage, as Filmation chose to pocket the money (which ABC had already paid) rather than finish production. There is still debate as to whether the show has twelve or eighteen episodes.

After Uncle Croc's Block ceased production and was cancelled, Fraidy Cat was later syndicated as part of the 1977 Groovie Goolies and Friends series, along with the other segments such as Wacky and Packy and M-U-S-H, alongside numerous other Filmation properties.

In 1995, Hallmark acquired Filmation, and a mass conversion of NTSC to PAL of the master tapes sped the tapes up by 0.5%, which ultimately resulted in nearly every existing copy of the masters being disposed of by Hallmark, supposedly because the company hated Filmation's library. Most of the original NTSC versions of Fraidy Cat are on many public domain DVDs. All surviving NTSC episodes were ripped from VHS tapes, with three episodes being exceptions. The original NTSC master tapes of the show are considered lost media.

Home Media

In 1985, Fraidy Cat saw an officially licensed video release by The Video Collection in the United Kingdom. After the show was released on VHS in the US, numerous low-end tapes of the show surfaced in the American video market, many without the proper licensing information seen on authorized tapes.

Title Release Date Additional Information
The Video Collection: Fraidy CatNovember 3, 1986
Episodes: Feline Fortune, Puss 'n' Boats, A Scaredy Fraidy, Meaner Than a Junkyard Cat, Cupid and the Cat, Over The Wall and Havin' a Ball, Choo Choo Fraidy, Magic Numbers, A Semi-Star is Born

All of the produced Fraidy Cat episodes were released by UK-based Boulevard Entertainment on two DVD volumes in the 2000s and later by BCI on a compilation DVD called Frightfully Funny Volume Two, which also included episodes of Groovie Goolies and Filmation's Ghostbusters. These DVD releases brought Fraidy Cat back into the public eye after decades of scarce home media releases, and as of its release, the latter is the only release of Fraidy Cat in the American media market to contain the full 12-episode collection.

Title Release Date Additional Information
The Frightfully Funny Collection: Volume 2October 21, 2008
Episodes: The Not-So-Nice Mice, Cupid and the Cat, Over The Wall and Havin' a Ball, Feline Fortune, Puss 'n' Boats, A Scaredy Fraidy, Meaner Than a Junkyard Cat, Love is a Many Feathered Thing, It's a Dog’s Life, Choo Choo Fraidy, Magic Numbers, A Semi-Star is Born

In the late 2000s, rumors spread of a DVD containing both Fraidy Cat and The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty. The DVD went unreleased since the company releasing the DVD, BCI, ceased operations.

Because of Filmation's decision of not including their copyright info on the individual segments (the copyright notice was included on the Uncle Croc's Block series as a whole, and also the M-U-S-H and Wacky and Packy segments), Fraidy Cat has mistakenly been believed to have fallen into the public domain and nine of the twelve finished episodes have unofficially shown up on many public domain DVDs, most notably in a ubiquitous amount of Mill Creek Entertainment's cartoon compilation DVDs.

The episodes released on said DVDs are bootlegged copies and are instead recorded on aged VHS copies of the show instead of being directly taped from their masters. One of the episodes included on the DVD set, "Puss ‘n’ Boats", is incorrectly titled "This Cat for Hire", which is in actuality one of the scrapped episodes of the show.

After a shuffling of rights between Hallmark and then Sony, the show now resides under the copyright of NBCUniversal and DreamWorks, who currently own the Filmation catalogue as of 2023. While Fraidy Cat is streaming on Tubi unofficially, the show has yet to resurface on streaming services and home video officially.

References

  1. ↑ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part I: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 299–301. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. p. 98. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. ↑ "Fraidy Cat animation Original Hand Drawn Storyboard 16 PGS Filmation #SA5 | #404111160".
  4. ↑ "Fraidy Cat animation Original Hand Drawn Storyboard 16 PGS Filmation #WA10 | #372386017".
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