Storyboard Notes

These are notes regarding the differences from the official episode storyboard and what appeared in the finished episode.

The version of the script I’m using is the one used for the storyboards, not Glenn Leopold’s original draft. This means it isn’t a 1:1 to the original script. However, enough of it is present to suit my purposes.

1. The original description of the Megakat Asylum only has it say “Megakat Asylum” on the sign. Even in the storyboards. “For the Insane and Katatonic” would appear to be something exclusive to the background art and not called for in either the script or the storyboards.
2. According to the script, Lenny Ringtail’s hospital uniform is denim.
3. The guy assigned to watch Ringtail is referred to as a guard as opposed to an orderly, even though, peaked cap aside, he is dressed more like an orderly than a security guard.
4. Fuzzy is the announcer. He is the one who introduces David Litterbin (with “every kat’s” rendered as “everykat’s,” interestingly). This means he actually has one more line than “Huh?” later. He is described slightly differently, wearing a sport coat as opposed to something from the era of disco. In the storyboards, his jacket appears to be tweed with a plaid pattern, and despite the script calling him “wild haired,” he is depicted as having very short hair, especially compared to Litterbin.
5. There’s a deleted bit where Litterbin comes out from behind a curtain as he’s introduced and walks over to his desk.
6. Glenn Leopold suggests that whoever does Litterbin’s voice should try for a Garry Shandling impression. He also spells “comedian” as “komedian,” but only once.
7. The David Litterbin Show’s set is supposed to be based on that of The Tonight Show.
8. When Lenny Ringtail rants about how he used to be a number one comedian, a flash of lightning was supposed to illuminate his face crazily.
9. There’s a deleted bit where we get a little bit more about exactly what the “Stupid Kat Trick” bit is about; it involves Litterbin doing foolish things, such as balancing a full glass of milk on his nose. According to the script, he, not announcer Fuzzy, is the one who says “Stupid Kat Trick Number !” This helps give a little more context to the character of Litterbin and demonstrates he is into prop comedy as well as standup.
10. The script doesn’t make it clear how Ringtail is clinging to the ceiling. It just says he’s doing it “with his claws.” While this is fine for his hands, what about his feet? He’s wearing shoes. As in the finished episode, the storyboards depict Ringtail hanging on with both hands and feet, when I’m wondering whether Leopold originally intended for him to be hanging on with just his hands.
11. As in the episode, we never find out what, if anything, Ringtail does to the guard after dropping down onto him. In addition to saying “Herrrre’s Ringtail!” he was also supposed to give an “insane yell.”
12. Chance and Jake were originally supposed to arrive offscreen, and be revealed only after a closeup of the angry old lady. The old lady’s lines about having waited so long she’s getting liver spots and how Chance and Jake are an hour late were last minute additiona during the storyboarding phase, as they’re handwritten in with a pen. Jake’s dialogue that he and Chance got there as fast as they could was also a late addition and is handwritten.
13. The script makes it a little clearer that Chance tries the key in the ignition, despite being positioned in such a way that he appears to be doing somethung under the hood and not reaching in through the driver’s side door. This is kinda funny as it means the old lady leaves her key in the ignition when she turns the car off and gets out. She doesn’t seem very bright in this regard… or when it comes to anything concerning her car.
14. Chance getting back in the tow truck was added during storyboards; from what I can tell, in the script, he’s just described as suddenly being behind the wheel.
15. Although the script indicates the button Chance pushes is marked “Supercharger,” all one word, and the finished episode accurately reflects this, the storyboard art renders it as “Super Charger.”
16. The car battery was supposed to glow as it got supercharged. In the episode, on the jumper cables glow.
17. Slightly different dialogue: Jake’s “Uh” when he says “Uh, now try it, ma’am” was added during storyboarding. The old lady is also depicted as being happy whereas in the finished episode we never see her actual response to her car battery being charged; she appears to remain grouchy.
18. Deleted shot: A closeup of the old lady’s car tire screeching as the vehicle speeds off.
19. The precise exclamation the old lady gives as she goes driving off is different, and apparently, in the script she wasn’t supposed to say anything, since it’s something else handwritten in. Anyway, in the episode she clearly cries “Whooooa!” whereas here she goes “Waaa haaa!!”
20. As the old lady’s car goes flying off, it’s described as leaving tracks of burned rubber. Although the script refers to where the characters are as a country road, I’m wondering if Leopold envisioned a paved road rather than the dirt one depicted in the storyboards and finished episode, as I’m not sure how burned rubber from car tires can be left on dirt.
21. There’s some deleted dialogue from Chance that’s been crossed on in pen when he says “Gee, she didn’t even thank us!” I could be wrong, but it looks like the line was originally “Gee, she didn’t even have the decency to thank us!” or something like that.
22. The way Chance is drawn as he reacts to Jake saying he wants to watch David Litterbin is hilarious. In the episode, he looks annoyed. In the storyboards, he looks positively horrified, as though the thought of David Litterbin frightens him.
23. The Enforcer cruiser out looking for Lenny Ringtail is explicitly referred to as a “prowl car,” and the two guys (obviously a pair of sergeants) are referred to as “Prowl Car Officer” and “Driver.” While “prowl car” is an appropriate way to refer to a police car, as far as I’m aware this is the one time what the main models call Enforcer sedans are described this way.
24. In the episode, the two sergeants are wearing gray shirts with black ties, unique among Enforcers. In the storyboard art, they’re correctly drawn with their jackets on. The guy driving is also depicted as having a mustache, when he and the guy in the passenger seat are basically identical in the finished episode (since “Sergeant #” is later depicted as being just the basic Enforcer sergeant character designs but with a mustache, I’m wondering if the storyboard artists originally had the idea that the guy who shows up in Feral’s office later is supposed to be one of these two).
25. The door Ringtail opens to get inside the antique shop was originally supposed to have a sign saying “Curios” on it. It’s blank in the episode.
26. When the “prowl car officer” shines his flashlight into the alley, the script describes a bunch of rats scurrying away from the light. The storyboards also depict this. The rodents are completely absent from this scene in the finished episode.
27. A blooper in the episode appears to have originated in the storyboards: the “prowl car officer,” who is introduced sitting in the cruiser’s passenger seat, is suddenly in the driver’s seat when he says he doesn’t see anything. The flashlight beam is definitely coming from the driver’s side of the car in both the storyboards and episode, but the line “Uh, nothin’. Keep goin'” is attributed to the passenger, not the driver (the only way this makes sense is if it’s the driver shining his flashlight and the passenger say he doesn’t see anything, but script, storyboard art and finished episode all depict the speaker as the one holding the flashlight.
28. We also may finally have an explanation for why this particular cruiser is mistakenly colored like Feral’s; in the storyboard art for SC on Page , it’s missing the lights on the fenders all the “regular” cruisers have. No lights on the fenders is something unique to Feral’s cruiser.
29. Deleted bit: As Ringtail explores the back room of the store, there was supposed to be a shot of lightning flashing outside the window (Leopold really overdoes it with the stormy weather here, honestly; the finished episode really tones down the severity of the storm).
30. The stuff in the store’s back room (aside from the kat-in-the-box) is described thusly: stuffed birds, antique suits of armor, paintings and silverware. Madkat is explicitly described as a harlequin, and the script and storyboards call for there to be a sign next to him saying “Antique. Do Not Touch.” There’s no sign of this sign in the episode. Which in hindsight seems odd. If Katzmer is so adamant that nobody mess with this thing, you’d think he’d have a sign up, as Leopold appears to have originally intended, rather than rely on purely verbal warnings.
31. Madkat is depicted as having pupils in his eyes in the storyboards, at least when he’s in his kat-in-the-box form. He lacks them after fusing with Ringtail.
32. Katzmer is described as “a wizened Siamese Kat” and is said to be based on Keye Luke’s character from Gremlins. Obviously, he doesn’t resemble a Siamese in the episode, but, his Jewish name aside, is still clearly intended to be very much a stereotypical Asian store owner, both in physical appearance and voice.
33. In the episode, it’s not immediately clear where Katzmer comes from when he catches Ringtail. Per the script, he came from upstairs; directly behind him in the first shot of him as he walks over is a staircase. This is described earlier as leading to an upstairs office. This appears to be where Katzmer came from; he saw Lenny Ringtail skulking around while in his upstairs office and came down to confront him. In fact, per the storyboards, he was originally supposed to first be seen at the top of the stairs and come down. The episode, I believe, starts the shot with him having already just reached the bottom.
34. Katzmer was originally scripted to situate himself between Ringtail and Madkat when discussing the kat-in-the-box. The storyboard artist emphatically ignored this script direction and just has Katzmer walk up to stand beside and kinda behind Ringtail, and make no move to prevent him from messing with the kat-in-the-box until he actually tries to grab it, and this is how it goes in the episode as well.
35. Katzmer’s mirthless little “Heh!” (rendered as “Huh!”) when Ringtail demands to know more about Madkat was added during storyboarding.
36. A good chunk of Katzmer’s dialogue about Madkat’s backstory is handwritten in pen, suggesting it’s different from what was originally scripted.
37. As in the episode, Katzmer’s baseball bat (or “hoodlum bat,” as I call it, like the one the convenience store owner in Falling Down has) just kind of appears from nowhere. He just suddenly has it. The most Leopold says about where it comes from is “Dramatic Angle – Katzmer Whose hands come up with a baseball bat.” In the episode, the only place he could’ve gotten it from is the counter to his right (screen left), whereas the storyboard art depicts him standing too far away from the counter to have grabbed the bat off of it.
38. Ringtail was originally supposed to fling Katzmer across the room much more violently.
39. Madkat’s kat-in-the-box form is much more ghoulish than it ended up being in the finished episode, with very sunken features.
40. Similarly, Madkat’s appearance after fusing with Ringtail is different. He’s bulkier, with way more muscles, a different domino mask and no visible nose (despite having had one when he was in the kat-in-the-box). His scepter is referred to as a “magician’s cane” and is what he turns into different props and weapons as opposed to forming them out of nothing. Everything from the box he traps people in to his yo-yo, paddle ball, playing cards, etc. are all the cane turned into different things.
41. Man, Leopold really was overdoing it with the storm stuff. When it cuts to the MBC building, the script says there should still be storm clouds visible over the building. This is most definitely not the case in the episode, where the sky is, at worst, kinda hazy. The script also says the entire following sequence is meant to be set at night when this is, again, not the case in the episode. From what I can tell based on the color of the sky, as in The Wrath of Dark Kat, it’s either evening or just overcast. Leopold describes the clouds as “gusting away dramatically.” Much like Lance Falk with Chaos in Crystal, it’s clear Leopold had a lot of really ambitious visuals in mind for Enter the Madkat. So of course Hanna-Barbera gave it to Hanho Heung Up to animate. I’d really like to know who decided which studio got which episode to animate… and why, paradoxically, the least visually interesting episodes in season one (except for The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice) got the star treatment from Mook while more potentially visually interesting episodes were just dumped with Hanho Heung Up who did, at best, mediocre work with them.
42. Litterbin’s line “Now here’s one of the stupidest letters I’ve received in quite some time” was originally just “Now here’s one of the stupidest letters I’ve received.” “In quite some time” is another addition handwritten in pen.
43. It’s interesting how Mark Lungo described John Byner’s performance as David Litterbin as being “surly.” I think this is because, his tone of voice aside, he doesn’t smile much. For example, the storyboards definitely depict him smiling as he reads the letter accusing him (jokingly?) of being one of the SWAT Kats, whereas in the episode he just looks tired and bored, at least in the closeup of him explaining that he hates heights.
44. It may be possible that Commander Feral doesn’t in fact live in an apartment. At least in the script details provided in the storyboards, where he is while watching Litterbin’s show is simply referred to as “Int. Feral’s Bedroom – On Feral and TV,” not “Int. Feral’s Apartment – Bedroom” or something similar.
45. Feral was originally supposed to be lying down in bed while watching TV, not standing beside it. His shirt with the Enforcer logo is also described simply as “a marine-type T-shirt.”
46. The tiny version of Madkat who was hiding in the mailbag is said to be exactly a foot tall.
47. I was hoping for a little more context about why Litterbin is so bizarrely unfazed by Madkat, but Leopold doesn’t go into why he isn’t impressed to have this tiny talking jester guy suddenly appear. Then again, he does live in Megakat City, where strange things happen all the time. Still, it’s funny to me how Litterbin just kind of accepts Madkat while only Fuzzy seems to find him strange.
48. It’s specifically a volleyball Madkat shoots from his cane and uses to knock Litterbin out of his chair.
49. Not a difference between script (well, storyboards) and episode, but in addition to David Litterbin being so unimpressed with Madkat, I’ve always found it odd Chance is too. He clearly dislikes Litterbin’s show as being too highbrow and prefers more slapstick type cartoony stuff… which is what Madkat immediately starts doing when he shows up, but Chance couldn’t care less. So does he like slapstick or is it just Scaredy-Kat specifically that he likes? The reason this bugs me is because the kind of stuff Madkat does when crashing Litterbin’s show is basically exactly what would happen in an episode of Scaredy-Kat… it’s just live-action and not animated. And not Scaredy-Kat. So either Chance’s tastes are so narrow he’ll only watch and enjoy Scaredy-Kat… or he dislikes Litterbin so much that even his show doing Scaredy-Kat type stuff fails to impress him.
50. Chance was also originally supposed to roll his eyes, something I don’t think he does in the episode itself.
51. Madkat grinning insanely is explicitly compared to “Jack Nicholson in The Shining.”
52. One interesting detail I’m surprised Hanho Heung Up included, to say nothing of Glenn Leopold bothering to include it, is the fact Litterbin ends up with two black eyes. Despite people being struck in the face multiple times throughout SWAT Kats, David Litterbin is, as far as I’m aware, the only character to get not just one black eye but two.
53. When Feral calls for someone to come and pick him up, he’s described as using “a communicator.” This implies the smaller Enforcer communicator used in The Wrath of Dark Kat and later Mutation City, as opposed to the larger walkie-talkie/field phone Feral actually uses (for what it’s worth, this is what he’s depicted using in the storyboard art, not the much smaller communicator thing).
54. Feral’s line “I want choppers at Megakat Broadcasting Company on the double!” originally had him say “MBC” instead of the studio’s full name.
55. The audience members lacking tails when they’re trying to escape would appear to be a blooper that originated in the storyboards. None of them have tails in the art depicting the scene of Madkat poking his giant head through the door. Exactly what Madkat is doing in this scene is made a little more clear; he’s taken on the form of the door.
56. Another instance of not saying “MBC.” When Kat’s Eye News shows up, Ann originally was supposed to describe Litterbin as “MBC’s highest paid entertainer,” as opposed to how she phrases it in the finished episode, “Megakat Broadcasting’s highest paid entertainer.”
57. One thing that isn’t immediately clear in the episode is that there are two Enforcer choppers responding to the emergency; Feral’s and one other. Sure enough, there is a second Enforcer chopper in the scene but I can’t remember it doing anything.
58. Litterbin flails when Madkat initially lets go of him. In the episode, he just shoots straight down and doesn’t do any flailing until later. Madkat was originally supposed to toss Litterbin as opposed to simply letting go of him.
59. Deleted dialogue: Saving Litterbin with the Sky Claw (or “grappling hook”), Razor was supposed to say “We’re cuttin’ it kinda close, buddy!” This line is crossed out with several strokes of a pen… and then it was added back, with someone writing the exact same line underneath it in pen… only for the line to be deleted entirely in the end.
60. Most of Litterbin’s “dialogue” (noises, really), particularly the rather silly “Whoa!” he gives as he’s yanked up to safety, were not scripted and were added in the storyboards. Interestingly, in the episode, he sighs with relief and then goes “Whoa!” whereas here he was supposed to sigh and then say “Whoa!” He was also apparently supposed to say “Whoa!” twice.
61. Both Enforcer choppers fire nets at Madkat, not just whichever one it is that does it in the episode (it’s unclear if it’s Feral’s or the other one).
62. Deleted scene: Madkat takes out the other Enforcer chopper with his killer playing cards before hitting Feral’s. The one that isn’t Feral’s is completely chopped in half. In the episode, Madkat only hits Feral’s chopper and the second one just disappears from the scene.
63. Interestingly, Leopold describes the card as taking out “Feral’s rear rotor,” which is impossible as Enforcer choppers don’t have tail rotors. No helicopters in SWAT Kats do. Evidently, they use NOTAR. This is the second instance of the show seemingly unaware of how its own aircraft are designed, since, in The Wrath of Dark Kat, Al says “Kat’s alive! We lost our main rotor!” when the news chopper in fact loses its only rotor, since like all helicopters in SWAT Kats, as mentioned, it does not have a tail rotor. So Al’s line should’ve been “We lost our rotor!” Leopold describing a tail rotor here means either he forgot no helicopters in SWAT Kats have tail rotors, or the script was written before the Enforcer chopper design, without a tail rotor, was finalized.
64. T-Bone’s cry of “Huh?” when he sees the playing card flying towards him was added during storyboarding. He evidently doesn’t say anything at all during this scene in the script.
65. Deleted scene: After missing the Turbokat, the razor-edged card continues on and chops off the spire from “an Empire State-type skyscraper” near the MBC building.
66. Deleted scene and dialogue: Razor fires some generic missiles at Madkat while he’s still on top of the MBC building, saying “That clown won’t find this so funny! Missiles locked, loaded… deployed!” Madkat just teleports away and all Razor succeeds in doing is destroying the satellite dish he was sitting on. I dunno why this scene was cut but if I had to guess it was because it made Razor look like he had some skewed priorities, trying to target the villain rather than going back to trying to save the once again falling Litterbin.
67. Deleted dialogue: “How’d you miss him, sureshot?” asks T-Bone. Instead of answering, Razor seems to ignore his friend’s question and ask one of his own: “Huh? Where’d he go?” It’s after this bit that it shows Madkat appearing on the street in front of the building and catching the falling Litterbin in the box, and the scene continues as normal.
68. Those trapped in the box were supposed to look -D, trapped in “the flat plane.” Leopold compares this to “Superman II” (clearly meaning General Zod and co. in the Phantom Zone). In the finished episode, it never comes across that Madkat’s prisoners are supposed to be “flattened” in a two-dimensional space. They just look like they’re stuck in a green glass box.
69. Apropos of nothing, but, like Fuzzy, Litterbin is depicted throughout the storyboards as having buckteeth instead of the David Letterman style teeth with the gap in front.
70. When Razor targets Madkat, his entire screen was supposed to turn red, whereas in the finished episode it’s just the targeting scope that turns red.
71. A shot of the Octopus Missile flying towards Madkat was storyboarded but not included in the final episode.
72. Madkat’s grin is described as “Cheshire” in nature.
73. As before, the tiny version of Madkat is given a specific height: he is a foot tall when shrunken. It’s unclear if he can shrink himself smaller.
74. Razor’s line “How’d you miss him, hot shot?” is intended as a callback to T-Bone’s deleted line “How’d you miss him, sureshot?” This is why T-Bone says “Very funny!”
75. The storyboards indicate the SWAT Kats are supposed to look worried, but this doesn’t quite come across in the episode.
76. Callie was originally going to take out her communicator, as opposed to already having it out and speaking into it.
77. When Callie is talking to the SWAT Kats and the TV is showing Feral’s damaged chopper in the background, we were originally supposed to see Ann on the screen, if the script direction “Ann Gora at Feral’s downed chopper” is any indication. In the finished episode, we only see the damaged chopper, with no sign of Ann… or anyone else, for that matter.
78. Jonny is drawn as being overweight when he’s filming Ann in Litterbin’s studio. As for Ann, she looks bizarrely scared, which is hilarious as she generally appears to really only ever have one very basic facial expression (she’s one of the least emotive characters in the series, most of the time).
79. What Chance and Jake are eating is cereal, specifically chocolate tuna puffs.
80. Chance’s line about how they should just show episodes of Scaredy-Kat was originally “They should just show kat-toons late at night.”
81. The entire scene with Ann talking about Litterbin’s potential replacement, Chance and Jake eating cereal and then Madkat showing up and talking to Ann is entirely handwritten in the storyboards, implying it has no equivalent in Leopold’s original script or the dialogue was so different someone had to write it in by hand. In fact, from here on in unless otherwise noted, all the dialogue and script directions are handwritten. The art also appears to have been drawn by someone different than whoever drew the rest of the storyboards.
82. Deleted bit: After realizing that when he says “the king” he means Manx, Callie was supposed to grab her phone to call Manx at the golf course (her calling him still happens in the episode, though).
83. Manx “shakes his butt” as he prepares to swing his golf club.
84. Deleted scene: Callie calls Manx twice. The first time, Manx tries to ignore it, but the ringing phone annoys him so much that he walks over to the golf cart… but not to answer to phone. Rather, he covers it with his hat to muffle the ringing. Consequently, he is hatless for the remainder of the scene here in the storyboards.
85. Manx making a point of covering the phone with his hat rather than answering it is originally where his line “No phone calls!” was supposed to go.
86. The wall-mounted phone in the hangar is referred to as “Callie’s communicator.” Um, no, Glenn, that’s the phone the SWAT Kats answer. I mean, he’s technically correct insofar as the phone they answer is basically the other end of the communicator, but I’ve never seen the wall phone referred to as the communicator, only the little triangle-shaped thing Callie has.
87. Feral was originally supposed to leave Enforcer Headquarters with a bit more urgency. He’s described as “racing” out, as opposed to just sternly marching out. Katzmer the antique store owner is also incorrectly referred to as Katzman in this scene.
88. When Feral tells Katzmer to “Ask for Lt. Steel,” Steel’s name is spelled, well, “Steel.” S-T-E-E-L.
89. There’s a deleted bit back at the golf course where Manx has put his hat back on and is sticking his head down close to the ground to eyeball the shot he intends to take.
90. We get an example of some of the “Manx noises” as they appear written out when Manx is confronted by Madkat: “Eh eh oh ya!”
91. The ball Madkat holds in his hand and which grows bigger and which he eventually becomes, himself, is a Madkat-themed golf ball, which Leopold describes as “a harlequin golf ball.”
92. An interesting mistake in the storyboard art: Manx’s golf cart in this episode is right-hand drive, and it’s drawn that way in the storyboard art, but when Manx jumps into it to try and escape, he’s shown sitting in the left-hand seat, which in a right-hand drive vehicle is the passenger seat. This is mostly corrected in the finished episode. I say mostly because although Manx isn’t sitting on the left… he isn’t sitting on the right, either, exactly; he’s kind of in the middle. He’s sitting on the correct side a few panels later in the storyboards.
93. There’s a deleted shot of a scared Manx at the wheel of the golf cart as he tries fleeing from the giant Madkat bouncy ball.
94. Manx is back to sitting on the wrong side of the golf cart again for the panels depicting Madkat in his ball form crushing the vehicle as Manx leaps out: in Panel SC , Manx is sitting in the front right seat, and the steering wheel is on the right, meaning it’s left-hand drive for just this one panel. But in Panel SC , as Manx jumps free (from the right seat), the steering wheel is back on the left, making the cart right-hand drive again… just before it gets crushed.
95. There was supposed to be a sign at the golf course entrance Manx runs through that says “Megakat Country Club.” No signage of any kind adorns the entrance in the finished episode.
96. Feral’s sidearm is drawn like a realistic Colt M with some kind of scope or laser sight along the top and a top ejection port for spent shell casings (the actual M has it on the side), as opposed to the more futuristic-looking weapon with an extending stock he actually carries in the show (and which I often compare to a hot glue gun).
97. There were supposed to be more shots of the giant Madkat bouncy ball chasing Feral and Manx.
98. Some deleted shots of Razor in the Turbokat.
99. In the episode, there’s a blooper in which Manx, after being freed, is suddenly no longer in his golfing outfit. There’s no note about this in the script or storyboards, and in fact Manx’s mysteriously switches outfits way earlier in the storyboards; as of Panel SC on Page , when he’s still in Feral’s car, he’s back in his regular clothes already. By SC on Page , he’s most definitely in his normal three-piece suit and tie when he gets out of the car and tries to run. Did he changes clothes in the car? If so, why?
100. Madkat’s line “Mr. Sick-O to you!” was added during storyboarding and doesn’t include the “That’s” His line about getting his own set of wheels was also originally slightly different, and didn’t include the “It’ll be my pleasure!” at the beginning.
101. Madkat’s motorcycle form is kind of disturbing the way it’s depicted in the storyboards. He looks less like a motorcycle made out of Madkat and more like Madkat as a really weird motorcycle centaur kinda thing.
102. The handwritten script directions aren’t clear whether the tunnel is the Megakat Tunnel (the one from Katastrophe). It’s simply called “a tunnel.” Which makes sense, I guess. Either they hadn’t decided on a name for the tunnel at this time, or, more likely, not every tunnel is the Megakat Tunnel.
103. Deleted dialogue from T-Bone: “Kats alive! We can’t fit in there!” Razor also adds “But I can!” before saying “Launch cyclotron!” This was T-Bone’s exact reasoning for being unable to follow the Metallikat Express through the tunnel in Katastrophe and Razor needing to follow them on the Cyclotron all by himself. It’s funny how it took until SWAT Kats Unplugged for the writers to realize the Turbokat’s retractable wings could be utilized in flight and that the jet could fly through tunnels and such, and that there are at least two instances (both in episodes written by Glenn Leopold) where Razor has to go into a tunnel riding on the Cyclotron because the Turbokat can’t fit.
104. All of the cars Razor passes while going through the tunnel are the same ones he passes in the finished episode and appear to all be existing vehicle models used for the series. Some nice attention to detail by the storyboard artists. The one exception appears to be the car he passes in what I’m calling Panel SC -E, which looks like a shortened, two-door sedan version of Manx’s limo whereas in the finished episode it’s the same model of car used for Dr. Street’s MASA sedan in The Ci-Kat-A.
105. When the Madkat motorcycle shrinks and zips off down the tunnel, it was originaly intended to be more apparent that he disappears from Razor’s line of sight by going under a car up ahead of him, as opposed to in the finished episode where he just kinda goes zipping off and disappears.
106. The Madkat Missiles look way different in the storyboards and are horrifying, with greater emphasis placed on Madkat’s big pointy chin as the main feature. Like, the Madkat faces’ chins on the missiles are basically big enormous metal spikes.
107. The storyboards and handwritten script details (more on this in a moment) don’t explicitly call the bridge Old Megakat Bridge, either. It’s just “a bridge.”
108. Speaking of those handwritten script directions, they appear to have been written in a hurry and while there’s still some typed excerpts from what I assume is Leopold’s original script, the fact the storyboards have, since about halfway through Act II, been entirely handwritten, it seems like the finished version of Enter the Madkat deviates so significantly from Leopold’s original script, particularly in action scenes, that there doesn’t exist a second draft of the script; just the one orginal draft, a good chunk of which appears to have been rejected or revised for the final storyboard and animation phase. It really makes me curious what’s different in the typed up version of the script vs. these handwritten notes and such.
109. Deleted bit: T-Bone was orginally going to fly the Turbokat under the bridge after discovering Madkat sitting in the back seat. It’s unclear what he intended to accomplish with this, since nothing happens and afterwards he just ejects Madkat from the jet like he does in the episode.
110. When T-Bone ejects Madkat from the jet in the storyboards, both the art and script notes indicate he should be laughing and no indication is given that he’s caught off guard at all. In the episode, of course, although he recovers, Madkat is in fact surprised by T-Bone’s decision to just launch him out of the jet.
111. Okay, now I see why T-Bone flew under the bridge. When he ejects Madkat, he sends him and Razor’s Ejektor seat flying up to hit the bottom of the bridge and explode. Madkat seems to die, but then reappears. In the finished episode, they opted to just have Madkat fall out of the seat as it hurtles upwards, and it never collides with anything. The storyboards account for this change; all the shots of the Turbokat flying under the bridge and Madkat in the Ejektor seat hitting the underside are crossed off and the scene of Madkat just falling forwards out of the seat in midair is substituted going forward.
112. There was supposed to be a closeup of the trapped Feral, while he, Manx and Litterbin plead for help. In the episode, this doesn’t happen and after capturing Feral and issuing his challenge, Madkat just leaves.
113. Madkat was originally supposed to laugh before he says “I like this game!”
114. Deleted bit: When Steel puts his nameplate on Feral’s desk, he was orginally supposed to make a point of knocking Feral’s nameplate off the desk first as he did in The Wrath of Dark Kat. Speaking of said nameplate, the “S-T-E-E-L-E” spelling in the finished episode is definitely an error. All throughout these storyboards, Steel’s name is spelled “S-T-E-E-L,” including on the nameplate, which reads “Lt. Steel” (as opposed to “Lt. Commander Steel”) here in the storyboards.
115. Some different dialogue from Steel: Instead of just saying “I guess that leaves me in charge of the Enforcers, Deputy Mayor,” he says “I guess Commander Feral mysteriously disappearing leaves me in charge, Deputy Mayor.” Him emphasizing that Feral has mysteriously disappeared as opposed to having been kidnapped and held prisoner by a crazy shapeshifting jester would seem to be more of Steel being arbitrarily skeptical.
116. When Callie asks Steel what he intends to do, she just calls him “Lieutenant” as opposed to “Lieutenant Steel.” Neither is of course the proper form of address for a lieutenant commander. Steel should either be addressed formally as “Lieutenant Commander” or informally as “Commander,” since a lieutenant commander is a type of commander, not a type of lieutenant. Nobody calls lieutenant colonels and lieutenant generals “lieutenants,” for example. Still, Steel’s full rank is only directly addressed twice in the series: once by himself in The Wrath of Dark Kat and here on his nameplate… at least in the actual episode. Misspelled name and all.
117. Razor’s line about having his seat put back in is in the typed font from the typewriter and not handwritten (in fact, throughout this entire scene, most of the dialogue and script direction is back to being in proper typed screenplay format), which is odd considering this means it’s from the draft of the script where Razor’s Ejektor seat wasn’t simply ejected but ejected against the underside of a bridge and destroyed. So unless he means he had a new one installed, then this line only works with the revised version… and even then not terribly well. I know Razor’s just making a joke to try and cheer Callie up, but would he really go through the trouble of retrieving his sunken seat from the bottom of the dang bay…? Though that does appear to be the only reason provided for why it took him and T-Bone as long as it did to get to Enforcer Headquarters.
118. “Sergeant #” isn’t given a proper introduction. The fact he’s even called Sergeant # and is intended to be using a different character model is indicated in more handwritten notes; the “#” next to “Sergeant” was added and wasn’t in the original script. His character design hadn’t been finalized, either; like the guy driving the “prowl car” earlier, he’s just the basic Enforcer Sergeant character design but with a pencil-thin mustache. I actually kinda would’ve preferred they keep this design for him. My issue with the final character design isn’t so much how he looks but the fact they couldn’t resist giving him a unique uniform… and that between Enter the Madkat and Katastrophe they couldn’t make up their mind what color it was. It’s just strange to me they’d introduce an entirely unique sergeant character design and then only use him twice before just going back to using the “basic” design using Sergeant Talon… but with this guy’s voice.
119. Katzmer is more urgent and desperate in the script. He’s described as rushing in as opposed to just walking.
120. Leopold indicates in the script that the combined force of the impact of both SWAT Kats, Steel, the Sergeant and Katzmer was supposed to “crash out the wall.” Although the storyboard art shows all five of them damaging the wall upon impact (the poor Sergeant seems to take the most of it), it seems more like the language Leopold chose in the script was they were supposed to go througth the wall. As it is, in the finished episode, the only detail from the storyboards that is followed is that the Sergeant’s hat flies off.
121. Originally, Steel, not Katzmer was the one lying beside Razor when T-Bone yells “To the roof!” As it is, while that’s Katzmer’s final appearance in the episode (much like the islander in Volcanus Erupts!, he just kinda disappears), here in the storyboards his last appearance is SC -B, being squished between Steel and Sergeant # as they and the SWAT Kats slam into the wall. Poor Katzmer.
122. There initially aren’t any Enforcer choppers on the runway when the SWAT Kats first rush outside.
123. The decision to have Manx and Litterbin share a side of the box as it’s roating and everyone trapped inside (something necessitated by the hand crank, even though this is one of the only times it appears on the box) appears to have been a last minute change. On Page , there’s a third panel which would seem to have originally been meant to show just Litterbin trapped, but he’s rather hastily drawn in behind and beside Manx in the second panel. I wish they hadn’t done this and gave each captive their own side of the cube for this part, as it makes it seem like Manx and Litterbin, especially Litterbin, matter less than the others. And all just to include the hand crank which wasn’t present on the box before and didn’t need to be here.
124. Madkat’s giant octopus form is referred to as “Madkat/Octopus” or “Octo/Madkat.”
125. As in the finished episode, Madkat takes the first two hits to his jester’s cap, especially the second, like a chump. Between this and Dr. Viper just standing there and allowingt Razor to shoot the anti-mutagen canisters in his hand in Mutation City, I’m kinda wondering… does Leopold just not know how to end a final battle with a villain in a giant monster form? It always kinda happens rather abruptly (see for example The Deadly Pyramid, where the guy who is supposed to be the main physical threat does exactly three things: smack a flashlight away, pick T-Bone up and then melt and die. Not very impressive. I think I’ve found Leopold’s weakness as a writer. I’d say Madkat does better here because after losing the second bell he goes more on the offensive and lasts longer… but in the end he still just stands there grinning like an idiot and lets T-Bone defeat him.
126. Still no real indication of just what T-Bone is trying to do pushing buttons with his toes. The storyboard art for this is accompanied by a script excerpt saying that he’s trying to reach the button for his Ejektor seat, but the same storyboards indicate the buttons for those are on the armrests. So it still isn’t clear why he’s trying to push buttons with his feet while being attacked by Madkat’s tentacle.
127. All of a sudden there are two Enforcer choppers on the runway for the crashing Turbokat to slam into.
128. Madkat’s giant building form is horrifying. All things considered, this is definitely an episode that would’ve benefitted from Mook’s animation and not Hanho Heung Up’s.
129. Deleted dialogue from T-Bone as he fires missiles at the Madkat building: “Take that! And that!”
130. T-Bone’s missiles were originally supposed to hit and damage Enforcer Headquarters after Madkat, in his building form, dodges them by teleporting away. In the episode, this doesn’t happen.
131. Madkat suddenly has a nose in these scenes whereas he didn’t in earlier ones.
132. The weapon that extends from the side of the Ejektor seat and lets T-Bone take out Madkat is just called “a laser gun.”
133. As mentioned before, upon being set free, Manx is suddenly back in his regular outfit in the storyboard art and there’s no notation anywhere that this should be the case. Whether it happens here or earlier when he’s first captured, he should’ve spent the entire episode in his golf clothes. I fail to see why or how he’d be able to change clothes either in Feral’s car or while trapped in the box.
134. Hilariously, Steel in the storyboards is so startled by Feral offering his hand to the SWAT Kats in gratitude he goes from having actual hair in SC to having just “headfur” in SC -A. He has his hair back in SC , though.
135. Incidentally, I can find no evidence that either of the SWAT Kats was ever supposed to accept Feral’s offer of a handshake. Or that that was even why Feral extended his hand towards them.
136. Callie’s line “And my life” was originally “And mine.”
137. Litterbin looks bizarrely sinister as he leans down towards the unconscious Ringtail while contemplating having him on his show as a guest. Are we sure he isn’t the insane one?
138. When he interviews Ringtail, Litterbin is supposed to be “back at his desk,” when the only time a desk is ever mentioned is way back at the beginning when he first walks onstage. I checked the episode and sure enough, he’s sitting a desk when the guard is watching the show in the asylum. We never see him walk to it, but it’s there.
139. In the episode, Chance and Jake seem amused by how Ringtail has turned his fortunes around and will be making money with his new book, complete with them smiling. The storyboards, however, indicate that they’re supposed to be scowling in disapproval.
140. Chance wasn’t originally supposed to change the channel to Scaredy-Kat specifically, but just a generic “kat-toon” and get an episode of Scaredy-Kat by chance, as opposed to intentionally saying he’s going to watch Scaredy-Kat. Who, even here, is still being called Fraidy-Kat. This character’s name had been decided all the way back during production of The Metallikats but Leopold is still calling him Fraidy-Kat here. I guess he just preferred that name.