In the town of Willowby, a tall skinny blue bloodhound named Foofur has taken refuge in a mansion, in 32 Maple Street, which is also his birthplace. In Foofur's group is his niece Rocki, Fencer the Cat, a bulldog named Louis with his girlfriend, an Old English Sheepdog named Annabell, and a cocker spaniel named Hazel with her husband, a miniature schnauzer named Fritz-Carlos.[3]
Foofur and his friends, however, have an enemy in a woman named Mrs. Amelia Escrow and her pet Chihuahua named Pepe, who tries to expose Foofur's illegal roommates – but always to no avail. Mrs. Escrow has tried many times to sell the estate, but unbeknownst to her, Foofur and his friends keep the house from being bought, as they also protect their home from rodents like the Rat Brothers who tend to mess with Fencer, other cats like Vinnie and his Cat Pack, and greedy humans.
While trying to stop Mrs. Escrow, Foofur tries to avoid having his friends captured by the Bowser Busters' dog catchers Mel and Harvey. In addition, an Afghan Hound named Burt also antagonizes Foofur and competes with him to win the affection of a basset hound named Dolly.
Characters
Main characters
Foofur (voiced by Frank Welker) – a blue bloodhound who has taken refuge in a mansion, at 32 Maple Street, which is also his birthplace.
Rocki (voiced by Christina Lange) – an indigo bloodhound puppy and Foofur's niece.
Fencer (voiced by Eugene Williams) – a cat with a penchant for the martial arts.
Mrs. Amelia Escrow (voiced by Susan Silo) – a woman who has tried many times to sell the mansion. Unbeknownst to her, Foofur and his friends keep the house from being bought.
Pepe (voiced by Don Messick) – Mrs. Amelia Escrow's chihuahua who tries to expose Foofur and his roommates, to no avail.
Rat Brothers – three rats who antagonize Fencer.
Sammy (voiced by Chick Vennera) – a thin black rat who is the leader of the Rat Brothers.
Cleo – a violet cat belonging to an archaeologist.
Willy – a fox kit, trying to avoid the fox hunters.
Duke – a singing mouse.
Killer – (voiced by Jerry Houser) - a harmless St. Bernard.
Brisbane – a dog.
Big Boombah – a rat and the leader of the Shipyard Rats who is an opportunist.
Pops – a rat who lives in the Willowby Train Station.
Buttercup – Mrs. Escrow's pet canary.
Mr. Mutton – a smuggler from London.
Kirk – Hazel's old boyfriend, a German Shepherd trained for fire rescues who saves Fritz-Carlos and Rocki's playmate Augie when they're trapped in a burning house.
Augie – another local dog, Rocki's playmate.
Ivan – a Russian dog Foofur and Louis interact with in New York City.
Lulubelle – a female dog initially intended to smuggle jewels, who was replaced by Annabelle.
Oliver – an English puppy whom Annabelle saves after she ends up in London.
Foofur and the others try to help a dog named Irma who is about to give birth to puppies.
3
"Dogstyles of the Rich & Famous"
T : Mark Young; S/T : Jack Enyart
September 27, 1986 (1986-09-27)
When Mrs. Escrow rests in the gang's house while her house's paint dries, the gang comes to a fancy mansion as a burglary is about to take place.
4
"Foofur Falls in Love"
Susan Misty Stewart and Joseph Taggart
October 4, 1986 (1986-10-04)
Foofur goes head over heels for a girl dog named Dolly.
5a
"The Last Resort"
S : Mark Young; T : Richard Merwin
October 11, 1986 (1986-10-11)
Rocki becomes friends with a pup who ran away from an obedience school.
5b
"Thicker Than Water"
S : Mark Young; T : Reed Robbins
October 11, 1986 (1986-10-11)
Chaos ensues when Foofur tries to give a gold collar to Dolly and at the same time, try to help Fencer by donating blood.
6a
"Hot Over the Collar"
S : Mark Young; T : Mark Edens
October 18, 1986 (1986-10-18)
Foofur uses a hatband as a makeshift collar for Rocki, and she comes to a dog show, not knowing it's a trap set by Mel and Harvey.
6b
"A-Job Hunting We Will Go"
S : Mark Young; T : Tony Marino
October 18, 1986 (1986-10-18)
Pepe has the gang work odd jobs to raise $100 to pay Mrs. Escrow's house tax or the gang will be out on the streets.
7a
"A Royal Pain"
Mark Cassutt
October 25, 1986 (1986-10-25)
Fencer helps a group of cats after the owner's sister evicts them from the house.
7b
"Nothing to Sneeze At"
S : Mark Young; T : David Schwartz
October 25, 1986 (1986-10-25)
Fencer gets a cold after Foofur and the others bathe him.
8a
"Country Club Chaos"
S : Mark Young; T : Reed Robbins
November 1, 1986 (1986-11-01)
Foofur, Rocki, Fencer, and Dolly try to save a fox cub's life from a group of fox hunters at a country club.
8b
"You Dirty Rat"
Paul Pumpian and Franelle Silver
November 1, 1986 (1986-11-01)
After accidentally putting Rocki in danger, the Rat Brothers are thrown out of the house by Foofur and they turn to a shipyard rat named Boombah for help.
9a
"This Little Piggy's on TV"
S : Mark Young and Reed Robbins; T : Christina Adams
November 8, 1986 (1986-11-08)
The gang try to help a pig reunite with his girlfriend, who broke into show business.
9b
"Fencer's Freaky Friday"
S : Mark Young; S/T : Reed Robbins
November 8, 1986 (1986-11-08)
It's Friday the 13th, Fencer is treated like bad luck and a pair of superstitious twins are in search of a treasure.
10a
"Legal Beagles"
Reed Robbins
November 15, 1986 (1986-11-15)
Foofur's house is under threat when a con artist's dog fakes an injury and the con artist sues Mrs. Escrow.
Just as Rocki is visited by her father Tugboat just before her birthday, she is faced by a bully and she has to choose between staying with her uncle Foofur or go with her father to sea.
11a
"Russian Through New York"
S : Mark Young and Reed Robbins; T : John Bonaccorsi
November 22, 1986 (1986-11-22)
On a visit to New York City, Lewis and the others guide a Russian dog named Vladimir around the town, but have to save him from two thieves who steal dogs from Diplomats.
11b
"Fritz-Carlos Bombs Out"
S : Mark Young and Reed Robbins; T : Tony Marino
November 22, 1986 (1986-11-22)
Fritz becomes jealous when Hazel's old boyfriend comes for a visit.
12
"New Tricks"
Mark Edens
November 29, 1986 (1986-11-29)
Rocki hopes to become a performer after coming to the circus.
13
"Mad Dogs and Englishmen"
S : Mark Young and Reed Robbins; T : Mark Edens
December 6, 1986 (1986-12-06)
Lewis tries to save Annabelle from some counterfeiters in London.
Season 2 (1987–88)
No. overall
No. in season
Title
Written by
Original release date
14a
1a
"Pepe's Pet Peeve"
Kristina Mazzotti
September 3, 1987 (1987-09-03)
Pepe turns to Foofur for help to remove a dog named Killer from Mrs. Escrow's house. What Pepe doesn't know is that Killer is not dangerous as he expects.
14b
1b
"Clothes Make the Dog"
Marion Wells
September 3, 1987 (1987-09-03)
Pepe hopes to win the heart of a poodle at a dog show.
15a
2a
"Boot Camp Blues"
Mark Cassutt
September 10, 1987 (1987-09-10)
Fritz enrolls to a boot camp, when he thought he's re-enrolling to be in the Foreign Legion, and Foofur and Louis are involved.
15b
2b
"My Pharoah Lady"
Mark Edens
September 10, 1987 (1987-09-10)
Fencer tries to win the heart of an archeologist's cat.
16a
3a
"What Price Fleadom?"
Kenneth Knox
September 17, 1987 (1987-09-17)
The rats infest Hazel with circus fleas.
16b
3b
"Winging It"
Marie Quick
September 17, 1987 (1987-09-17)
Annabelle befriends a chick, which matures into a chicken.
Foofur switches places with an old friend at the Happy Glen Country Club.
18a
5a
"Alone at Last, Dahling"
Gary Greenfield
October 10, 1987 (1987-10-10)
Fritz-Carlos is fed up with his friends cutting into his alone time with Hazel, so Foofur sneaks the both of them into a cruise ship, but things go awry.
18b
5b
"Tooth or Consequences"
M.R. Wells
October 10, 1987 (1987-10-10)
Foofur gets a toothache, just as he and his pals face against Burt's friends, called the Swells in a game of tug of war.
19a
6a
"Fencer Finds a Family"
Mark Edens
October 17, 1987 (1987-10-17)
After he is tricked by Louis and Fritz-Carlos into a swimming pool, Fencer leaves to join the Cat Pack, but he doesn't know they are going to use him to commit crimes.
19b
6b
"The Nose Knows"
Kenneth Knox
October 17, 1987 (1987-10-17)
After Rocki returns home late because she was lost, Foofur brings her to the wilderness to teach her how to track while avoiding a hunter's dog with an incredible sense of smell.
20a
7a
"Just Bumming Around"
Anthony Adams
October 24, 1987 (1987-10-24)
After Foofur grounds Rocki for running the risk of being spotted and not ruining the neighbor's flower bed, she and Irma's two pups run away.
20b
7b
"Annabell Goes Punk"
Dennis Marks
October 24, 1987 (1987-10-24)
Annabell gets a makeover from a punk stylist, and meets other punk dogs in a club called the Lavender Loft.
21a
8a
"Just Like Magic"
M.R. Wells
October 31, 1987 (1987-10-31)
The Rat Brothers scare Fencer into thinking he's got one life left, while the gang thinks about using a magician's box to safeguard him from danger.
21b
8b
"Puppy Love"
S : Barry Blitzer; T : Gary Greenfield
October 31, 1987 (1987-10-31)
Rocki falls in love with a dog food star, but Foofur doesn't approve since two look-a-likes (One is rude, and the other is a jokester) made a horrible impression.
22a
9a
"Weekend in the Condo"
Kenneth Knox
November 7, 1987 (1987-11-07)
Foofur and the gang deal with Crooks while being in Burt's master's condo.
22b
9b
"Bye, Bye, Birdie"
M.R. Wells
November 7, 1987 (1987-11-07)
The Rat Brothers scare Mrs. Escrow's canary causing Foofur and the canines to accuse Fencer of swallowing the bird and throwing him out. Fencer turns to Pepe to retrieve the bird.
23a
10a
"Fencer Gets Soul"
Kenneth Knox
November 14, 1987 (1987-11-14)
Fencer goes to New Orleans for a chance to be the newest member of a soul-singing cat group. Foofur comes along, but the Cat faces competition with a mouse with a golden voice.
23b
10b
"Rocki's Big Fib"
Samantha Clemens
November 14, 1987 (1987-11-14)
Rocki aids a white alligator, but is captured by Big Boombah and his gang of shipyard rats when the Rat Brothers fail to pay back a cheese tax.
24a
11a
"You Bet Your Life"
Gary Greenfield
November 21, 1987 (1987-11-21)
In Las Vegas, with Lorenzo, Hazel is cheated by a couple of crooked dogs in games of rat race.
Louis meets a childhood friend who is a seeing-eye dog, but has to save him from Mel and Harvey while getting a blind boy to reunite him with his dog.
25a
12a
"Annabell Gets Framed"
M.R. Wells
November 28, 1987 (1987-11-28)
After Mrs. Escrow's glasses fall on Annabell's eyes, she and her friends get her a pair of glasses, but Annabell's relationship with Louis begins to falter when Louis feels threatened.
25b
12b
"Scary Harry"
Samantha Clemens
November 28, 1987 (1987-11-28)
While trying to join a club, Rocki encounters an easily scared green dog named Harry in an abandoned dog pound.
26
13
"Look Homeward, Foofur"
Mark Edens
December 5, 1987 (1987-12-05)
Foofur tells Rocki a story of how he first met his friends while searching the town for the house that his brother, sister, and owners live.
Foofur played a role in the case Nationwide Insurance v. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, 116 F.3d 1154 (7th Cir. 1997). The case dealt with an insurer's duty to defend an insured party in light of the insured's intentional acts of property damage. The insured, a drunken college student, spelled out "FOO"—meaning "foo", a word derived from Foofur—on the artificial turffootball field of Memorial Stadium with lighter fluid burning the letters into the turf. He caused $600,000 damage to the AstroTurf. The court held that such an act was not within the insurance policy's liability coverage.[4]
Reception
In 2014, listing it among twelve 1980s animated series that supposedly did not deserve remembrance, io9 criticized the series, perceiving its premise to be contrived and remarking that "someone had the gall to think this was 'cool'".[5]
References
^Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 216–217. ISBN978-1538103739.
.jpg)
