Herman and Katnip

Herman and Katnip are a duo of cartoon characters (Herman the mouse and Katnip the cat), who have appeared both separately and together in Famous Studios cartoons from 1944 to 1960. Their cartoon series, which was distributed by Paramount Pictures, together is essentially a clone of MGM's "Tom and Jerry". The key difference is that, regardless of who personified good or evil (with Katnip being the latter on almost all occasions), Herman "always" came out on top against Katnip, while Tom won his fair share of comic battles against Jerry. Despite this, Katnip rarely had trouble forcing Herman to pay in some manner for his victories. Arnold Stang voiced Herman while Sid Raymond voiced Katnip.

Leonard Maltin's published history of Hollywood cartoons "Of Mice and Magic" described the "Herman and Katnip" series as a prime stereotype of the "violent cat versus mouse" battles that were commonplace among Hollywood cartoons of the 1920s through the 1960s. The violence in this series, while intended for comedic effect, often reached a level of brutality that surpassed both "Tom and Jerry," Mighty Mouse, and Warner Bros.' Sylvester the Cat. Herman's battles with Katnip always ended with Herman victorious over Katnip, and frequently Herman and his mouse companions would sing a victory song as they observed Katnip being brutally punished or even tortured (e.g. being eaten by sharks, killed in a rockslide while mountain climbing, strung up with Christmas lights and plugged into an electric socket, or even dying and his ghost being sent to "the fiery furnace".)

Katnip also had his share of running battles with Buzzy, a singing black crow in a flat straw hat. This was usually based on Katnip trying to kick an ailment. He would read a rhyming verse that suggested crow meat as the sure cure. Once confronted by Katnip, however, Buzzy would propose another solution, to which the cat usually replied, "Hmmmm, that sounds logical."

Herman and Katnip and the other original Famous characters were purchased by Harvey Comics in 1958, who continued to promote the characters under the name "Harveytoons". The early Herman and Katnip cartoons were sold by Paramount in 1955 to U.M.&M. T.V. Corp. for television distribution.

Herman and Henry

Herman spawned a spinoff by teaming up with a henpecked rooster named "Henry". Henry's nemesis was "Chicken Pie" (aka Chicken Fat). She was a very mean, and strong hen, who her enemy Henry, does not do the work he is supposed to do. She was afraid of Herman, who always bawks at him every time Herman scared her. The title cards can read "FEATURING HERMAN AND HENRY". First appeared: Henpecked Rooster (1944). Last appeared: Sudden Fried Chicken (1946).

Video

Many "Herman and Katnip" and "Herman and Henry" shorts are released on public domain videocassettes and DVDs. Some prints have the U.M.&.M or NTA logo at the start and end, masking the old Paramount Titles. However the UCLA Film and TV archive restored these shorts to their original Paramount titles.Fact|date=December 2007 Many Herman and Henry shorts edited out the swear words and replaced them with bleeps.Fact|date=December 2007

ee also

* List of Herman and Katnip cartoons

References

* [http://www.toonopedia.com/katnip.htm Herman and Katnip at Don Markstein's Toonopedia]