From left to right: Officer Dibble, Fancy-Fancy, Benny the Ball, Top Cat, Choo-Choo, Spook, Brain
Hanna-Barbera produced this Animated Series for ABC in 1961. Unlike the studio's earlier series, Top Cat was set in the midst of New York. Even before the first episode was broadcast, Bill Hanna knew that Top Cat was going to be popular.Top Cat led his gang of alley cats through one Zany Scheme after another, keeping the cats ahead of Officer Charlie Dibble, the local beat cop. The series obviously took a page from The Phil Silvers Show, with "T.C." (as his gang called him) based on Phil Silvers' Sgt. Ernie Bilko.In the late 1980s, Arnold Stang reprised his Top Cat role in the syndicated series Yogi's Treasure Hunt and the Made-for-TV MovieTop Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats. In 1990, T.C. and Choo-Choo had an entry in the Fender Bender 500 segment of Wake Rattle And Roll. Top Cat and his gang have also appeared on Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.A traditionally animated Top Cat movie has been released in 2011 in Mexico, where the show has been especially popular in the past decades note where it's known as "Don Gato y Su Pandilla".
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In one episode where Officer Dibble has been replaced by another, even more strict, police officer, T.C. convinced said officer that the city's mayor is Cha-cha Charlie, a gangster wanted by police for extortion, smuggling and leading a dance school without permission.
The Casanova: Fancy-Fancy, in a PG-rated sort of way.
Casting Gag: Benny was the Doberman character and was fittingly voiced by Doberman himself, Maurice Gosfield.
Cats Are Mean: Averted—Top Cat may be a con artist, but he's also a pretty decent guy. He once helped out an immigrant hot dog vendor who had been conned (unbeknownst to the vendor) by another pair of swindlers.
On the other hand, he was planning on scamming him himself...
Completely Different Title: Don Gato (kinda like Mr. Cat) in Latin America. While most English-speaking tropers only hear the term Don in the context of a stereotypical mafia boss, the term as used in Mexico has nothing to do with criminals. It's more a term of respect and endearment for the topmost authoritative figure in a community, although usually only used in rural or low-income communities. It's a very fitting translation to the name Top Cat, that even better portrays how his followers feel about him.
In Brazil is Manda-Chuva, which is an old term used to design leaders.
Brilliant, but Lazy: Though not the laziest bum in the box, T.C. tends to rely on the others to do the manual work while he does the mental work.
Cool Cat: Top Cat and company, particularly Spook.
Creator Provincialism: Averted in the Mexican animated movie: Despite being animated in Mexico and voiced by Mexican voice actors, the setting still was New York City rather than any Mexican city. This is justified, possibly out of respect to the original setting.
Friendly Enemies: TC and Dibble. The former will always find a way to humiliate the latter, while the latter is deliriously happy at every opportunity to arrest TC. But they'd give their lives for each other just as quickly.
The Fettered: Officer Dibble. He's passionately devoted to his duty, even when his duty causes him great grief and makes him the butt of all jokes.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the episode "The Tycoon", a millionaire in search of a needy person to receive a million dollars from him learned from Benny how badly off the gang was, so he wrote out a check to Top Cat. As a result, when all the merchants found out, Top Cat and his bunch were treated like royalty. But in the end, they lost everything again because Top Cat tore up the check, thinking it was for a 25-cent raffle.
On One Condition: In "The Missing Heir", a rich person's disappeared cat had a deadline to reappear or else the butler would get the inheritance. Benny was mistaken for the missing cat, turning him into the target of the butler's ire. The real cat then appeared and got the money despite having missed the deadline. The viewers were left to assume that it was because it was the butler who caused the disappearance in the first place.
Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats: With the disappearance of Mrs. Vandergelt's niece Amy Vandergelt, Benny was the next in line for the inheritance. (Mrs. Vandergelt had other relatives but despised them all for unspecified reasons.) Provided that Amy didn't return and nothing bad happened to Benny in the next 48 hours, he'd get the inheritance. If something happened to him, the butler would get the money.
The Other Darrin: All of the original cast reprised their roles for "Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats" with the exceptions of Maurice Gosfield and Allan Jenkins, who had died in the interim. In the film, Avery Schreiber replaced Gosfield and John Stephenson (who did Fancy-Fancy's voice) did double duty as Dibble.
The Plan: In the movie, Top Cat makes the Big Bad destroy his own entire system, after using a telephone he gained earlier. It turns out the telephone was a Red Herring and the Big Bad had never lost control of his system, as TC made him think.
Playing Cyrano: Top Cat does it for Choo-Choo. As usual with this plan, it does not end well.
Real Vehicle Reveal: In the opening credits, Top Cat appears to be riding in the back of a limousine. However, as the car turns a corner, it is revealed he is actually riding on the fender.
Sneeze of Doom: Almost a Running Gag. Dibble sneezes while disguising himself as a statue when a curator dusts his face (curator says "Gesundheit"), Choo-Choo gives the gang away when they are hiding from gangsters (T.C. stops him with the finger trick, but then lets go) and Benny sneezes thrice in the show: first time he explodes a barrel, second time he explodes a safe and the third time he explodes a building.
Technology Marches On: With the rise of personal radios, Office Dibble wouldn't have to worry about T.C. using the police call box network, but the cat would likely be piggybacking on open (and as many closed ones he can get passwords for) wi-fi networks for a smart phone he's finagled instead.
Writing Around Trademarks: Known in the United Kingdom as Boss Cat, as there was a British cat food brand called Top Cat. Only the on-screen title was changed, the theme tune still used "Top Cat".
Xanatos Gambit: T.C. is a master at these, even when they devolve into Xanatos Speed Chess. When his plans go terribly wrong, Top Cat never ends up worse than when he started, and someone, whether Officer Dibble or one of his gang, always comes out better off.
in 2011 in Mexico, where the show has been especially popular in the past decades note .
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