Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert is an animated TV special that aired in 1969 on NBC. The special was aired twice more on the network, but has rarely been seen on television since.
The special served as inspiration for the Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids TV series which would premiere three years later.
Plot[]
After the opening credits, the special opens with live-action footage of north Philadelphia. An offscreen Bill Cosby narrates, introducing Philly as his childhood home. As he recalls his childhood friends, the footage transitions to animation as the characters (Old Weird Harold, Dumb Donald, Nolan, and Weasel) appear on-screen. Weasel throws a snowball at young Bill’s window, calling for him to come on out. Inside, Bill and his younger brother, Russell, are having breakfast, when Bill rushes to get his football uniform. His mom tells him to finish his cereal, and a reluctant Bill does so, despite complaining that it has lumps. He becomes further disgruntled after being forced take Russell along, briefly teasing him about being bought from the Salvation Army out of pity, until a tearful Russell threatens to ask their mom if this is true.
Outside, the brothers are greeted by Weird Harold, and the three of them head into town and meet up with Dumb Donald, Nolan, and Weasel. Weasel complains that Dumb Donald dropped Nolan’s football down the sewer, so the kids use some bubble gum and Weird Harold as a fishing pole to retrieve it. Then, two kids show up, introducing themselves as members of the Green Street Terrors (one of them being the Captain), challenging the other kids to a football game (or as they put it, "the Tackle Championship of the World"). A confident Bill (as Captain of his own team, the Eagles) accepts, and his friends question him on this, reminding him that the Green Street Terrors are pretty tough. Bill reminds them of their own "secret weapon" that the other team doesn't have, and calls their friend, Fat Albert. At the sound of his name, Albert makes a big entrance with a loud "Hey, hey, HEY!" and crashing through his apartment door, as Bill invites him to join their football game. Rudy shows up, announcing that he's going to the movies. The attractions include two shorts, five cartoons, and a triple "Wolfman" feature. The other kids are intrigued, despite Weasel complaining that they should practice. Bill, on the other hand, insists that, with Fat Albert on their team, they're sure to win. Harold invites Fat Albert to the movies, but he refuses, not liking monsters or getting scared.
At the movies, the kids order their snacks (popcorn for Russell, jujyfruits for Bill, and a mint for Weird Harold) and take their seats (although Weasel still insists on practicing). At first, they start booing during the romantic scenes (although Russell and Donald enjoy them) but eagerly quiet down when the Wolfman begins his transformation. Their eager, however, is short-lived as the movie ends up nearly scaring them out of their wits. When Russell peeks long enough to see that it's over, Bill and Harold have a good laugh, claiming that they weren't scared and decide to stay for the next film. Eventually, Bill, Russell, and Harold end up having to walk home at night and are forced to cross the Ninth Street Bridge. Still traumatized from the film, their minds begin to play tricks on them as visions of flying bats and the bridge turning into a monster dance in their heads. Harold's foot accidentally kicks a can, which startles a nearby cat, causing the kids to make a run for it. Back in their neighborhood, the kids try to laugh off their fear by poking fun at Fat Albert's weight and his fear of scary movies. Unbeknownst to them, Fat Albert's apartment window is open, as he overhears them from his bed and cries himself to sleep, vowing never to play with them again.
The next day, the boys prepare for their football game, as two girls express admiration towards Bill's team. However, when their admiration shifts towards the buff and tall Green Street Terrors, the other kids notice that Fat Albert isn't here, so Bill goes over to talk to him. However, Fat Albert refuses to play, bluntly letting him know that he heard their insults, and plans to move away after having told his mom about it. Despite obviously feeling guilty, Bill is unable to argue with him, and returns to his friends. The game begins and Bill's team ends up struggling pretty badly, despite their best efforts. The Green Street Terrors begin taunting the other team for their play, which even the girls begin to take notice of. Bill temporarily appoints Dumb Donald as quarterback as he makes one more attempt to talk Fat Albert into their game. He apologizes by offering to pay him a nickel (later a dime) a day for the rest of his whole life. When Fat Albert still rejects him, Bill gives up and reluctantly delivers the bad news to his team, suggesting they could forfeit. Harold decides they should "stick it out" anyway, as they patch up Nolan's football (which was flattened by Dumb Donald during Bill's absence). Suddenly, the ground begins shaking, startling the Green Street Terrors (and also catching the attention of the other people in town). Lo and behold, Fat Albert miraculously appears, up and ready to play. His presence gives the kids a surge of confidence and they manage to play much better, impressing the girls once again. The opposing team attempts to tackle Albert, but he proves to be unstoppable, stomping his way through the football crowd with his large body. Eventually, the Eagles win and the kids celebrate their victory, attempting, but eventually failing to lift Fat Albert on their shoulders. Albert assures Bill he's not moving away anymore, but reminds him of the promise he made of paying him 10 cents a day and tells him he can start paying him next week.
Cast[]
- Bill Cosby as Fat Albert, Bill, and Dumb Donald
- Steven Cheatham as Russell
- Solomon Young as Weird Harold
- Alvin Hillard as Weasel
- Gary Moore as Nolan
- Ben Anderson as Rudy
- Ernestine Wade as Mrs. Cosby
- Pat Ross as Rosemary
- Angela Miller as Naomi
- Dana Marshall as 1st Green Street Terror
- Roosevelt Blow as 2nd Green Street Terror
Trivia[]
- This special uses a different animation style from the TV series produced by Filmation. The characters here (as well as the interior backgrounds) are animated onto cels with grease pencils, while outdoor backgrounds use live-action (and color-tinted) stock footage of Philadelphia, along with NFL games during the football match and a shot of a building demolition at the special's end. Also, unlike later iterations, Fat Albert has an expansive body, being able to stretch it as large as he could at will, specifically putting it to use during the game.
- Even though Mushmouth was created later for the TV series, the end credits feature a scat performance done in the style of the character. Even though Mushmouth is voiced by Bill Cosby, he was inspired by trumpeter Johnny Coles, who not only took part in Herbie Hancock's score for this special, but also spoke in a manner similar to Mushmouth himself. (At one point, Cosby had asked Johnny to provide Mushmouth's voice, which never took off.) Whether the end-credit scat here is performed by Cosby or Coles is unknown.
- The original 1969 broadcast (complete with the Mattel sponsor commercials) is available for viewing upon request on-location at the Paley Center for Media in New York.
- It seems that the infamous recycled animation of Fat Albert traces back to this very special, as not only does it occur quite a bit here, but the original walk cycles of Bill, Russell, Weird Harold, and Rudy are actually re-used for the characters in the TV series.
- During Fat Albert's earth-shattering entrance at the football game near the end of the special, a woman holding her child can be seen, almost resembling Fat Albert's mother in the TV series.
Goofs[]
- Rudy mentions that three "Wolfman" movies are playing: "The Return of Wolfman", "The Ghost of Wolfman", and "The Wolfman's Revenge". However, after the first movie ends, the title card for "The Wolfman's Revenge" flashes on the theater screen, despite being mentioned as the third movie. If not counted as a goof, it can be assumed that the films might've been played in a different order than how Rudy listed them and the boys might've possibly stayed long enough to only see two of the three movies.
- During Bill's second attempt to get Fat Albert in their game, Fat Albert looks cheerful as he rejects Bill's offer at getting paid a day, due to the animation being re-used from an earlier scene.
- It should also be noted that even though Fat Albert forgives his friends at the end, Bill doesn't specifically apologize for making fun of him, as his exact words are, "Only I'm sorry you don't want to be my friend [no more], and I'm sorry that you're moving". Judging by Fat Albert's expression during that scene, it could be assumed that he might've already forgiven them by then and is possibly passing his refusal as a joke before eventually showing up at the game.