Heathcliff: The Movie

Heathcliff: The Movie is a 1986 animated anthology comedy film from DiC Audiovisuel, released by Atlantic Releasing under their Clubhouse Pictures label.

Plot
On a rainy day, Heathcliff (Mel Blanc) recalls his past exploits to his three nephews (and a mouse), through a compilation of episodes originally broadcast on the TV series.

Stories

 * 1) "Cat Food for Thought" - Heathcliff becomes a TV star after getting rid of his competition.
 * 2) "Heathcliff's Double" - There's a new cat in town called Henry who looks exactly like Heathcliff, and everybody mistakes him for Heathcliff.
 * 3) "The Siamese Twins" - There are two new cats in town that are ruining Heathcliff's reputation, making everyone think Heathcliff is the cause of their troubles.
 * 4) "An Officer and an Alley Cat" - In a loose parody of An Officer and a Gentleman, Heathcliff goes to obedience school in order to qualify for a contest where the first prize is a lifetime supply of cat food.
 * 5) "The Catfather" - In this parody of The Godfather, Heathcliff collects gifts for the Catfather, oblivious to the fact that the Catfather is the scare of the town.
 * 6) "Boom Boom Pussini" - Hector gets Heathcliff into a challenge to wrestle the famous cat wrestler Boom Boom Pussini who cheats to win matches.
 * 7) "Pop on Parole" - Heathcliff's conman father has gotten parole for jail time, but Heathcliff believes he broke out and the cops are chasing him.

After Heathcliff is finally finished telling his stories, his nephews angrily throw him out of the house. The movie ends with Heathcliff saying "Those are my boys!" and laughing.

Voice cast

 * Mel Blanc as Heathcliff
 * Donna Christie as Iggy (5 segments)
 * Jeannie Elias as Marcy (segment "An Officer and an Alley Cat")
 * Peter Cullen as Pop (segment "Pop on Parole")
 * Stanley Jones as Wordsworth (3 segments)
 * Marilyn Lightstone as Sonja (4 segments), Grandma (segment "Pop on Parole")
 * Danny Mann as Hector (5 segments), Fish Market Proprietor (segment "The Siamese Twins")
 * Derek McGrath as Knuckles (segment "Pop on Parole"), Muggsy (segment "Heathcliff's Double"), Spike (5 segments), Mr. Woodley (segment "An Officer and an Alley Cat")
 * Marilyn Schreffler as Mr. Woodley's Secretary (segment "An Officer and an Alley Cat")
 * Danny Wells as General (segment "An Officer and an Alley Cat"), Announcer (segment "Cat Food for Thought")
 * Ted Zeigler as Grandpa (3 segments), Mungo (3 segments)

Release
The film was released theatrically on January 17, 1986 by Clubhouse Pictures. It was released on VHS and LaserDisc in the 1980s and 1990s by Paramount Home Video, KVC Home Video and GoodTimes Home Video, respectively. It was released on DVD in 2004 by Sterling Entertainment.

Box office
Heathcliff: The Movie grossed $508,305 on its opening weekend and grossed $2,610,686 domestically by the end of its run. It is the 8th highest grossing G-rated film of 1986.

Reception
Caryn James of The New York Times stated that the film is "harmless," but it's "likely that even the youngest children will be as bored by Heathcliff as his inattentive nephews are." James also criticized the animation, the lip sync on the human characters, and the character of Heathcliff.

The film currently has a 5.4/10 rating on IMDb, and a 50% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.