5 Comments on Josie and the Pussycats – The Complete Series

Baron Keels on Thu, 29th Jul 2010 9:23 am


yay,the bugs bunny people finally got wise & put out “josie & the pussycats”. when i was a child,i was not that crazy about this show. i’m still not crazy about it,but i will buy 4 my favorite episode. melody gets brainwashed (she had a brain?) & she called the bad guy,”great mustard”. as far as the voice talents go/went(?) cheryl ladd & patricia holloway only provided the singing voices of melody & valerie. now i can’t wait 4 frankenstein jr/impossibles & the herculoids 2 be released.
Rating: 3 / 5

Andre M. on Thu, 29th Jul 2010 11:31 am


If you saw J&TP as child in 1970-72 as I did, you’re bound to have the “warm and fuzzies” over this one, especially since it was never on (legit non-bootleg) DVD.

HOWEVER, like SOME shows you haven’t seen since childhood, you may be in for a letdown and a reality check from actually watching this DVD.

The plain, ugly truth is that nostaligia aside, this show tends to get old really fast. It basically tells the same story every time (J&TP go to perform in a foreign country, the stumble upon a fiendish plot by some evil character, then we’re treated to chase scenes by the evil villains going after those “meddling kids”-a phrase that gives you indigestion after the ten thousandth time and the song of the week. Alexandra tries unsucessfully to steal Alan from Josie, and that’s it until the next time).

Of course, we didn’t notice this as small kids in that era, but today’s children may catch on to this pretty fast and quickly lose interest.

I didn’t give it just one star for the following reasons-J&TP had some merit to it. For one thing, following some controversy with Hanna-Barbera who originally wanted to make her white, Valerie was the first Black non-stereotyped HB character (which as a six year old in 1970, I didn’t really notice and neither will most of today’s children-it’s sad that this is still an issue with Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” but I digress). Curiously, HB had no similar qualms about the Harlem Globetrotter cartoons that appeared later that year.

Secondly, the show was educational in a way because I was enthralled nd fascinated by the different countries they went to every week. As did another reviewer, I also remember the “In The Know” educational segments by J&TP that appeared through the show and the catchy theme song to that one(this was three years before Schoolhouse Rock broke the mold for this kind of thing).

Finally, the songs were quite good for the pop of that era and the theme song is indeed catchy. Patrice Holloway (Valerie) was the sister of Motown princess Brenda Holloway and young Cheryl Ladd was the voice of Melody, who had a few amusing moments as the show’s resident dumb blonde. DJ Casey Kasem was the perfect “Chicken Alex” (even as a kid, I noitced he had the same voice as Scooby-Doo’s Shaggy).

So it has a small place in cartoon history and those of us who were there at the time have fond memories of it, but once you see the DVD-you’ve been warned.
Rating: 3 / 5

Pj Thorp on Thu, 29th Jul 2010 12:30 pm


These characters were based on the Archie Comics characters, and were slightly altered for television. For example, Alexander Cabot was given the exaggerated cowardice of Scooby Doo character Shaggy (not to mention his voice actor Casey Kasem, who created a slight difference in voices when the characters met in the New Scooby Doo Movies episode featuring Josie & the Pussycats: The Haunted Showboat).

8 songs were created for the series, and are used in the chase sequences near the end of each episode. Each song is used for 2 of the 16 episodes.

The singing voice (not the speaking voice) of drummer Melody is done by Cherie Moore (who was later billed on Charlie’s Angels as Cheryl Ladd from 1977-81).

Enjoy the show, and if you’d like to see more Archie Comics characters, check out Filmation’s Archie Show: The Complete Series, released recently by BCI.

A sequel series came out two years later: Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, which placed the characters in an obvious parody of Lost in Space.
Rating: 3 / 5

Eric A. Klee on Thu, 29th Jul 2010 1:03 pm


I don’t know what it is about Josie and the Pussycats, but I used to love it a kid. It’s an entirely silly concept (a crime-fighting girl band), but it was very entertaining. I think because the characters were so well-developed and interesting. Furthermore, they were a very diverse (socially, culturally, and racially) group, which seemed very progressive for its time. You had Josie, the level-headed “leader.” Melody, the ditzy, but super-nice, blond. Valerie, the calm, cool, and collected MacGyver-type. Was Charlie’s Angels based on them?

To throw in some conflict within the group, we were given the wacky brother and sister team of Alexander and Alexandra, and the hunky Alan, Josie’s boyfriend, whom Alexandra lusted after. Alexandra was by far my favorite character, as she was always trying to mess things up for Josie because of her jealousy, yet the team always welcomed her into their social group. Alexander was a klutz and would always screw things for the team, but he was always trying to keep the peace by keeping his crazy sister in check. I really didn’t care what crime the team was trying to solve; I was all about the internal conflicts!

If you like Scooby Doo, Where Are You! – The Complete First and Second Seasons, you’ll love Josie and the Pussycats. (And don’t forget to check out the live-action movie (Josie and the Pussycats (PG-13 Version)) and Music From the Motion Picture Josie And The Pussycats!) And just wait ’til they release the next DVD set (hopefully!) when the entire gang is shipped off into outer space to fight intergalactic crime! We’ll meet Melody’s new pet alien, Bleep! (Bleep, bleep! Bleep, bleep!) It doesn’t get any wackier and entertaining than this, my friends…
Rating: 5 / 5

R. Hamilton on Thu, 29th Jul 2010 3:20 pm


What a classic! Josie and the Pussycats was one of my favorite cartoons as a child. Despite the series containing only 16 “groovy” episodes, I never grew tired of watching them over and over. And I don’t now. The characters still provide plenty of laughs – especially silly Melody, cowardly Alexander, and his wisecracking, ever-scheming sister Alexandra. And who can forget the group’s furry sidekick, Sebastian? (Love that cat’s laugh!) Plus the band’s kooky crime-solving adventures – all around the world – are fun and zany as ever.

This 1970 series contained the following episodes:

1. The Nemo’s A No No Affair

2. A Greenthumb is Not A Goldfinger

3. The Secret Six

4. Swap Plot Flop

5. Midas Mix-Up

6. X Marks The Spot

7. Chili Today and Hot Tamale

8. Never Mind a Master Mind

9. Plateau of the Apes Plot

10. Strangemoon Over Miami

11. All Wong in Hong Kong

12. Melody Memory Mix-Up

13. The Great Pussycat Chase

14. Spy School Spoof

15. Jumpin’ Jupiter Affair

16. Don’t Count On a Countess

Another 16 episodes followed 2 years later in 1972, and that series was called Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space. These episodes included:

1. Where’s Josie?

2. Make Way for the Multi-men

3. The Sleeping Planet

4. Alien Alan

5. The Water Planet

6. The Sun Haters

7. The Mini-man Menace

8. The Space Pirates

9. Anything You Can Zoo

10. Now You See Them, Now You Don’t

11. The Four-Eyed Dragon of Cygnon

12. The Forward Backward People of Xarock

13. The Hollow Planet

14. All Hail Goddess Melody

15. Outer Space Ark

16. Warrior Women of Amazonia

I just hope that this classic cartoon will be released as well…
Rating: 5 / 5

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