The Houndcats

Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

The Houndcats took Mission: Impossible and moved it to the American West (a move already made in primetime by the short-lived The Bearcats).

Despite the title, not every member of this secret government crimefighting team was a cat. Stutz, the leader, was a cat, as was Puttypuss, a disguise expert billed as the "Cat of a Thousand Faces." Rhubarb (the electronics and gadget whiz) was a dog, as were Dingdong (the daredevil stunt-type) and Muscle Mutt (the strongman).

The group zipped around in their Stutz Bearcat, named "Sparkplug," which was always driven by Stutz. Assignments came via tape recordings, which self-destructed in a different fashion each week. Like most cartoon crimefighters, the Houndcats lacked a certain grace and skill, yet always seemed to crack the case by the end of the show.

They may have solved all their cases, but the real Mission: Impossible was getting better ratings, and so The Houndcats ran only one season.

Release History

9/9/72 - 9/1/73 NBC

TV Sub Categories

animated
action/adventure
comedy

TV Studio

DePatie-Freleng

Television Cast

Stutz Daws Butler
Muscle Mutt Aldo Ray
Rhubarb Arte Johnson
Puttypuss Joe Besser
Dingdong Stu Gilliam

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