Felix the Cat is a 1958–1961 syndicated television series featuring the cartoon character Felix the Cat. Like the Van Beuren studio before, Joe Oriolo gave Felix a more domesticated and pedestrian personality, geared more toward children, and introduced Felix's now-famous elements "Magic Bag of Tricks", a satchel that can assume the shape and characteristics of anything Felix wants. The cartoons are divided into two parts, with the first part ending in a cliffhanger resolved after a commercial break. A second Felix series, The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, aired on CBS in 1995–1997.
Background
In 1954, Otto Messmer retired from the Felix daily newspaper strips, and his assistant Joe Oriolo took over. Oriolo struck a deal with Felix's new owner to begin a new series of Felix cartoons for television. Oriolo starred Felix in 260 television cartoons produced by Paramount Cartoon Studios, and distributed by Trans-Lux. The show did away with Felix's previous supporting cast and introduced many new characters. These characters were performed by voice actorJack Mercer. Oriolo's plots revolve around the unsuccessful attempts of the antagonists to steal Felix's Magic Bag, though in an unusual twist, these antagonists are occasionally depicted as Felix's friends as well. While the cartoons were a ratings success, critics have dismissed them as paling in comparison to the earlier Sullivan-Messmer works. Oriolo aimed the cartoons at children. The series used limited animation and simplistic storylines. This TV series also helped introduce the character of Felix the Cat to audiences in Japan. A Japanese language dub of the series aired on NHK in 1960 and was rerun three years later on Fuji TV. Four decades later, Felix would be the star of his own anime series.
Characters
;Felix the Cat : The main character and star of the show. He has many adventures with his secret bag of tricks that often helps in dangerous situations. Two different patterns were used for the magic bag, one is the earlier version pattern that is a dot and cross pattern. The latter series bag was a houndstooth pattern that replaced the dot and cross. All the episodes having the houndstooth pattern are missing from the market place. No matter what the situation, he almost always ends up laughing. A few of the episodes end with Felix on the losing end without the laughter, or his other signature line, "Righty-o!" ;The Professor : He is Felix's archenemy or foil and, in most appearances, is trying to seize the Magic Bag of Tricks. He has a very amusing speech impediment and is quite eccentric. He is depicted as a mad scientist, very intelligent, yet very obsessed. He attempts many tricks such as the use of his inventions and many disguises to get Felix's magic bag, but always winds up failing in the end. In some episodes where his nephew Poindexter is involved, the Professor becomes a reluctant ally of Felix, particularly when they battle the Master Cylinder. In some of the episodes, when the professor gives up on his episodic schemes, he intones with the words: "Oh, what's the use!!!!!" ; : He is the nerdy young nephew of the Professor. He is depicted as a stereotypical scientist; he is very intelligent and always wears thick Coke-bottle glasses, a lab coat, and a mortarboard. A button on the chest of his lab coat acts as a control for whatever device the plot calls for. Despite the Professor being his uncle, he is also one of Felix's best friends. Whenever he talks to Felix, he refers to him as "Mr. Felix". ;Rock Bottom : The Professor's bumbling sidekick who tries to help the Professor steal Felix's Magic Bag. Rock Bottom's full name is Rock Bottom Age. He occasionally works for Master Cylinder. Like the Professor, in some of the episodes, when Rock Bottom's schemes fail, he intones with the words: "Oh, what's the use!!!!!" ;Master Cylinder : An evil, cylindrical robot who first appeared in the 1960 cartoon "Master Cylinder-King of the Moon". He is always trying to kidnap Poindexter so that he can use his intellect to build weapons and equipment. It is revealed that he was once a pupil of the Professor at an academy until an explosion destroyed his original body. ;Martin the Martian : The good Martian who always helps Felix and his friends whenever they are in a space jam. ;General Clang : The evil general in space who also wants the rocket formula in order to destroy the Earth, ;Vavoom : A small, unassuming and friendly Inuit whose only vocalization is a Earth-shattering shout of his own name "VAVOOM!". He first appeared in "Felix and Vavoom".
