Ya Got a Menace, Folks. Right Here in Kitty City.

This is how I spent my summer vacation: I produced and fully staffed a video team (Karen Nichols, DP; K Nichols, animator; K M Nichols, illustrations; K Marie Nichols, director; Karen M Nichols, screenwriter; Jeff Glass, best boy) who created a little Cat Scouts music video.

One of my favorite musicals-adapted-for-movies is The Music Man (although nowadays I usually just fast-forward to all my favorite scenes). I never miss Ya Got Trouble and Marian the Librarian.

I first saw the play at a local community theatre when I was nine or ten years old. Our next-door neighbor, Dr Natzke, was starring as Professor Harold Hill in the amateur production. I was mesmerized by Ya Got Trouble, so there's no way it couldn't have been my favorite in the movie as well, which I first saw years later. The original play debuted on Broadway a few weeks after I was born, followed by the release of the film in 1962. Once VHS/Tivo/Digital and similar technologies enabled one to watch and rewatch most any movie. I got to rewatch my old faves anytime I wished, and I'd rewatch The Music Man once or twice a year. I mastered the art of singing Ya Got Trouble.

Fast forward to the 21st century....

I made this video for Cat Scouts University starring Dirk. My husband voices Dirk and is always eager to record his next Dirk voiceover. This was his chance.

I'd been wanting to do a Trouble video for some time, following the success of another Dirk video in which he taught scouts good hygience procedures. Warning them about the dangers of excessive catnip usage seemed a natural.

Producing non-commercial videos is done in my spare time. Writing the lyrics took a week or two, not counting some minor revisions. (Writing lyrics for well-known songs was a skill I'd been practicing since high school.) Animating and producing the video took another week. Hubby nailed the voice in two takes. All in all, a pretty quick production. So, that's this video's backstory. Grab some popcorn and watch the movie!