Object Details
- Hanna-Barbera
- Description
- Hong Kong Phooey and the Fortune Cookie Caper was published in 1975 as part of a series parodying kung fu TV and movies. It features a police janitor who turns into a sloppy crime fighter who is constantly saved by the police cat.
- This particular episode involves a Chinese food delivery man, Fred Wu, writing suspicious messages in fortune cookies for the policeman to find. An example of a message: “Bank holdup—Guess where?” The policeman gives up, and Hong Kong Phooey decides that it is his own case to solve. He travels to the fortune cookie factory, where he finds Fred Wu. Fred Wu requests an autograph, and admits to writing suspicious messages and inserting them into fortune cookies. The Hong Kong Phooey signs Fred’s autograph book in exchange of Fred’s confession.
- The mystique of fortune cookie creation and the anonymity of Hong Kong Phooey drive the plot. Keeping in mind that the series is a parody, Hong Kong Phooey is a clumsy hero who is credited with saving the day, as evidenced by the policewoman’s adoration for the masked man. The police cat does all the work and constantly saves Hong Kong Phooey. The pattern can be seen in the fortune cookies, which are taken seriously by the policeman as legitimate threats. Fred confesses that they were jokes. As far as the reader can tell, both Hong Kong Phooey and fortune cookie messages are jokes.
- Hong Kong Phooey and the Fortune Cookie Caper was intended for the younger population. Recognizing the tongue-in-cheek humor of the book, fortune cookies were considered as nothing more than light entertainment to the audience the book was intended for.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2012.3057.06
- nonaccession number
- 2012.3057
- catalog number
- 2012.3057.06
- Object Name
- children's book
- Physical Description
- paper (inside material)
- cardboard (outside material)
- Measurements
- overall: 8 1/4 in x 6 3/4 in x 1/4 in; 20.955 cm x 17.145 cm x .635 cm
- place made
- United States: Illinois, Chicago
- Associated Place
- United States: Illinois, Chicago
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Asian Pacific American Business
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_1422802
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-9767-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
