Gender-Flipped Villain Pitch: Yellow Pinkie & Hy Spy (Secret Squirrel)

It's been a while since I thought up a good Gender-Flipped Villain Pitch, and there are still quite a few good ones who need a feminine touch. This one is one I've been sitting on for a good bit, and this is a two-on-one piece that definitely needed to be addressed.

So with that, on to the pitch.

This is my fifth pitch, but it's my third that comes from the world of Hanna-Barbera. And much like the other cartoon-connected ones I've mentioned, I have MeTV Toons to thank for this. One of Hanna-Barbera's many, many great contributions is Secret Squirrel, who debuted in 1965 on the combined Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show. The mid-60s saw H-B deliver more action packed cartoons, but unlike Jonny Quest, the hilarity remained intact on both Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel.

H-B created Secret Squirrel to get in on the budding spy film trend; the character debuted just under three year after Dr. No (the first 007 film) was released. The main character is a secret agent also known as Agent 000, and dons a trenchcoat and a purple fedora that is also part eye mask as well. On the original series, Secret Squirrel's voiced by the iconic Mel Blanc, with the voice originally resembling Sylvester's in the first few episodes, but later changing to sound a bit like Bugs Bunny. Secret's sidekick is Morocco Mole, who is devoted to Secret and admires his ingenuity and cleverness.

Secret has had many foes, but his main two are the subjects of this pitch. First, there's Yellow Pinkie; bald, uproarious, and flashy. The character is a play off Goldfinger; from the attire to the bald head, and even the name as well, and he's the most frequently shown villain on the series. Later in the show, we were introduced to another potential recurring baddie: Hy Spy, who (like most villains) was immensely megalomaniacal. Hy Spy appeared in the final three episodes of the original show. Both characters were voiced by Paul Frees, who also voiced Morocco Mole and Chief Double-Q. Neither character appeared in the 1993 revival that was part of 2 Stupid Dogs, though one episodes featured Goldflipper, a villain that did mostly resemble Yellow Pinkie.

Both Yellow Pinkie and Hy Spy are begging to be gender-flipped. We are talking major baddies from a spy/espionage environment, and that is an area that is starving when it comes to main villainesses. I mentioned the James Bond films earlier. It would be 37 years before a main villainess finally appeared in a Bond film; Sophie Marceau's deliciously evil Elektra King in 1999's The World is Not Enough (which, sadly, was Desmond Llewelyn's final film as Q).

Plus, we need a Secret Squirrel live action/animated movie. A lot of H-B classic characters need the live action/animated movie treatment, but that's another story for another time. Regarding casting for Yellow Pinkie and Hy Spy, I have some ideas:

Genevieve Padalecki and Danneel Ackles

This one just entered my mind, and yes, my Supernatural fandom inspired this. Genevieve Padalecki (nee Cortese) and Danneel Ackles (nee Harris), the wives of SPN's two main stars; and they do have quite a kinship of their own. With that, they would be perfect in the roles of Yellow Pinkie and Hy Spy, and in this case, I would portray them as rivals (in a sense), maybe they shared a romantic past with each other, but their mission against Secret Squirrel would definitely keep them together. As for which one would play which baddie, I'd have Danneel Ackles as Hy Spy, and Genevieve Padalecki as Yellow Pinkie, because Hy Spy has that low dangerous tone that I think Ackles can pull off, while Padalecki could definitely act out Yellow Pinkie's immense arrogance.

The Bella Twins

This was my only other idea: have Yellow Pinkie and Hy Spy as twins (they do look alike) and have the Bellas play them. I couldn't resist, plus I do love the Bellas. When it comes to exact casting, Nikki Bella has to be Yellow Pinkie, while Brie Bella plays Hy Spy. Any Secret Squirrel fan knows that Yellow Pinkie is the flashier of the two villains, and Yellow Pinkie wants to rule everything. Nikki's heel persona in the ring is the exact same way, and she'd be perfect as a female Yellow Pinkie. Regarding Brie, she could definitely play out Hy Spy's low-key dangerous tone, as well as the villain's analytical demeanor as well. Similar look, different personalities, all dangerous. That's the Bellas, and that's why I'm a fan.

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So that is my pitch for female versions of Yellow Pinkie and Hy Spy, and it features a pair of cool casting choices! Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!