Henry'S Cat - Complete Series 2 [DVD] [2004]

Looking at Henry's Cat rubbing his hand up and down a banana plus the picture of the Eiffel Tower gone limp I wonder those scenes ever made it to broadcast! I must admit I did laugh but it's not quite the kind of thing most parents would like their kids to watch.

Another reason I've not given this video five stars is the truly atrocious episode "The Merry Men and Women". Henry's Cat and his mates hardly set the best of examples to young viewers by mimicking the Robin Hood story of robbing rich people. The depiction of the Chinese man and his misunderstanding of English had an unpleasant ring to it as well.

A shame since most of the episodes are very good, though I think they'd benefit from a ten rather than five minute format. There's more imagination about them than those of the first series; while the situations are often quite everyday ones they divert into fantasy and wacky humour which is great. I also like the community spirit of Henry's Cat's friends playing a greater part in the stories. It's interesting to see a wider range of characters and lends a feelgood factor to proceedings without ever getting soppy.

My favourite episodes are "The Secret Weapon", "The Invitation", "The Actor" and "The Ventriloquist". I love their blend of visual and spoken humour with slapstick for the children and wryness for the adults. The aliens popping up behind the fence and jumping on Constable Bulldog's helmet in "The Secret Weapon" made me laugh till I cried.

An amazing 21 years old the cartoons may be but they hold many lessons for the children's programmers of today.

Looking at Henry's Cat rubbing his hand up and down a banana plus the picture of the Eiffel Tower gone limp I wonder those scenes ever made it to broadcast! I must admit I did laugh but it's not quite the kind of thing most parents would like their kids to watch.

Another reason I've not given this video five stars is the truly atrocious episode "The Merry Men and Women". Henry's Cat and his mates hardly set the best of examples to young viewers by mimicking the Robin Hood story of robbing rich people. The depiction of the Chinese man and his misunderstanding of English had an unpleasant ring to it as well.

A shame since most of the episodes are very good, though I think they'd benefit from a ten rather than five minute format. There's more imagination about them than those of the first series and more of a community spirit as Henry's Cat's friends play a greater part in the stories. It's interesting to see a wider range of characters and lends a feelgood factor to proceedings without ever getting soppy. I also like the fact the stories feature situations kids can identify with but an element of fantasy.

Particular favourites of mine are "The Secret Weapon", "The Invitation", "The Actor" and "The Ventriloquist". I love their blend of visual and spoken humour with slapstick for the children and wryness for the adults. The aliens popping up behind the fence and jumping on Constable Bulldog's helmet made me laugh till I cried.

An amazing 21 years old the cartoons may be but they hold many lessons for the children's programmers of today.