History ComicBook / BillyTheCat

* AdaptationalWimp: Sanctifer was also far more formidable and dangerous in the comics.
* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy: In the episode ''Happy Starday'', astronomers seem to look for an individual star, visible to ths naked eye, and than name it, so it has not been seen. (How do they know, for what they look?) Besides, Mr. Hubert has to move to be in the light of his star, that he already sees. (If hee sees it, its light falls on his eyes.)

* CassandraTruth: Most characters dismiss Billy's claims of having once been human. Queenie and Jumbo are the only ones who believe him.

* FreakyFridayFlip: An unusual example; Instead of swapping bodies, the magician's cat is transformed into a duplicate of Billy's human form, so his family don't realize anything is amiss.

* MagiciansAreWizards: The wizard who turned Billy into a cat was working as a stage magician.

* StatusQuoIsGod: Every episode ends with things going to back to the way things were when it started.

* KarmicTransformation

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy: In the episode ''Happy Starday'', astronomers seem to look for an individual star, visible with nacked eye, and than name it, so it has not been seen. (How do they know, for what they look?) Besides, Mr. Hubert has to move to be in the light of his star, that he already sees. (If hee sees it, its light falls on his eyes.)
* BalefulPolymorph

* EnemyMine: While usually an enemy Sanctifer at least once teamed up with Billy when they were both captured in one episode.
* ExpositoryThemeTune
* FreakyFridayFlip

* MagiciansAreWizards

* StatusQuoIsGod

'''''Billy the Cat''''' is a Franco-Belgian comic book series by the Belgian Stéphane Colman and Stephen Desberg. Also an animated cartoon version has been produced for broadcast and is ran through American Broadcasting Company, amongst others. Both comic and cartoon deal with the everyday and secret lives of urban animals, and while the characters are largely the same in both versions, the stories and situations are very different.

** Most of the animal characters also see Billy as this, as his claims of being a human trapped in the body of a cat aren´t usually taken seriously.
* FantasticRacism: Between cats and dogs. This is more notable in the animated series. Cats and dogs absolutely despise each other and don´t even seem to consider getting along. Also, Mr. Hubert in the series seems to be unable to consider pigeons as anything other than food, and takes a bit of time to accept the pigeon Jumbo as an ally.
** In the animated series, there was also a group of purebred dogs who had sworn to kill not only every cat they come across, but also any dog that isn´t a purebred like themselves. Meaning that, yes, these dogs extend their racism to even their own kind.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Sanctifer can be polite, helpful and friendly, but deep down, he is a very nasty and sociopathic individual, who will get quite agressive if things don´t go his way.
* KnightOfCerebus: Sanctifer is quite a frightening and dangerous villain. The comics in which he appears are noticeably darker than the others.
* LoudOfWar: Hell in the pilot comic (even before "in the skin of a cat"). Eternal dance music that's really eternal. A party that never stops! Sounds great, huh? Not really according to Billy...

* FauxAffablyEvil: Sanctifer can be polite, helpful and friendly, but deep down, he is a very nasty and sociopathic individual, who will get very agressive if things don´t go his way.

* NiceMice: Completely Averted in the second episode, where a group of mice bully Billy. They are no better than the rat villains who appear later in the series.

** Sanctifer as well, as in the comics, he was eventually KilledOffForReal

* CatsAreSuperior: Mr.Hubert firmly believes in this, especially in the comics. In the eight album, he even tells Billy that no other creature (not even humans) is as well adapted to this world as cats, and claims that, sometimes, he wonders if the entire universe was created just for cats.

* YouDirtyRat: Sanctifer´s group of servants happen to be some quite nasty rats.

**

Not to be confused with the UK comic strip of the same name, which ran in ''TheBeano'' and was about a teenage superhero, or with [[ComicStrip/BloomCounty Bill the Cat]].

* FanTranslation: Of the first comic at least. Translated into English into "In the skin of a Cat".

* ExecutiveMeddling: The change in the premise.

* FakeBrit: Mr. Hubert.

* RetCon / ContinuityReboot: The very first standalone story of Billy had him also getting crushed under a car, but he actually got into Heaven. Noticing that Heaven wasn't that great, he descended to Hell, where an eternal party with loud music was going on. Then, after noticing eternal was really eternal and the music would never stop, he asks a guru to reincarnate him, and as a fluke he's returned as a cat to Earth. This whole plot was scrapped when they started writing "''dans la peau d'un chat''" ("in the skin of a cat").

* RetGone: The wizard's cat that was transformed into Billy's doppelganger is shown in the opening episode and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot never seen or mentioned again]]. It wasn't even present in the episode when Billy visits his former home, where the cat should logically be.

* LighterAndSofter: And how. All the darkness and NightmareFuel of the comics has been exchanged with cartoony slapstick.

* AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal: A number of cats wear bows or bowties -- most notably Hubert, who despite being an alleycat is never seen without his green bowtie.

* CatsAreMean: Averted. Cats have different temperaments and personalities, just like humans -- in the cartoon, most of them are even implausibly friendly with other animals that real life cats consider food, or at least prey. A lot of Hubert's friends from the comic are {{Jerkass}}es to Billy to begin with, but come around eventually. The only cat who can really be considered mean is Sanctifer, who in the comic is KilledOffForReal while in the cartoon has been toned down and goes through quite a bit of DiminishingVillainThreat.

* AGodAmI: Sanctifer slips into this -- or rather, drops any pretense that he isn't like this -- towards the end of the first comic after having beaten Hubert thoroughly and is about to leave him to die:

* CatsAreMean: Averted. Cats have different temperaments and personalities, just like humans -- in the cartoon, most of them are even implausibly friendly with other animals that real life cats consider food, or at least prey. A lot of Hubert's friends are {{Jerkass}}es to Billy to begin with, but come around eventually. The only cat who can really be considered mean is Sanctifer, who in the comic is KilledOffForReal while in the cartoon has been toned down and goes through quite a bit of DiminishingVillainThreat.

** The pilot comic looks very different; Billy looks nothing like he does in the series proper, and some of the cats are {{Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal}}s -- the series has them as {{Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal}}s at the most.

** The pilot comic looks very different; Billy looks nothing like he does in the series proper, and some of the cats are HalfDressedCartoonAnimals -- the series has them as AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimals at the most.

* CarnivoreConfusion: Given that all animals are sapient and can talk, it potentially causes a few issues. In the show at least, the cats eat mostly garbage or food fed to them by a kindly old lady, and not their pigeon friend.
* CatsAreMean: Averted. Cats have different temperaments and personalities, just like humans. In fact, most of them are implausibly friendly with other animals that real life cats consider food, or at least prey. The only cat who can really be considered mean is Sanctifer from the animated series, and even he goes through quite a bit of DiminishingVillainThreat.
* FishOutOfWater

* HowDoIShotWeb: At first Billy has difficulties with his new cat body and doesn't know how to use his retractable claws or even meow.
* RaceLift: The second friend of Billy with whom he used to taunt cats with is white in the cartoon. In the comic, he's black, and in original French can't even pronounce the "R" letter.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Mr. Hubert

* LoudOfWar: Hell in the first Billy comic (even before "in the skin of a cat"). Eternal dance music that's really eternal. A party that never stops! Soonds great, huh? Not really according to Billy...
* DarkerAndEdgier: The comic to the cartoon.

* MoodWhiplash: Most notably in the pilot comic strip.

* LighterAndSofter

* CatsAreMean: Averted. Cats have different temperaments and personalities, just like humans. In fact, most of them are implausibly friendly with other animals that real life cats consider food, or at least prey. The only cat who can really be considered mean is Sanctifer from the animated series, and even he goes through quite a bit of VillainDecay.