Fraidy Cat (TV series)
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.
Plot
The show stars Fraidy "Nine" Cat (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer), an unlucky and 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 main joke of the series is that as if Fraidy's life wasn't miserable enough, every time Fraidy inadvertently says out loud any single-digit number (from one to eight), or any word or any part of a word that rhymes with or sounds the same as the number's name in any language, a ghost from one of his former lives will appear and mistakenly tend to make things even worse for the hopeless cat.
The ghosts are:
- Elephunt Cave "One" Cat (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A prehistoric Saber-Toothed Tiger with a caveman motif. He owns a huge pet Apatosaurus named "Ant".
- Kitty "Two" Wizard (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A befuddled magician whose wand was often on the wrong setting.
- Captain "Three" Kitt (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A pirate who is the self-proclaimed "buccaneer's buccaneer".
- Sir Walter "Four" Cat (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A foppish Elizabethan nobleman who is also an expert swordsman.
- Billy "Five" the Kit (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A western cowboy. He is a small guy with a very loud voice.
- Jasper "Six" Catdaver (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - An undertaker who actually prefers to expedite Fraidy's passing to the "Other Side" though not out of spite.
- Captain Eddie "Seven" Cattenbakker (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A pilot who is a very erratic flier.
- Hep "Eight" Cat (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A zoot-suited jive-talking street cat.
- Cloud Nine (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - As accidentally saying a number from one to eight gets Fraidy a ghost, as if to fill the void towards his last life, saying "nine" calls forth an ominous, malevolent storm cloud (shaped like the number nine) which immediately gives chase after Fraidy, attempting to blast him with bolts of lightning until Fraidy manages to either outrun the cloud or its (supposedly) limited time it can stay expires.
Each short begins with all eight ghosts appearing around Fraidy who says to the audience about his life: "Every kitty has nine lives. But eight of mine went fast. Now there's only one life left, and I want to make it last!" Cloud Nine appears and he starts running. Then he morphs into the yellow-lined cat's name which its letters said it at the end of the intro.
Whenever terrified by some dangerous situation, Fraidy often exclaims: "This kitten's splitting!"
Episode list
| # | Title | Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Not So Nice Mice" | 1975 September 06 |
| After being chased by a dog, Fraidy ends up in "Mouse Town," which is run by a gang of mice. | ||
| 2 | "Cupid The Cat" | 1975 September 13 |
| After rescuing a female cat named "Lulu," Fraidy is shot by Cupid's arrow and defends her from a bully. | ||
| 3 | "Over The Wall Having A Ball" | 1975 September 20 |
| When taken to the Animal Shelter, Fraidy encounters a trio of dog mobsters lead by the "Grandfather," who recruit him to help them escape so the "Grandfather" can see his favorite cartoon. | ||
| 4 | "Feline Fortune" | 1975 September 27 |
| Fraidy encounters stolen money from a trio of "Cat Burglars" and defends his newfound wealth from the trio so that he can pay off his overdue phone bill. | ||
| 5 | "Puss N Boots" | 1975 October 04 |
| TBA | ||
| 6 | "A Scardey Fraidy" | 1975 October 11 |
| TBA | ||
| 7 | "Meaner Than A Junkyard Cat" | 1975 October 18 |
| Tired, Friday accidentally lands in a junkyard and is hired by the junkyard dog named "Mr. Meaney" to stand guard while he tries to sleep. | ||
| 8 | "Love Is A Many Feathered Thing" | 1975 October 25 |
| Fraidy is caught between a big dog and three huge female birds in an exotic bird shop who are smitten for him. | ||
| 9 | "It's A Dog's Life" | 1975 November 01 |
| TBA | ||
| 10 | "Choo-Choo Fraidy" | 1975 November 8 |
| After stowing away on a freight train, Fraidy winds up in the desert. Thirsty, he encounters different animals from a buzzard, a coyote, cougar, prairie dog and a circus lion. | ||
| 11 | "Magic Numbers" | 1975 November 15 |
| When teased by Long Tail and Fatty Catty, Fraidy is tricked into saying "nine" and has to outwit the cloud number before being struck by its lightning bolts. | ||
| 12 | "A Small Star Is Born" | 1975 November 22 |
| TBA | ||
| 13 | "Fraidy Gone Fishing" | 1975 November 29 |
| TBA | ||
| 14 | "Fraidy Come Home" | 1975 December 6 |
| TBA | ||
| 15 | "Double Trouble" | 1975 December 13 |
| TBA | ||
| 16 | "Unlucky Fraidy" | 1975 December 20 |
| TBA | ||
| 17 | "This Cat for Hire" | 1975 December 27 |
| When Fraidy stows away on a ship, he encounters a group of pirate birds who hire him to round up food for them. | ||
| 18 | "Culture Schlock" | 1976 January 3 |
| TBA | ||
Production
One of the few original series (outside of an adaptation) to be produced by Filmation; Fraidy was later syndicated as part of the Groovie Goolies and Friends series.
DVD release
Some Fraidy Cat episodes were released by BCI on a compilation DVD called Frightfully Funny: Volume Two, which also included episodes of Groovie Goolies and Filmation's Ghostbusters.
In 2008, some episodes were released as part of Mill Creek Entertainment's compilation, 200 Classic Cartoons: Collector's Edition and on their Giant 600 Cartoon Collection compilation. The episodes A Small Star Is Born, Fraidy Gone Fishing, Fraidy Come Home, Double Trouble, Unlucky Fraidy, It's A Dog's Life, Lollipop Burglar and Culture Schlock are missing. Some of the titles on this DVD are Cupid the Cat, Feline Fortune,Love is a Many Feathered Thing, Meaner than a Junkyard Cat, The Not-So-Nice Mice and Over the Wall Having a Ball.
On October 11, 2011, Allegro/Pop Flix released some the episodes on the compilation 100 Family Cartoons volume 3. The episodes A Small Star Is Born, Fraidy Gone Fishing, Fraidy Come Home, Double Trouble, Unlucky Fraidy, It's A Dog's Life and Culture Schlock are missing. Some of the episodes on this DVD are Meaner Than A Junkyard Cat, Cupid the Cat, Over the Wall Having a Ball, Feline Fortune, The Not So Nice Mice, Love is a Many Feathered Thing, and Lollipop Burglar.