The television series «Top Cat» was one of the most iconic inventions of Hanna-Barbera, one of the most popular American television studios of the last century.
It had its debut in 1961, and only had 30 chapters, which became true classics of the small screen.
The success was such that three films were released: Top Cat in Beverly Hills (1988), Top Cat (2011) and the most recent, although not very successful, Don Gato: the beginning of the gang (2015), which you can see on Prime Video.
Do you remember the characters in the gang? Don’t worry, here we refresh your memory a bit.
What were Top Cat?
The series places us in Manhattan, in an alley where apparently there would be nothing interesting; however, there lives a gang of cats commanded by Top Cat, who will bring out ‘green gray hairs’ from the officer Matute, a neighborhood policeman, who will try to catch the mischievous cats.
Every morning was a new opportunity for Top Cat. The sun was coming up and his mustaches were already sticking out of the alleys of Manhattan’s slums, ready to do some eccentric project that would take him out of the dump and lead him to rub shoulders with the most prominent personalities of New York. Because deep down he was a top cat, as his name indicated in the original language of the series: Top Cat.
It was enough to rattle the lids of the garbage cans where he slept for his feline and street gang to immediately appear: Benito Bodoque, Cucho, Panza, Espanto and Demosthenes. The plan was set in motion, always commanded by Don Gato, the undisputed charismatic leader, until they ran into Officer Hooch, who very clumsily tried to prevent them from achieving their mission.
Don Gato and his gang, the brainchild of animation studios Hanna-Barbera, hit the ABC screen in 1961 in primetime, with the aim of repeating the audience numbers of other hits such as The Jetsons , The Flintstones and The Yogi Bear . However, it was a flop from its premiere and was taken off the air after just 30 episodes. Success came later, in Latin America, with an outstanding dubbing job.
The importance of dubbing
Dubbing, key to the success of Top Cat in Latin America
The Hispanic version was decisive for the success of Don Gato and his gang in Latin America. The magnificent Jorge Arvizu (Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Felix Cat, Maxwell Smart, among many others) voiced Benito and Cucho, both in the series and in the film released in 2011. Julio Lucena did the same with Don Gato , and Armando Ramírez with Demosthenes. They brought the tender and humorous touch that the series lacked in the original language.
Although the visual environment of ‘Don Gato y su pandilla’ was still clearly American, the jokes, puns, and cultural allusions referred to the regional context of Mexico in the 1960s: the urban environment, compared to that of ‘ The Flintstones’ is very specific and real: The adapted script retained references to New York, however, they allowed the Mexican public to find the references that established the action in the US easy to accept; Thanks to the constant references to Mexican culture (many people continue to wonder what Chocolomo is, for example) scattered throughout the dialogue, and to the recognizable accents and intonations of voice, the specific features of the city of the metropolis took a back seat.
So great was the success of the show that in 2015 another movie, The Beginning of the Gang, was released. It is a prequel to the show, which tells how the felines met, and was dedicated to the memory of Arvizu, who died the previous year.
Beyond their voices, it is difficult to explain why this group of raving cats penetrated so deeply in the hearts of a generation of Latin Americans. It will be because of their sympathy or that habit of spending the day playing in the street. Or perhaps because of the value of friendship that, although they did not know how to see it in their homeland, was always the priority for Don Gato.
Characters:
Don Cat
The protagonist of the series is a yellow cat, dressed in a purple vest and hat. He is a talkative, a bit abusive and persuasive character in whom the group believes. However, his decisions constantly get everyone else in trouble.
Benito Bodoque
Benito is, without a doubt, one of the most popular characters in the series. He always believes in Don Gato and follows his orders, hence the source of many memes on social networks. Her attitude is more childish and she wears a kind of white camisole.
Cucho
The pink cat that wears a long-sleeved white turtleneck shirt is called Chucho, the tallest of the feline characters. He is a character who can be very infatuated and sensitive.
Demosthenes
It is a carefree cat, it is brown and wears a purple shirt. Demosthenes is a naive and carefree cat, as well as stuttering. He always seems to be relaxed, because he just watches the world go by and see what Don Gato wants.
fright
It is the brown cat that wears a black tie. He is much more alert and with a much more avant-garde attitude for the time; however, it also limits everything that Don Gato wants.
Belly
The last ‘subordinate’ to Don Gato is Panza, a character much sweeter than the others and who tries to be more ‘demure’ when expressing himself. He also shows a high fondness for chatting with girls.
Officer Matute
Hooch is the only human to appear frequently in the series. This is the police officer who is responsible for checking that everything is in order in the neighborhood. However, Don Gato and his gang manage to outwit him in every possible way, driving Matute crazy. Even so, the characters can sometimes share with the officer.
