HELLO KITTY’S FURRY TALE THEATER
(CBS, September 19-December 12, 1987)
Sanrio, DiC Entertainment, MGM/UA Television
MAIN CAST:
Tara Strong (as Charendoff) –Hello Kitty/KittyWhite
Elizabeth Hanna – Mama Kitty/MaryWhite, GrandmaKitty/Margaret White
Carl Banas – Grandpa Kitty/AnthonyWhite
Len Carlson – Papa Kitty/GeorgeWhite
Fred Savage – Mouser
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| Sanrio's stable of cute characters. |
In 1960,Shintaro Tsujifounded the Yamanashi Silk Company in Japan. By 1962,he had expanded to selling sandals with flowers painted on them. Noticing howwell items sold with cute designs, Tsuji hired various cartoonists to designcute characters to adorn his merchandise around gift-giving occasions, renamingthe companySanrioin 1973. In 1974, Sanrio got its biggest creationfromYukoShimizu: Hello Kitty.
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| Hello Kitty's first appearance. |
HelloKitty appeared on a vinyl coin purse between a bottle of milk and a goldfishbowl. She proved an instant success and Hello Kitty continued to appear on avariety of Sanrio products in various themes courtesy of designerYukoYamaguchi. The Hello Kitty empire expanded whenshe was introduced to American audiences in 1976, and gradually around theworld. Initially aimed at pre-adolescent females, the Hello Kitty brand wasbroadened to include products designed for teenagers and adults. Over time,Hello Kitty was given a backstory as Kitty White, a British girl five applestall with a large family. Hello Kitty was made British because not only wereforeign countries trendy at the time in Japan, but they wanted to distinguishher from their other characters who were predominantly set in America.
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| The cast of the theater in "Paws-The Great White Dog Shark." |
The firsttime Hello Kitty appeared on TV was, interestingly enough, in an Americananimated series, although it was a Japanese-American-Spanishco-production.Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theatermade use ofthe various themes Hello Kitty was depicted in on her merchandise by centeringthe series around Hello Kitty (Tara Strong) and her friends and family puttingon shows in a theater. As soon as the show began, however, the theater wouldgive way to the actual world in which the story was set (imaginary, of course).Each episode was comprised of two 11-minute segments that were a parody ofwell-known movies, such as Star Wars and E.T., andfairy tales, such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, completewith Kitty-themed puns in both the episode titles and character names. Theepisode “The Phantom of the Theater” deviated from the established formatslightly by taking place in the actual theater after the show had concluded.One notable difference exclusive to this show was thatHello Kitty was featured with a mouth, whereas in all other places shedoesn’thaveone depicted.
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| "The Wizard of Paws" |
HelloKitty’s Furry Tale Theater debuted on CBSon September 19, 1987. It was produced by Sanrio, DiC Entertainmentand MGM/UA Television and adapted by Phil Harnage. Writers on theshow included Harnage, JackHanrahan, EleanorBurian-Mohr, Jim Lenahan,Martha Moran, Tony Marino, Pat Allee, Ben Hurst, Temple Mathews, Matt Uitz and Jack Olesker. The theme waswritten and performed by David Pomeranz,while Haim Saban and Shuki Levy handled the rest of themusic.
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| "Cat Wars" |
Althoughthe series only lasted one season, that didn’t stop Hello Kitty’s popularity fromcontinuing to grow. Sanrio teamed up with several corporate partners to expandthe brand onto other objects likeelectric guitarsand credit cards, music albums, video games, andfurther television adaptations; eventually leading to the opening of her owndedicated stores. In 1998, MGM HomeEntertainment released two VHScollections containing four segments each.Between 2003 and 2004, the series was collected into five DVD collections: Becomes a Princess, Goes to the Movies, Saves the Day, Plays Pretend and Tells Fairy Tales. Each one contains five segments without the show’s openingand closing sequences. Only “How Scrinchenip Stole Christmas” wasn’t included.In 2011, the first three collections were collected into a triplepack, and all five DVDs were collected into a singleset in 2013.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“The Wizard of Paws / Pinocchio Penguin” (9/19/87) – Hello Dorothytries to get home from the land of Paws after beating the Wicked Witchy /Granpapetto Kitty’s penguin puppet comes to life when he wishes for a son.
“Cinderkitty / The Pawed Piper” (9/26/87) – Cinderkitty becomes headcheerleader for the Royals after winning the heart of Prince Purrfect. / ThePawed Piper saves a village from a plague of fleas.
“K.T.—The Kitty Terrestrial / Peter Penguin” (10/3/87) – K.T. becomesseparated from her parents on Earth and is saved from UFO hunters. / Kitty andChip must help Peter save Dinglebell from Captain Claw.
“Kittylocks and the Three Bears / Paws—the Great White Dog Shark”(10/10/87) – Kittylocks intrudes on the home of the three bears. / A greatwhite dog shark threatens the island of Catalina.
“Cat Wars / Tarsam of the Jungle” (10/17/87) – Fluke Penguin ends uprecruited to help save the planet Caturn from evil forces. / Hunter Catnip andBwana Grinder pursue the legendary Tarsam, who was raised by apes in thejungle.
“Sleeping Kitty / Kitty and the Kong” (10/24/87) – When Princess Kittyfails to invite Bratnip to her party, Bratnip’s mother curses Kitty to sleepforever when she watches TV. / Originally escaping the clutches of Kong, Kittyhelps Kong escape when Catnip takes him to New York.
“Kitty and the Beast / Little Red Bunny Hood” (10/31/87) – Fangora andTroll Grinder turns Tuxedo Sam into a beast, which can be reversed if Kittyfalls for him. / Grandma Kitty faces multiple problems as Little Red Bunny Hoodgoes to visit her.
“Snow White Kitty and the One Dwarf / Frankencat” (11/7/87) – DwarfGrinder saves Snow White from the evil queen Catnip. / Dr. Frankencat builds amonster that abducts My Melody.
“Catula / Paws of the Round Table” (11/14/87) – Hello Kitty and herfriends have to stop Catula from terrorizing Catsylvania. / Sir LancelotPenguin and Arthur have to retrieve Excalibur from Morgan La Fur and the BlackKnight.
“Rumpeldogskin / Robin Penguin” (11/21/87) – Kitty spins straw intogold for King Sam while Fangora pushes Catnip to become his queen. / RobinPenguin must jouse Sheriff Grinder to save Maid Kitty.
“Hello Mother Goose / Crocodile Penguin” (11/28/87) – Hello MotherGoose helps her friends retrieve what they’ve lost. / Reporters Hello Kitty andMy Melody track down the legendary Crocodile Penguin.
“Grinder Genie and the Magic Lamp / The Ugly Quackling” (12/5/87) – Kittyand Sam find a magic lamp. / Ugly saves sister Catnip from Grinder Fox.
“How Scrinchenip Stole Christmas / The Phantom of the Theater”(12/12/87) – Catnip attempts to steal Christmas. / Mowser the Mouse isresponsible for strange goings on at the theater.
Originally posted in 2014. Updated in 2018.
