The Characters from Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats.
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Heathcliff
Heathcliff
Heathcliff
Heathcliff started out as a comic strip series before leaping to the TV screen. He is proclaimed the terror of the neighborhood, and no man, child, milkman, or dog (except for sometimes Spike), would dare cross him.
Tropes associated with Heathcliff:
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Although Heathcliff is often a jerk to most people, there are plenty of moments (moreso in the comics) that make it clear that he loves Sonja very much.
- Big Eater: So much of one that Garfield would hang his head in shame.
- Cassandra Truth: Heathcliff would occasionally be accused of crimes that were done by another cat or dog. Everyone in town believes he's the criminal, so Heathcliff has to clear his name.
- Cats Are Mean: He's the toughest cat in Westfinster and its resident bully to all dogs, rival gangs, and the milkman. Lampshaded by the show's intro and theme song:"Heathcliff, Heathcliff, no one should terrify the neighborhood.""But Heathcliff just won't be outdone, playing pranks on everyone."
- Clingy Jealous Guy : Hitting on Sonja in front of Heathcliff is never a good idea, 'cuz the offender usually ends up in a body cast in short order. The more clever ones will play on Sonja's sympathies so she'll protect them from him... but Heathcliff still finds ways to make them regret it.
- The Dreaded: Most of the neighborhood cats and dogs fear Heathcliff. And their fears are pretty much justified considering he could beat up scores of them at once. Even some humans in the neighborhood (like the garbage men and the milkman) have this reaction, due to his trouble-making antics.
- Dub Name Change: Called Isidoro in the European Spanish and Italian dubs, Berenguer in the Catalan dub, PÃcaro in the Mexican and Venezuelan dubs (Spanish-language versions for other parts of Latin America kept Heathcliff), Nisse in Swedish, Mjaurits in Norway and Harry in Polish.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Heathcliff is a miscreant, but he DOES cares about his parents. In one episode, he bends over backwards to impress his mom, and in another, he does everything he could to keep his father safe.
- Everyone Has Standards: He fully acknowledges how little he thinks of dogs, but in the And Knowing Is Half the Battle segments, he treats the featured pets kindly and chastises owners for any mistreatment (such as leaving a dog outside during a rainstorm).
- Evil Laugh: Well, more like a weird sort of Evil Chortle. Mel Blanc definitely made it distinct.
- Friend to All Children: For all his troublemaking, he always looks out for Iggy, Marcy, and other good kids he encounters.
- Invincible Hero: Heathcliff pretty much goes undefeated throughout the series. The only loss he suffers is to Tammy and even then that's because he refuses to fight her on account of her being a girl. The only cats who could put up a prolonged fight against Heathcliff were the Siamese Twins and even then it was basically a two-on-one catfight.
- Mel Blanc: Heathcliff was his last new character.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's able to beat up multiple cats and dogs more than twice his size.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Is often happy to let Marcy dress him as a baby, and push him around in her baby carriage.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Loves his fish.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Has a bit of this with Mungo, Wordsworth, and especially Hector. He frequently gets into it with them (and them right back), but they also occasionally socialize and partake in schemes together. The three even attended a surprise party for Heathcliff's birthday.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: In the episode "Terrible Tammy" Heathcliff can't bring himself to sock out Tammy, a cat who's equally as troublesome as he is. His girlfriend Sonja, however, does it for him.
Sonja
Sonja
Heathcliff's prim and proper girlfriend.
Tropes associated with Sonja:
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Her complete lack of hesitance to square up to Tammy for the sake of Heathcliff's reputation is a nice reminder that despite often getting impatient with him, she loves him dearly.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Seen whenever Heathcliff starts taking her for granted and, if she even thinks he's two-timing her, she won't hesitate to show him that two can play that game.
- Dude Magnet: All the cats in the neighborhood know Sonja's a class act and they all want her for themselves, regardless of incurring Heathcliff's wrath.
- Head-Turning Beauty: She's been hit on by neighborhood cats, celebrity feline actors, and even Heathcliff's cousin.
- Not So Above It All: She acknowledges how the ass-kicking that she gave Tammy was hardly the actions of a Proper Lady, but she also said it needed to be done.
- Proper Lady: In contrast to Riff-Raff's girlfriend, Cleo, Sonja is all about proper etiquette in courtship and expects Heathcliff to act accordingly. She'll quickly point out if he's being improper and explain how a true gentleman treats a lady, which often causes Heathcliff to snarkly remind her that he's no gentleman.
- Uptown Girl: Sonja is repeatedly noted by Hector and her other admirers as a "classy dame" because of her looks and manner of speaking.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: Since Heathcliff wouldn't hit Tammy, Sonja gives her a beatdown and promises more of the same if she ever bothers him again.
- Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Invoked by Heathcliff whenever Sonja starts getting on his case about his lack of proper etiquette.
- What Does She See in Him?: Asked point blank by several of her would-be suitors when they find out she already has a ruffian, like Heathcliff, for a boyfriend. So has Hector.
Spike
Spike
Spike with Heatchliff
A musclebound bulldog owned by the local bully, Muggsy Faber, and Heathcliff's favorite target. Thanks to being beaten up so often, he's actually terrified of Heathcliff, but tries to put up a tough front to support his image.
Tropes associated with Spike:
- Boisterous Weakling: He's a big, hulking bulldog, and he talks a good game, but he always loses fights even when Heathcliff isn't involved.
- Bullying a Dragon: Despite his fear, he still frequently attempted to intimidate or attack Heathcliff. Usually, this backfired.
- Dogs Are Dumb: Spike is such a dimwit that Heathcliff often notes that Spike makes things too easy for him at times. In some cases, Heathcliff literally sighs and walks away without bothering to finish whatever prank he was gonna pull.
The Catillac Cats
Riff Raff
Riff Raff
The leader of the junkyard gang, The Catillac Cats (originally "The Cadillac Cats". The spelling was changed to avoid trademark issues with the Cadillac car company). Although he's short, he's just as tough as any other big cat, much like Heathcliff. He often plans schemes to get his hands on either food or money. He is rarely successful however. Most of his schemes are just ways to please his girlfriend Cleo.
Tropes associated with Riff Raff:
- Big Brother Instinct: In one episode, Cat In The Fat, he meets his long-lost brother and immediately warns everyone to treat him kindly or else.
- Buffoonish Tomcat: Rather zigzagged and somewhat averted since Riff has some intelligence, his buffoonish moments usually come from how inept he can be, and how much of a loser he is.
- The Cameo: He appears in "Spike's Cousin" right behind Mungo watching the big fight. It is the only time Riff Raff ever appears in a Heathcliff segment.
- Cats Are Mean: In his worst moments.
- Chick Magnet: Riff Raff can sometimes attract the attention of other female cats like Roxie, Lindsay (unfortunately), and the house of Siamese cats in "The Big Break-In". The last one had Riff Raff realize that there's too little of him to go around as he gets mobbed by the amorously lovesick cats that he decides to high tail it from there.
- Conservation of Competence: Hector, Wordsworth, and Mungo either don't know, or don't care to admit that they really do need Riff Raff as their leader. He's the only one in the group that does seem to have brains. The plot of "Hector's Takeover" is built around this.
- Foil: To Heathcliff, in several ways.
- The most notable difference is Heathcliff is the neighborhood terror, to the point of bodering on being a Villain Protagonist. Whereas Riff-Raff is mostly a Nice Guy, despite being the leader of a street gang. But Heathcliff is occasionally given heroic moments to show he's not all bad, while Riff-Raff is sometimes a jerk to his friends.
- Riff-Raff also differs by preferring to rely on his wits and getting his gang to do the grunt work for him, whereas Heathcliff favors brawn and doing things solo.
- Hypocrite: Spends the first minutes of one episode lecturing Cleo about how he wants to know she'll always be true to him. He's hitting on other lady cats not five minutes later. He winds up paying for it by the end.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He may be full of arrogance, smugness and is often frustrated with others, but he is friendly towards others.
- Last-Second Word Swap: From the episode "Cleo Moves In": Riff Raff is setting his place up for Cleo and mumbles to himself: "It would be nice having her here. I wouldn't have to go chasing her down for...intelligent conversation".
- Mistaken for Cheating: Falls victims to this more than he wants too, having Cleo believe he's two-timing her.
- Mock Millionaire: He does this to impress his mother in "Riff Raff's Mom".
- The Napoleon: Riff Raff was much shorter than the rest of his gang. Though he took it better than most Napoleons, his gang members often pissed him off for a good reason.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Riff Raff is acknowledged as being one of the toughest cats in Westfinster, despite being a half-pint. It's the reason that few are willing to pick a fight with him, and the few that try it, usually end up wishing they hadn't.
- Signature Headgear: Riff Raff isn't Riff Raff without that big baseball cap.
- The Smart Guy: It's repeatedly shown that he's the brains of the Cadillac Cats, as Hector, Wordsworth, and Mongo can barely get anything done without him. Riff-Raff's ability to plan also makes him a stark contrast to Heathcliff, as Riff-Raff prefers to get things done through smooth-talking and scheming, as opposed to Heathcliff's strongarm approach.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it makes it easy for him to take advantage of their stupidity, but he's often left exasperated when Hector and the others screw up his plans.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: He's pint-sized compared to anyone else, including his girlfriend, Cleo, who's nearly twice his height.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Girlfriend: Riff Raff is by no means unappealing, but you'd wonder why someone like Cleo would ever even notice Riff Raff. In fact, in a flashback episode showing when the two first met, Cleo doesn't seem to give him a second thought until her then-boyfriend starts beating him up for no good reason.
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: During his not-so-good moments when he's being a jerk to Hector and the others.
- Wholesome Crossdresser:
- Zany Scheme: Has tons of schemes in his junkyard that usually backfire from the result of others.
Cleo
Cleo
Riff Raff's classy girlfriend, who lives in a music store.
Tropes associated with Cleo:
- Action Girl: She can be one, as in "Who's Got the Chocolate?", where she both masterminds and participates in a plan to rescue Riff Raff after he's kidnapped by poodle gangsters. However, this aspect of her is very much Depending on the Writer.
- Affectionate Nickname: She usually refers to boyfriend Riff Raff as, "Riffy".
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Downplayed. While Riff-Raff is the leader of a street gang, she knows he's a decent sort guy... (most of the time).
- Dude Magnet: Several episodes show that even Leeroy can be flustered by her with little more than a wink, and Hector can be caught making eyes at her on occasion. The episode about Riff-Raff's cousin, "Lucky", culminates in Lucky plotting to steal Cleo from Riff-Raff, as have several other would-be suitors. In another episode, "Harem Cat", she was abducted by a feline Sultan who was determined to make her one of his concubines! Suffice to say, she's the cats' meow.
- Girl Next Door: Cleo fills the role, despite her looks and uptown status, being that she's down-to-earth. At most, she'll demand a bit of excitement now and then. Otherwise, she accepts Riff-Raff for who he is, rather than trying to change him.
- Head-Turning Beauty: Moreso than Heathcliff's girlfriend, Sonia. Multiple guys have tried to woo her away from Riff-Raff while others, such as "Lucky", have plotted to outright steal her from him. Even Leeroy is infatuated with Cleo, despite his disdain for cats.
- Humanoid Female Animal: She's a cat who walks upright, has blonde hair, and an hourglass figure much like a human female's.
- Ms. Fanservice: Cleo's so stunningly attractive that she exudes sex appeal almost anytime she's onscreen. Best seen in the "Prehysteric Riff-Raff"
episode, in which, he meets Cleo's possible prehistoric ancestor "Clee", a Nubile Savage version of her. And, in "Search for a Star", a human PR agent for a local catfood company immediately became taken with her, noting that she'd be perfect for their advertising campaign. - Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here: She says this in "Cat Balloon".
- She's not afraid to let Riff Raff know whenever she's getting bored with hanging around the city or the junkyard, which easily kicks off several of their misadventures.
- Sexy Cat Person: For a humanoid cat, she has quite the attractive body. Especially the hair, the hourglass figure, and the eyes!
- The Smurfette Principle: While not part of the Catillac Cats herself, she's the only female who hangs out with them since Riff-Raff is the only one in his gang who has a girlfriend.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Is a very attractive female cat that she is desired by many male cats trying to woo her. The worst moment was in "Search for a Star" where Cleo gets kidnapped by a sleazy human PR-guy who decided she was beautiful enough to represent his cat food company. Cleo was apparently a big enough deal that her image was plastered all over town in advertisements in no time at all.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: Cleo and Bush move in with Riff Raff and his gang in "Cleo Moves In" after they get ejected from their music store home due to an animal ban on the property. Riff Raff initially welcomes the idea, but Cleo's Neat Freak tendencies and redecorating quickly get on his and the others' nerves (not to mention she throws Riff Raff out of his own house so she can use it). The Catillac Cats quickly try to find a way to get the animal ban on the music store lifted so Cleo can return back to her own home. After this happens, Cleo and Bush decide they actually want to stay in the junkyard, permanently... so Riff Raff and his friends have to force them out.
- Uptown Girl: It's never said who Cleo's owner is. All that's known about her is that she lives in a music store in the ritzier part of town.
- Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: She uses this to try and keep Riff Raff's ego in check. Sometimes it actually works... to a point.
- What Does She See in Him?: Hector and others have wondered why a fine feline, like her, would settle for a guy like Riff-Raff when she can easily have someone classier. A fact that she's well aware of and has weaponized whenever she thinks Riff-Raff is taking her for granted.
Hector
Hector
The defacto leader of the trio (at least, in his own mind), Hector thinks he's smarter, stronger and braver than he really is. His particular brand of Zany Schemes usually revolve around his own personal gain — and naturally backfire spectacularly.
Tropes associated with Hector:
- Bullying a Dragon: When in Heathcliff's neighborhood, he likes teasing and goading him despite getting his tail handed back to him several times.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Anytime he comes up with any sort of plan, you can expect it to backfire. Either because he fails to think it through, or because he pushes his luck too far.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Depending on whose segment he's in, he's either a minor antagonist (in Heathcliff's case), or a flunky with ambition (as part of Riff-Raff's gang). Despite this, he's had heroic moments on occasion, such as when he saved Heathcliff during his fight against the Siamese Twins. And, in the Harem Cat episode, he helps Riff-Raff recue Cleo.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Hector often thinks he's smarter than he actually is. Which is to say, not very. Such as trying to trap Leeroy in cage by tugging on the rope that was suspending it, instead of releasing the rope instead.
- The Lancer: Subverted. He assumes he's in charge whenever Riff-Raff isn't around, but Wordsworth and Mungo only follow his lead because Wordsworth simply does as he's told and Mungo's a dimwit.
- Miles Gloriosus: While Riff Raff could sometimes get away with it, Hector was far more often proven a Dirty Coward.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He desperately wants to be a top cat like Heathcliff and Riff-Raff are, but he has neither the smarts, or the muscle it takes to get there.
- The Starscream:
- Lampshaded and discussed in "Hector's Takeover", when Hector questions Riff Raff's commitment to leading their gang. So Riff-Raff decides to temporarily resign to let Hector try filling his shoes. But after several failures and realizing he's no match for rival gang leaders, he ends up begging Riff-Raff to take over again.
- In "Lard Times," Hector also admits that it was his goal to take over Heathcliff's territory. But he knows there's no way he can beat him,
- Tempting Fate: No matter how many times things blow up in his face, he continues to prove himself an unintentional master of this.
Mungo
Mungo
The strongest, gentlest and dimmest of the Catillac Cats, Mungo tends to go along with whatever his friends are doing.
Tropes associated with Mungo:
- Accent Adaptation: The Latin American Spanish dub is pretty notorious for giving Mungo, aside of his Simpleton Voice, to speak with a very thick Venezuelan accent. Justified here, as the dub was done in Venezuela.
- Beware the Nice Ones: If it sinks in that you're actually threatening him or his friends... Oh, Crap! The dogs at "Kitty Kat Kennels" found this out in the WORST WAY POSSIBLE.
- Buffoonish Tomcat: He's the big dumb variety and simply does as he's told. The few times he tries to think for himself never end well.
- The Big Guy: Mungo's the biggest one in the gang in terms of height, girth, and brute strength.
- Cowardly Lion: He's a chicken under normal circumstances, but even he has him limits. Which is when Mungo gets to shine by dishing out pain.
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: Which often results in Mungo accidentally breaking things, or ripping car doors off their hinges unintentionally.
- Dumb Muscle: As previously noted, he's the group's dimwit. So it's fortunate that he has someone like Riff-Raff for a leader, but not so fortunate when he's left following Hector.
- Expy: Mungo shows some resemblance to Mongo from Blazing Saddles.
- Gentle Giant: A prime example. He holds no ill feelings towards his enemies or his friends when they insult him, and injures caused by him are unintentional.
- Idiot Savant:
- Surprisingly, he's talented as a chef, as he was able to make gourmet cuisine out of dogfood. It was so good, that Riff-Raff was able to run a successful restaurant off of it in the junkyard, until word of Mungo's "secret ingredient" got out.
- The "Mungo Mash" episode showed he's also got skills as a dancer. He aced a competition by accidentally starting a dance craze by creating his own move. The only reason he lost was because he chose to forfeit the contest to help an opposing team.
- Kindhearted Simpleton: Mungo would much rather make friends, than fight, and is easily distracted by small animals like kittens and butterflies.
- Lovable Coward: He's easily intimidated, despite his size and enormous strength. So he's just as likely to hightail it whenever he's cornered by Leeroy, or by rival gang members.
- Shout-Out: Named for Mungojerrie, either from Cats (which was big at the time) or the T. S. Eliot poem that Cats got it from. Or... Maybe the 70s rock band.
- Simpleton Voice: Has the stereotypical "dumb guy" voice.
- Sycophantic Servant: He's a flunky and perfectly fine with leaving the thinking to Riff-Raff.
Wordsworth
Wordsworth
A laidback inventor and amateur poet who usually tries to speak in rhymes. No matter how forced it gets at times.
Tropes associated with Wordsworth:
- Gadgeteer Genius: He's a tinkerer in his spare time and makes vehicles and other contraptions out of whatever he finds in the junkyard. The "stilt mobile" being his crowning achievement.
- The One Who Wears Shoes: In his case, they're roller skates.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Sometimes speaks normally; the longer his line, the higher the chances of attempting to rhyme.
- The Smart Guy: At least, when it comes to making gadgets and vehicles. Not so much when it comes to actual planning.
Leroy
Leroy
A junkyard dog who'd like nothing more than to drive those darn cats away once and for all! However, circumstances sometimes force him to team up with them in order to defend their home.
Tropes associated with Leroy:
- Bagof Kidnapping: Leroy gets kidnapped during the soccer game. When the other team were losing, they decided to bag kidnapped Leroy to cheat the game. After the Cadillac Cats won the game, Leroy eventually got out the bag and gets his revenge on his kidnappers.
- Bullying a Dragon: Most of the time, Riff Raff isn't bothered by Leroy's antagonism since he's just doing his job and rarely much of a threat. Other times, though, Leroy oversteps and gloats about it (such as wrecking the group's vacation in "Jungle Vacation" by getting them sent to Africa), which leads to Riff Raff chasing him down to beat him silly.
- Dogs Are Dumb: Zigzagged. While not as dumb as Spike, Leeroy still gets hoodwinked by Riff-Raff on a somewhat regular basis. It just takes more effort and planning to do it.
- Enemy Mine: During episodes where he and Riff-Raff have to join forces. As soon as the mutual threat is gone, it's back to business as usual.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Leeroy's a guard dog and the junkyard is supposed to be off-limits to trespassers, especially alley cats. A job which Leeroy takes seriously, which makes the Cadillac Cats a constant source of irritation.
- If It's You, It's Okay: He usually despises cats and wants them out of his junkyard... unless it's Cleo. She's been able to distract him more than once, even causing him to blush.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: To Riff-Raff and his gang, because they've claimed his junkyard as their home turf and Leeroy ain't having it.
Bush
Bush
Bush with Cleo
Another pet at the music store where Cleo lives. Wasn't very fond of Riff Raff and the others.
Tropes associated with Bush:
