Billy the Cat (TV series)
| Billy the Cat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Les Orton Jean-François Laguionie Jean Pierre Jacquet |
| Voices of |
Jesse Moss Michael Donovan Kelly Sheridan Robert O. Smith Brian Drummond |
| Opening theme | "Billy the Cat", performed by John Mitchell and Tanya Hancheroff |
| Ending theme | "Billy the Cat" (Instrumental) |
| Composers |
Tom Keenlyside John Mitchell David Iris |
| Country of origin | France Belgium Canada Germany |
| Original languages | English French |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Pierre Levie Hervé Bédard Steve Walsh Patrick Moine Dale A. Andrews |
| Producers | Robin Lyons Patrick Moine Sophie Levie Hervé Bédard |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies | EVA Entertainment Les Films du Triangle Dupuis NOA Network of Animation Sofidoc S.A. Cologne Cartoon WIC Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network |
France 3, Canal+ and RTL-TVI (France) ZDF (Germany) |
| Release | 1996 – 2001 |
Billy the Cat is an animated series based on the comic strip of the same name, created by cartoonists Stéphane Colman and Stephen Desberg. It was aired from 1996 to 2001 for two seasons, accompanied by two compilation films. The series was produced by EVA Entertainment, in co-production with Les Films du Triangle, Dupuis, NOA Network of Animation, Sofidoc S.A., and Cologne Cartoon for France 3, with the participation of Canal+, ZDF, WIC Entertainment, and RTL-TVI.
Plot
A boy named Billy is transformed into a cat due to an angry magician who decides to teach the boy a lesson after seeing him bullying a cat. In order to keep his family from worrying, the magician also uses his magic to make his cat, Dandelion, assume Billy's own form and live with his family. No matter how much he begged during the series, Billy was never turned back into the boy he used to be.
Characters
- Billy Colas (voiced by Jesse Moss in season 1, and by Brian Drummond in season 2) − A young rogue turned into a cat by a magician.
- Mr. Hubert (voiced by Michael Donovan, who also voice directs for the show) − A white cat with a bowtie and Billy's guardian who teaches Billy how to survive on the streets. He lives in a Cadillac car in a junk yard and speaks with a British accent.
- Queenie (voiced by Kelly Sheridan) − A female cat who befriends and helps Billy.
- Jumbo (voiced by Ian James Corlett who also writes for the show) − A pigeon who thinks and speaks like an airplane pilot.
- Sanctifur (voiced by Robert O. Smith) − A fierce dark gray cat with a scar on his face. He is one of both Billy, Queenie and Mr. Hubert's worst enemies.
- Moonie (voiced by Terry Klassen who also writes and voice directs for the show) − A Wire Fox Terrier and the leader of the villainous group called the Dead End Dogs, who enjoys bullying cats. He is also another one of both Billy, Queenie and Mr. Hubert's worst enemy.
- Ali Kazam The Magician (also voiced by Michael Donovan) − The man responsible for turning Billy into a cat after he saw the troublesome kid bullying a cat. After teaching Billy a lesson, he decided to turn his cat Dandelion into human Billy himself.
- Nick (voiced by Lee Tockar in season 1, and by Bill Switzer in season 2) − One of Billy's former human friends, who doesn't like cats.
- Billy's Mother (voiced by Kathleen Barr) − Billy's worried mother who is allergic to cats.
Episodes
Season 1
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Billy Becomes a Cat" | Barry Whittaker and Judy Valyi | ||
| After pestering a cat, a magician turns Billy into a kitten. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Cat That Couldn't Miaow" | Robin Lyons and Andrew Offiler | ||
| As Billy tries to win the admiration of Blackie and the strays, the theft of a golden cat statue is about to take place... | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "Microchips with Everything" | Dennis O'Flaherty | ||
| Two evil men try to capture Billy after he accidentally swallowed a microchip needed to build an earthquake machine. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Pigeon Pie" | Robin Lyons and Andrew Offiler | ||
| A restaurant is open, which not only threatens Grossmeyer's restaurant, but also the pigeons in town, including Jumbo! | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "Sewer Cats" | Robin Lyons and Andrew Offiler | ||
| After Billy saves three kittens from drowning, he bonds with an alligator from his past. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Rescue" | Barry Whittaker and Judy Valyi | ||
| Billy, Queenie, and a few other cats are catnapped by two crooks who intend to sell them as rare-breed cats. | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Big Meow" | Dennis O'Flaherty | ||
| Sanctifur is hoarding food, forcing other cats to go hungry. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Jolly Mouser" | John Gatehouse | ||
| BIlly tries to stop a ship captain from selling cats illegally. | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "Hubert and the Siamese Siren" | Dennis O'Flaherty | ||
| Mr. Hubert falls for a gorgeous female Siamese cat, but has a secret... | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "A Star Is Born" | Stan Hey | ||
| A cat food Company uses Mr. Hubert as a mascot. | |||||
| 11 | 11 | "A Clockwork Bone" | Doug Molitor | ||
| Mr. Hubert places Billy in a pet shop, where he is bought by a young girl. | |||||
| 12 | 12 | "Catz’n the Hood" | Dennis O'Flaherty | ||
| Billy and Mr. Hubert try to stop two swindlers from evicting the tenants of a building. | |||||
| 13 | 13 | "Cat Burglar" | Dennis O'Flaherty | ||
| Two crooks intend to rob a hotel guest from another country, and they use Nick, a human friend of Billy’s. | |||||
| 14 | 14 | "Cool Cat" | S.M. Molitor | ||
| Billy tries to teach Mr. Hubert that the snow can be fun, while avoiding the Dead End Dogs. | |||||
| 15 | 15 | "One of Our Tail Is Missing" | Michael Benyaer | ||
| Billy and Mr. Hubert help Manx get a tail, by using a worm as a substitute. | |||||
| 16 | 16 | "Romeo & Juliet" | Malcolm McGookin | ||
| Billy helps two dogs, one a stray and the other poodle, reunite. | |||||
| 17 | 17 | "Wok on the Wild Side" | Jono Howard | ||
| Queenie is set to be married to another cat, so Billy and Mr. Hubert work to stop the ceremony. | |||||
| 18 | 18 | "The Great Purple Nothing" | Jono Howard | ||
| BIlly, Mr. Hubert and Queenie stumble upon thieves hiding stolen money in a graveyard. | |||||
| 19 | 19 | "Born to Be a Wildcat" | Lee Tockar | ||
| Billy befriends a stray cat and the two begin to cause trouble across town. | |||||
| 20 | 20 | "Monkey Business" | Dennis O'Flaherty | ||
| Billy and Mr. Hubert help two monkeys escape from the circus. | |||||
| 21 | 21 | "Snowbound" | John Gatehouse | ||
| After an incident with a hot air balloon, BIlly nad Sanctifer find themselves atop a snowy mountain. | |||||
| 22 | 22 | "Gutbucket" | Stan Hey | ||
| Billy intervenes at a zoo where a guard dog bullies the animals. | |||||
| 23 | 23 | "The Pigeon That Fell on the Earth" | Ian James Corlett and Terry Klassen | ||
| After Jumbo's wing is injured, a kind man tends to him, but Sanctifur intends on ending the pigeon's life by eating him. | |||||
| 24 | 24 | "Curse of Catopatra" | Michael Benyaer | ||
| An Egyptian cat plots revenge against Mr. Hubert whose ancestor locked her in a pyramid. | |||||
| 25 | 25 | "I’m Not an Animal" | Ian James Corlett and Terry Klassen | ||
| Billy and Mr. Hubert thwart burglars who try to rob Billy's old house. | |||||
| 26 | 26 | "Billy’s Last Chance" | Barry Whittaker and Judy Valyi | ||
| Billy encounters the Magician who turned him into a cat, but has to come to the aid of a girl who was accidentally turned into a rabbit by the magician. | |||||
Season 2
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "Fish Food" | Robin Lyons and Andrew Offiler | |
| 28 | 2 | "Brotherly Love" | Robin Lyons and Andrew Offiler | |
| 29 | 3 | "The Kitten That Roared" | Robin Lyons and Andrew Offiler | |
| 30 | 4 | "Robodog" | Fabrice Ziolkowski and Luli Barzman | |
| 31 | 5 | "Home Sweet Haunted Home" | Terry Klassen | |
| 32 | 6 | "Airborne Hijinks" | Judy Valyi and Barry Whittaker | |
| 33 | 7 | "A Cat Named Rex" | Fabrice Ziolkowski and Luli Barzman | |
| 34 | 8 | "For Art’s Sake" | Peter Hynes | |
| 35 | 9 | "Lights, Camera, Action" | Jono Howard | |
| 36 | 10 | "Derby Billy" | Jono Howard | |
| 37 | 11 | "King of the Rats" | Terry Klassen | |
| 38 | 12 | "The Show Must Go On" | Peter Hynes | |
| 39 | 13 | "Tuneless" | Michael Benyaer | |
| 40 | 14 | "Queenie’s New Bow" | Judy Valyi | |
| 41 | 15 | "Double Billy" | Norman Hudis | |
| 42 | 16 | "Happy Starday!" | Keith Brumpton | |
| 43 | 17 | "Running Wild" | Fabrice Ziolkowski | |
| 44 | 18 | "Eau de Junkyard" | Catherine Girczyc | |
| 45 | 19 | "Paws, Jaws and Claws" | Keith Brumpton | |
| 46 | 20 | "From Whom the Bell Tolls" | Peter Hynes | |
| 47 | 21 | "Jumbo Flyer" | Barry Whittaker | |
| 48 | 22 | "Pride and Prejudice" | Stephen Desberg | |
| 49 | 23 | "The Amulet of Cerberus" | TBD | |
| 50 | 24 | "The Trouble with Bob" | Jill Brett | |
| 51 | 25 | "The Invasion of the Cat Nappers" | Fabrice Ziolkowski | |
| 52 | 26 | "Speak No Evil" | Fabrice Ziolkowski |
TV movies
| Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "One of the Guys" | Les Orton | Jono Howard, Terry Klassen, Robin Lyons, Malcolm McGookin, Andrew Offiler, Judy Valyi, and Barry Whittaker | 1998 | |
| Regales the chronicles of Billy trying to fit in with Blackie's gang, by entering the uptown dogs’ territory and befriending a poodle, rescuing the kittens of a gang member’s sister, and encountering the great purple nothing. | ||||
| "Cats Can Talk" | Jean Pierre Jacquet | Fabrice Ziolkowski, Luli Barzman, and Stephen Desberg | 2001 | |
| Regales the adventures of Billy about to be involved in a plot set by an evil woman. | ||||