The Dog and Cat News (partially found Australian 3D animated series; mid-2000s)
The Dog and Cat News is an Australian 3D animated children's comedy television/web cartoon series produced by Blue Rocket Productions and RTV Family Entertainment. The show was shown for a short time on ABC Kids (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) in the mid-2000s on Saturday mornings.[1] The show had 2 seasons and 26 3 minute episodes were made in total.[2][3]
Premise
The show is presented by Tiddles Hardcase, the prim and proper lady cat, and Douglas Holes, the persistent prankster dog host.[4] The two report the breaking news while struggling with their scripts and their composure. They are supported by a range of characters including Beakins, a self-centred parrot, Bill Webb, the clueless weather duck and Kent Catchem, the clumsy foreign correspondent dog. The show often does not go to plan because Douglas Holes is always interrupting or misbehaving.
Website
The show had its own website where clips from the show could be viewed. The website allowed for children to take a virtual tour of the studio and submit their own pet stories to feature on the site and the most popular would win a 'Golden Paw' award. It also had various Flash games featuring characters from the show such as Beakins in Beakins' Great Mango Quest[5] and Bill Webb in Raining Cats and Dogs.[6] This website cannot be accessed anymore but some of the flash games are still playable on other websites.
Avaliability
Some pictures from the show exist online. The full episode "Mystic Douglas" was posted on Vimeo by Blue Rocket Productions in 2014 and is the only footage of the show to be accessible online. It is unknown whether more episodes will surface online or will be re-released by Blue Rocket Productions or shown again on ABC.
In July 2020, ten episodes were uploaded to the Internet Archive [7] by user "Grabagail".
In November 2020, the YouTube channel "Jack Anderson" [8] had uploaded footage of the archived Flash website and games.
In January 2021, it was discovered that a Facebook page titled "The Dog and Cat News" [9] had uploaded eight episodes, some as early as 2018.
Gallery
Screenshots
References
- ↑ An ABC Kids TV guide that mentions The Dog and Cat News. Retrieved 03 Jan '19
- ↑ Mention of The Dog and Cat News on the official Blue Rocket Productions website. Retrieved 10 Mar '19
- ↑ Screen Australia's page on the show which mentions 2 seasons. Retrieved 10 Mar '19
- ↑ Ching Yee animation showreel with mention of The Dog and Cat News. Retrieved 10 Mar '19
- ↑ Beakins' Great Mango Quest. Retrieved 10 Mar '19
- ↑ Mention of Raining Cats and Dogs. Retrieved 10 Mar '19
- ↑ Episodes uploaded to Internet Archive. Retrieved 6 Jun '22
- ↑ Footage of archived flash website and games. Retrieved 26 Feb '22
- ↑ Facebook page Retrieved 2 Jan '21