Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater

Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater
Title card
Genre	Comedy Family Adventure Fantasy
Developed by	Sanrio DIC Entertainment MGM/UA Television
Directed by	Michael Maliani
Voices of	Carl Banas Len Carlson Cree Summer Francks Greg Morton Sean Roberge Mairon Bennett Tara Charendoff Elizabeth Hanna Denise Pidgeon Noam Zylberman
Theme music composer	David Pomeranz
Composer(s)	Haim Saban Shuki Levy
Country of origin	Canada United States Japan
Original language(s)	English Japanese
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer(s)	Andy Heyward
Producer(s)	Michael Maliani
Running time	approx. 22–23 min.
Production company(s)	DIC Entertainment MGM Television
Release
Original network	CBS TV Osaka Univision (Spanish dub)
Original release	September 19 – December 12, 1987

Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater is a Japanese-American-Canadian co-produced animated series based on the Japanese character, Hello Kitty. The series involved her and her friends doing their own version of popular fairy tales and stories. Each of the 13 episodes consisted of two 11-minute cartoons, for a total of 26 “shows”; each show was a spoof of a well-known fairy tale or movie.^[1]

Characters

• Hello Kitty (Voiced by Tara Charendoff) - The cheerful and kind director of the theater. In many tales she is the protagonist or a supportive fairy.
• Mama Kitty (Voiced by Elizabeth Hanna) – Hello's mother, who plays motherly roles in the tales.
• Papa Kitty (Voiced by Len Carlson) - Hello's father, who plays fatherly roles in the tales.
• Grandma Kitty (Voiced by Elizabeth Hanna) - Hello's grandmother. She casts as supporting roles in the tales.
• Grandpa Kitty (Voiced by Carl Banas) - Hello's grandfather. He casts as supporting roles in the tales.
• Tuxedo J. Orville Sam (Voiced by Sean Roberge) - The happy stage helper of the theater. In many tales he is the protagonist or Hello's sidekick.
• My Melody (Voiced by Mairon Bennett) - A very timid supporting actress. Her roles are often smaller and she needs assistance to perform perfectly.
• Chip (Voiced by Noam Zylberman) - A cheery supporting white seal actor. He has supporting roles with the protagonists.
• Catnip (Voiced by Cree Summer Francks) - A green Siamese Cat, who sometimes plays tricks on her friends but remains sociable. She often takes the role of the antagonist in the tales.
• Fangora (Voiced by Denise Pidgeon) - A purple Siamese Cat and Catnip's mother. She sometimes fills in for the role of a secondary antagonist in the tales.
• Grinder (Voiced by Greg Morton) - A dimwitted, naive and competent bulldog who often takes the role of a secondary antagonist or a bumbling accomplice to Catnip.
• Mouser (Voiced by Noam Zylberman) - A trickster mouse who plays scary tricks on Hello Kitty and her friends in the final episode.

Format

Each cartoon opens with the theater filling up with patrons, and usually a look at some comical goings-on backstage. The play then begins (with Hello Kitty or another character saying “Once upon a meow”) and the stage transforms into whatever setting the story calls for (outer space, the American Old West, etc.). Each show is a lighthearted takeoff of a children’s story and a popular movie. At the end, the stage returns to normal, and the actors take their bow.

One exception to this format is the cartoon “The Phantom of the Theater,” which begins after the actors have finished a show (specifically "Robin Penguin"); all the action in this story takes place backstage.

Episode list

Availability

Two VHS videocassettes were released March 24, 1998, and another one VHS in April 14, 1998 of K.T. The Kitty Terrestrial, Catula and Paws: The Great White Dog Shark, are each containing four cartoon shorts, as well as the opening and closing sequences.

In 2003, five DVDs were released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, each containing five cartoon shorts; the only one of the 26 not to be included was “How Scrinchip Stole Christmas.” The opening and closing sequences are not included.

Home video

• Hello Kitty: Kitty and the Beast (also includes “Grinder Genie and the Magic Lamp,” “Hello Mother Goose,” and “Little Red Bunny Hood”)
• Hello Kitty: Wizard of Paws (also includes “Snow White Kitty,” “Slfeeping Kitty,” and “Peter Penguin”)
• In 1989, episodes from "Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater" were in a VHS from Burbank Video called Hello Kitty and Friends Get Along

DVD list

• Hello Kitty Becomes a Princess (February 4, 2003), (Cinderkitty, Kittylocks and the Three Bears, Sleeping Kitty, Kitty and the Beast, Snow White Kitty and the One Dwarf)
• Hello Kitty Goes to the Movies (February 4, 2003), (K.T. The Kitty Terrestrial, The Wizard of Paws, Kitty and the Kong, Cat Wars, Paws: The Great White Shark)
• Hello Kitty Saves the Day (February 4, 2003), (Peter Penguin, Tar-Sam of the Jungle, Paws of the Round Table, Crocodile Penguin, Grinder Genie and the Magic Lamp)
• Hello Kitty Plays Pretend (February 17, 2004), (The Phantom of the Theater, Frankencat, Catula, The Pawed Piper, Rumpeldogskin)
• Hello Kitty Tells Fairy Tales (February 17, 2004), (Robin Penguin, Hello Mother Goose, The Ugly Quackling, Pinocchio Penguin, Little Red Bunny Hood)

iTunes

In 2008, all thirteen episodes were made available to download on iTunes for $1.99 an episode or $21.99 for the entire series. To promote the series, iTunes offered the episodes "Wizard of Paws and Pinocchio Penguin" as a free download for a limited time.

Hulu

In 2010, all 26 half episodes were made available to watch on hulu.

References

External links

• Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater at the Internet Movie Database
• Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater at TV.com
• Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater episode guide at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater at Toonarific.com
• Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theatre on hulu.com