Heathcliff (1980-1987): Starring Mel Blanc, Donna Christie, Henry Corden, June Foray, Stan Jones, Marilyn Lightstone, Danny Mann, Derke McGrath, Don Messick, Russi Taylor, Frank Welker, Danny Wells...Director Bruno Bianchi, Based On The Comics By Brand Anderson A flood of hazy memories assaulted my brain when I discovered that Heathcliff was on the IMDb. If this cartoon series was on from 1980-1987, I was approximately 1-7 years old! It must have been the first cartoon I ever saw. I had never read the comic books (it wouldn't be till the 90's when I started picking up a newspaper). Heathcliff (Mel Blanc) seemed to be on twice in one day, for I recall waking up as early as 7am to get ready for school, turning on the TV and Heathcliff would be on. Then there was another episode immediately following school around 2pm. Heathcliff was a male alley cat who was dirty, gruff, macho, a bully, poor and street-smart. He was in love with Sonja (Marilyn Lightstone) who was upscale, pretty and cleaner than him. There were various mean alley cats, dogs and other creatures lurking about but Heathcliff always protected his territory. I don't quite remember much of it because quite frankly I still had bed-head when I would see this cartoon. But this was one of the many morning cartoons and afternoon cartoons that I recall fondly. The children of the 80's were blessed by having experienced better cartoons. Many of the voice-over actors were quite talented and even famous, the cartoons were far better-written and didn't depend on the "Anime/computer graphics" cartoons do today. Lost is the magic of these types of cartoons. Other successful 80's cartoons included Garfield, Care Bears, My Little Ponies and Rainbow Bright. Ah, to be a child of the 80's once again!

Heathcliff Heathcliff no one should, terrorize their neighborhood.... This cartoon came on everyday after school. The first half would be an adventure involving the comic strip cat Heathcliff, the second half would be about the much cooler and more happening cat, Riff Raff. Heathcliff lived in a house with a family, and Riff Raff had a much more happening pad in the junk yard. There were also three alley cats, one named Hector, one named Mongo and Wordsworth who always spoke in rhyme. They were the trouble makers and would show up and terrorize both Heathcliff and Riff Raff. Because Riff Raff's cartoon was always so much cooler, that is the reason it was shown second. It made children have to wait an extra fifteen minutes before going out to play and force them to see more toy commercials.

first off, riff-raff had the much hotter girlfriend. with that said, let me go on my tirade about this show. i am convinced that this show contained subliminal messages. i, too, used to watch this show almost every day. however, i cannot recall ever thinking it was good. i'd watch it from start to finish, without turning the channel, & the whole time i'd be thinking, 'wow, this show really sucks.' it is my theory that this show was used as an experiment on the under 13 demographic by a syndicate of advertisers simply known as 'the angry mob'.

"Heathcliff" was my fave animated series growing up. In a time (mid 80s) when we were bombarded by violent, mindless action cartoons like "Transformers," "Gobots," and "Thundercats," it was nice to have a pleasant, laid back show like "Heathcliff." The show mostly consisted of the tubby tabby's daily mischief with the owner of the fish market, the milk man, new neighborhood rivals, and the felines and canines he already knew. Other characters were big, dumb dog Spike, Heathy's babe, Sonja, and his family of Iggy, Grandma and Grandpa. After Heathcliff's story we were treated to the adventures of the Cats and Co. led by Riff Raff. It may sound odd, but I actually preferred their tales more than 'Cliffs. They seemed more inventive and fun. Riff Raff's gang consisted of spindly, wannabe tough guy, Hector, constantly rhyming Wordsworth, and brainless, pudgy, Mungo. Those three were also sometimes featured in Heathcliffs stories as well, but for whatever reason Riff Raff and Heathcliff never appeared in the same story. Guess it was to give each their own seperate time on screen. Hey, cartoon characters can have egos too I guess. But all in all, strong writing (especially for a cartoon) and harmless adventures made this a nice half hour after school.