1958 Felix The Cat coming to DVD

[Ccook50]

On Oct. 2, Classic Media will release the first 31 episodes of the 1958 Felix The Cat TV cartoon show. Jack Mercer (the voice of Popeye from 1936 to 1982) played all the voices in the show.

Felix was created for silent cartoons in the 1920s and his surreal adventures made him a superstar for the era, up until sound movies and Mickey Mouse came around. Otto Messemer and Pat Sullivan both claimed to have created Felix. In 1958, Joe Oriolo (creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost) developed a syndicated TV package of 260 Felix cartoons and gave him a magic bag with which he could use in any predicament, and two adversaries--a short scientist simply called the Professor, and his muscle, a muscle-brained bulldog named Rock Bottom. Each cartoon was in two parts, with a cliff-hanger at the end of the first. In 1988, Felix The Cat: The Movie was released and was a box office flop.

In 1994, Felix was revived for CBS's "we'll be back after these messages" bumpers on Saturday morning, and in 1995 he had a new series on the network, The Twisted Tales Of Felix The Cat, an offbeat show patterened after old-time 1930s cartoons.

[koosie]

That's really good, I remember watching black & white Felix toons early in the mornings when I was very little. My Granny absolutely loved Felix the Cat. All cats in fact.

[Lynnie]

Yes! I've heard/seen advertising that Felix was coming to DVD. I remember seeing the cartoon when I was little, back when I thought every cartoon was made by Disney since they were the only cartoons our parents let us watch (ah, such ignorance at the tender age of 3 or 4!). I just didn't understand why I didn't see it more often. I look forward to seeing him again.

Felix will forever more remind me of my best friend's cat, who shared the name and was a Siamese. He was such a sweetie and a cutie, one of my favorite cats I had the pleasure of knowing. His owner many times sang the Felix theme song to him. Sadly, he died a few years ago before his time (natural causes, but not certain as to what happened). We still miss him.

[jekylljuice]

Heh heh - you know I actually own a copy of Felix the Cat: the Movie on DVD, having taken pity on it when I found it huddled in a bargain bin wearing a 99p sticker. And, erm...interesting film - the scruffy animation really doesn't look like it was ever intended to be viewed upon the big screen (trust me, magnification could NOT be its friend), the narrative is fairly messy and, unless I'm very much mistaken, contains an array of elements that make no sense whatsoever, and things aren't exactly helped by Felix's tendency to break into sudden, nerve-jangling bursts of laughter (the first time he does so, in the introductory sequence, it really makes me jolt).

But does any of this bother me? Nah, not really - that movie is so entertaining. I usually get a real kick out of watching animated films that are strange or trippy for some reason, and when placed in that context, Felix the Cat: the Movie gets jj's seal of approval.

[Partymember]

Originally Posted by jekylljuice

Heh heh - you know I actually own a copy of Felix the Cat: the Movie on DVD, having taken pity on it when I found it huddled in a bargain bin wearing a 99p sticker. And, erm...interesting film - the scruffy animation really doesn't look like it was ever intended to be viewed upon the big screen (trust me, magnification could NOT be its friend), the narrative is fairly messy and, unless I'm very much mistaken, contains an array of elements that make no sense whatsoever, and things aren't exactly helped by Felix's tendency to break into sudden, nerve-jangling bursts of laughter (the first time he does so, in the introductory sequence, it really makes me jolt).

But does any of this bother me? Nah, not really - that movie is so entertaining. I usually get a real kick out of watching animated films that are strange or trippy for some reason, and when placed in that context, Felix the Cat: the Movie gets jj's seal of approval.

where he ends up on some wierd planet hanging out with a princess or something?

good movie

[CrazyPhil]

Ah, yes. I actually remember seeing this waaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy back when I was like 8 or 9. Although I hardly remeber any of it, I thought it was pretty funny at the time. BTW, I'm watching it right now on YouTube.
If you're interested, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB3TQvMwpZ8

[taranchula]

Ah cool, maybe if this set sells well enough, then they'll go ahead and realease Twisted Tales...on DVD too. Thanks to the magic of youtube I've been watching a lot of that show and find it just as amusing as I remember it being back in 95.

[Ridureyu]

Felix also had a NES game in 1991 or thereabouts. Based on the movie, I think.