24 December 1979 (1979-12-24) – 4 April 1996 (1996-4-4)
What-a-Mess is a series of children's books written by British comedy writerFrank Muir and illustrated byJoseph Wright.[1] The title character is a dishevelled, accident-proneAfghan 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]
What-a-Mess – a scruffy Afghan puppy who is the main character of the franchise. His real name is Prince Amir of Kinjan. He has a yellow duck sitting on top of his head. In the US version, What-A-Mess is voiced byRyan O'Donohue and he now has a collar and green orange spots in the US version.
Baldwin: In the US animated version is a blue duck who sits on What-a-mess's head, and he is What-a-mess's companion and friend. In the UK animated version and books, Baldwin didn't have a name, nor is he noticed. He is also originally yellow, although there is a bluebird in the UK animated version and books that might be the inspiration to how Baldwin in the US version got his blue colour and personality.
What-a-Mess's mother – also known as The Duchess of Kinjan is a pedigree Afghan Hound. She is voiced by Charity James and given brown fur in the US version.
Family – the owners of What-a-Mess and his mother. They consist of the father, the mother, the son, and the daughter. Like most humans in the series, they are mostly seen from the neck down, with their faces slightly obscured. They are voiced byMichael Bell (as the father), Miriam Flynn (as the mother),Adam Hendershott (as the son), andDebi Derryberry (as the daughter), in the US version.
Poppet – belonging to the father of the house's aunt, Poppet is a cute, clean, and yet troublemaking dog that What-a-Mess and his friends truly despise, making her first appearance inSuper What-a-Mess.
Archbishop of Canterbury – a scruffy dark blue dog with brown patches who What-A-Mess met and befriended inWhat-A-Mess Goes to the Seaside. He is named this way because when What-A-Mess introduces himself with his breed name he sarcastically replies "Wotcher, cock, I'm the Archbishop of Canterbury!", which the naive pup takes as his actual name. His name was changed to Norton in the US version, and he was voiced byDana Hill. This was Hill's final voice acting role on American TV during her lifetime.
President of the United States – in one of the US version episodes where What-a-Mess got lost in town, he was helped by a dog voiced byJim Cummings that had the same experience as the Archbishop of Canterbury in the UK version and books, where when What-a-Mess introduces himself with his breed name, he sarcastically replies "Oh really? And I'm the President of the United States!" which the naive pup takes as his actual name.
The Cat Next Door – also known as Felicia in the US animated version, is a brownSiamese Cat that loves to tease What-A-Mess at times. In the US version, she was coloured blue and was voiced byJo Ann Harris.
Cynthia – a hedgehog who What-A-Mess befriended inWhat-A-Mess Goes to School. Her character was redesigned to become a mole named Ramona (voiced byCandi Milo) in the US animated version because Hedgehogs aren't native to America.
Ryvita – appearing only in the books, Ryvita is aladybird that What-A-Mess and his friends befriended, and who first appeared inWhat-a-Mess Goes on Television. She speaks so small that only Cynthia could understand her.
Esmeralda – a white mouse that belonged to the girl of the house, who only appeared in both the book,What-a-Mess and the Hairy Monster, and an episode of the US version of the same name. In the US version, she was voiced byRussi Taylor.
Trash – only in the US animated version, Trash is aBull Terrier who is a real troublemaker for What-A-Mess. His real name is Francis and is voiced by Joe Nipote.
What-A-Mess: 5 Hilarious Adventures – "What-a-Mess Goes to the Seaside", "What-a-Mess Goes to School", "Prince What-a-Mess", "Super What-a-Mess", "What-a-Mess Keeps Cool" (Extra Episodes – "What-a-Mess and Cynthia the Hedgehog", "What-a-Mess Has a Brain Wave!")
What-A-Mess: Small VHS Sample – "What-a-Mess and Cynthia the Hedgehog", "What-a-Mess Has a Brain Wave!", "What-a-Mess and the Cat Next Door"
What-A-Mess: Cat & Seaside (DVD) – consisting of the entire UK series.
In October 1996,Buena Vista Home Video under theDIC Toon-Time Video imprint released two VHS tapes calledMonsters, Goblins, and Ghosts, Oh my! andHere 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 theSanta What-a-Mess special.
In November 2003,Sterling Entertainment released a VHS/DVD calledChristmas Mess, containing theSanta 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.
^Crump, William D. (2019).Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 335.ISBN9781476672939.
^Erickson, Hal (2005).Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 899–900.ISBN978-1476665993.
