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Created by | Frank Muir |
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No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 45 |
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Release | 24 December 1979 – 4 April 1996 |
What-a-Mess is a series of children's books written by British comedy writer Frank Muir and illustrated by Joseph Wright. [1] The title character is a dishevelled, accident-prone Afghan Hound puppy, whose real name is Prince Amir of Kinjan. The book series was later made into two animated series, both narrated by Muir. [2]
Four Seasons
Four Square Meals
Mini Books
An animated series was made in the UK in 1979 by Smallfilms. More episodes were made in the UK in 1990 by Central Independent Television, Link Licensing, and Bevanfield Films. A second, American version was made in 1995 by DIC Productions L.P. [3] and aired on ABC in the United States. [4] It aired on YTV from 1995 to 1999 in Canada, and aired on Spacetoon from 2004 to 2014 in the Arab world. Both versions were narrated by Muir. [3] Both animated series aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia.
Episode | Title | UK release date | Comment |
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1 | "A Bee?" | 24 December 1979 | Adapted from What-a-Mess |
2 | "A Hat?" | 26 December 1979 | Adapted from What-a-Mess |
3 | "A Fish?" | 27 December 1979 | Adapted from What-a-Mess |
4 | "A Mole?" | 28 December 1979 | Adapted from What-a-Mess |
5 | "A Hound?" | 30 December 1979 | Adapted from What-a-Mess |
6 | "Mighty Hunter" | 1 January 1980 | Adapted from What-a-Mess The Good |
7 | "Enough for One Day" | 2 January 1980 | Adapted from What-a-Mess The Good |
8 | "A Very Good Dog Indeed" | 3 January 1980 | Adapted from What-a-Mess The Good |
9 | "A Prince" | 4 January 1980 | Adapted from What-a-Mess The Good |
10 | "What-a-Mess at the Seaside" | 26 March 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess at the Seaside |
11 | "What-a-Mess Goes to School" | 2 April 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess Goes to School |
12 | "Prince What-a-Mess" | 9 April 1990 | Adapted from Prince What-a-Mess and What-a-Mess in Winter |
13 | "Super What-a-Mess" | 16 April 1990 | Adapted from Super What-a-Mess |
14 | "What-a-Mess Keeps Cool" | 30 April 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess in Spring and What-a-Mess in Summer |
15 | "What-a-Mess and Cynthia the Hedgehog" | 14 May 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess has Supper and What-a-Mess in Autumn |
16 | "What-a-Mess Has a Brain Wave!" | 21 May 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess has Breakfast and What-a-Mess Had a Brain Wave |
17 | "What-a-Mess and the Cat-Next-Door" | 4 June 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess and the Cat Next Door |
18 | "What-a-Mess and Little Poppet" | 18 June 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess and Little Poppet |
19 | "What-a-Mess Goes Camping" | 2 July 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess Goes Camping |
20 | "What-a-Mess The Beautiful" | 9 July 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess The Beautiful |
21 | "What-a-Mess Goes to Town" | 16 July 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess Goes to Town |
22 | "What-a-Mess and a Trip to the Vet" | 23 July 1990 | Adapted from What-a-Mess Goes to the Vet |
Episode | Title |
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1 | "Talkin' Trash/A Bone to Pick/Midnight Snack" |
2 | "Schoolin' Around/The Legend of Junkyard Jones/It's Raining Cats and Dogs" |
3 | "Home Alone...Almost/Super What-A-Mess/The Recliner" |
4 | "Afghan Holiday/The Bone Tree" |
5 | "Just Four More Left/The Ropes/What-A-Mess Has Breakfast" |
6 | "Prize Puppy/The Great Escape/The Scarecrow and Prince Amir" |
7 | "Shampooed/Show and Tail/I Spy, I Cry, I Try" |
8 | "What-A-Mess and the Hairy Monster/Trick Or Treat/My Teatime with Frank" |
9 | "Out With the Garbage/Dr. What-A-Mess" |
10 | "Ultimate What-A-Mess" |
11 | "This Hydrant Is Mine" |
12 | "Trash's Wonderful Life" |
13 | "Snowbound" |
14 | "The Thanksgiving Turkey" |
15 | "Santa What-A-Mess" |
16 | "Here Comes Santa Paws" |
17 | "All Around the Mallberry Bush" |
18 | "What-A-Mess at the Movies" |
19 | "His Royal Highness, Prince What-A-Mess" |
20 | "Party at Poppet's" |
21 | "Take Me Out to the Dog Park" |
22 | "The Watch Out Dog" |
23 | "Molenapped!" |
24 | "Pound Pals" |
25 | "Taste Test" |
26 | "Slobber on a Stick" |
27 | "Scout's Honor" |
28 | "Seein' Double" |
29 | "Luck on His Side" |
30 | "What-A-Mess Keeps the Doctor Away" |
31 | "There's No Business Like Shoe Business" |
32 | "Joy Ride" |
33 | "Baldwin's Family Reunion" |
34 | "Do the Mess Around" |
35 | "On Vacation" |
36 | "Messy Encounters" |
37 | "Dog Days of Summer" |
38 | "Fetch!" |
39 | "Real Puppies Don't Meow" |
40 | "Invasion of the Puppy Snatchers" |
41 | "The Ballad of El Pero" |
42 | "What-a-Mess Has Lunch" |
43 | "Walking the Boy" |
44 | "Messed Up What-A-Mess" |
45 | "Water Mess" |
46 | "The Big Sleep" |
47 | "High-Wire Heartthrob" |
In October 1996, Buena Vista Home Video under the DIC Toon-Time Video imprint released two VHS tapes called Monsters, Goblins, and Ghosts, Oh my! and Here Comes Santa Paws. The former contained the segments "What-A-Mess and the Hairy Monster", "Trick Or Treat", and "My Tea Time with Frank". The latter contained the Santa What-a-Mess special.
In November 2003, Sterling Entertainment released a VHS/DVD called Christmas Mess, containing the Santa What-a-Mess special as well as the segments "Trash's Wonderful Life", "The Thanksgiving Turkey", Snowbound", "All Around the Mallberry Bush", "It's Raining Cats and Dogs" and "At the Movies", with the DVD version containing the segments "His Majesty, Prince What-a-Mess", "Ultimate What-a-Mess" and "This Hydrant is Mine" as bonus episodes. The DVD was re-issued by NCircle Entertainment in 2007.
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