Heathcliff and Dingbat (also known as "The Heathcliff and Dingbat Show") is the first Heathcliff series that is produced by Ruby-Spears Productions, back in 1980. This first season of the 1980-1981 Heathcliff series was split into four segments: the first two starring Heathcliff; and the last two starring Dingbat and the Creeps.
Overview[]
The Heathcliff segments focus on the everyday adventures of Heathcliff and the cast from the comic strip.
The Dingbat and the Creeps segments focus on the adventures of a group of monsters called "Odd Jobs, Inc." which consisted of:
- Dingbat, a vampire dog who used a bat-shaped novelty straw to eat most foods.
- Sparerib, a strangely rotund skeleton with the ability to change himself into useful items (such as a floor lamp, which he did in the opening credits).
- and Nobody, a gravelly-voiced jack-o-lantern who led the team and often found them various work.
After the production of TV show ended, it was soon followed with the successor, Heathcliff and Marmaduke. Ruby-Spears Productions continued to create Heathcliff episodes for the 1981 broadcast season, but as part of a new series called Heathcliff and Marmaduke. A single Heathcliff segment played alongside two Marmaduke segments during each half-hour show.
Opening Intro[]
The intro starts with Heathcliff running to the fourth wall showing a variety of sernario transition:
- Heathcliff kicking trash bin to finding a fish bone with the two senstation men: Clem and DIgby shouting "Heathcliff".
- He gives the fish bone to Sonja on their date, He notices a mouse, catching it to using the rodent as a paddle-ball, the dogcatcher with Spike sneak on Heathcliff, for the dogcatcher to miss his net and catching the mouse instead and shouts "Heathcliff".
- Heathcliff disguise himself as cowboy going to Schultz's food mart to steal fish from him, for Schultz to chase him as he shouts Heathcliff's name.
- Heathcliff hitches a ride behind the rear of Dingbat and Co. vechicle's.
With the narrator intoducing the Dingbat and the Creeps, each of them conisiting of Dingbat the Vampire Dog, Sparerib the Skeleton, and Nobody the Jack-a-Latern.
The narrator annocing the show's name to be "The Heathcliff and Dingbat Show" despite the title simply named "Heathcliff and Dingbat".
Format[]
The series contains 4 cartoon segments in each episode, the first and third segments play a "Dingbat and the Creeps" cartoon awhile the second and fourth segments play a "Heathcliff" cartoon. In each "Heathcliff" segment starts with the title of the episode and the announcer saying "We now return in The Heathcliff and Dingbat Show."
Characters[]
Main Cast (Heathcliff)[]
- Heathcliff (voiced by Mel Blanc)
- Mrs. Nutmeg (voiced by June Foray)
- Iggy Nutmeg (voiced by June Foray)
- Grubs the Dogcatcher (voiced by Henry Corden)
- Spike (voiced by Mel Blanc)
- Sonja (voiced by June Foray)
Main Cast (Dingbat)[]
- Dingbat (voiced by Frank Welker)
- Sparerib (voiced by Don Messick)
- Nobody (voiced by Don Messick)
Recurring Cast (Heathcliff)[]
- Officer Casey (voiced by Henry Corden)
- Jodi (voiced by June Foray)
- Mr. Schultz (voiced by Mel Blanc)
- Milkman (voiced by Mel Blanc)
- Clem (voiced by Henry Corden)
- Digby (voiced by Henry Corden)
Episodes[]
Each episode consists of two 5-minute Heatcliff cartoons and two 5-minute "Dingbat and the Creeps" cartoons.
Starring the Voices of[]
- Mel Blanc - Heathcliff, Spike, Milkman, Mr. Schultz, Purple Think Burgler, Lanky Cat
- Henry Corden - Clem, Digby, Grubs the Dogcatcher, Officer Casey
- Frank Welker - Dingbat, Additional Voices
- June Foray - Sonja, Mrs. Nutmeg, Iggy, Muggsy, Jodi
- Don Messick - Sparerib, Nobody, Additional Voices
Additional Voices[]
- Marilyn Schreffler - Evillia the Witch, Heathcliff's Vocal Meow (from Mascot Rumble), Giant Mouse, Butch's Owner
- Judy Strangis -
- Janet Waldo - Toots
- Takayo Doran - Female Cat Contestants (Pumping Irony)
- Claire Peck -
Trivia[]
- This is series is the first animated telvision series of Heathcliff.
- Unlike in next two series, Heathcliff and his co-host Dingbat never interact.
- The only time there both onscreen together is when Heathcliff hitched a ride in Dingbat and Co. vechicle from the opening intro.
- The first time in the series when Heathcliff could talk, abeit he couldn't in the comics, this is likely to make to understand for the televison audince.