Category: Cartoons from the 50’s

The 1950’s contain some of the most revered shorts Warner Bros. ever produced! Many of which now are considered some of animation’s greatest triumphs.

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Puddy Tat Twouble

“This is what I get for dweaming of a white Christmas.”

This short starts with Tweety singing his theme song. After the intro, we see it’s winter and Tweety has been spotted by Sylvester and an orange cat. They both grab the bird, but there is not enough for the both of them. They fight and eventually end up in a basement. Tweety sees a toy dunking bird and mistaking it for a real bird, tries to make friends, Orange makes the same mistake and eats the toy.

The two putty tats fight and they end up outside again. They see a hole near a sign that says “thin ice,” with Tweety’s hat beside it. In reality he is picking a circle around the cats and they fall in the water. (“thin ice,” my butt.) We end with the cats both suffering from colds. Probably dreaming of the cream of Tweety they don’t have.

Personal Rating: 3

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Bunker Hill Bunny

“I got ya outnumbered one to one.”

It’s the revolutionary war, and it’s “we” versus “them.” Obviously, “we” is Bugs Bunny defending his native soil from (Yosemite) Sam the Hessian. They charge and take each other’s forts. This angers Sam and he runs back just as Bugs does. Right back where they started, Sam tries again only to run into a cannon. (This cartoon is all about cannon gags)

In the final scene, Sam lays a trail of gunpowder up to the rabbit’s base, unaware that it’s pouring out. He lights a match, and soon the trail is chasing him all over the countryside. In the end, he decides that if you can’t beat them, join them.

Personal Rating: 3

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Canary Row

“Dat putty’s gonna hurt himself if he’s not more careful.”

In a birdwatchers society, Sylvester is spying on Tweety. Seeing the cat through his own binoculars, Tweety is well aware of what’s to come. Sylvester runs into the opposite building, but is kicked out as dogs and cats are not allowed in. He tries climbing a drain pipe but Granny throws him down. (In this short, she is voiced by Bea Bennadaret.) He tries again climbing in the pipe, but Tweety throws a bowling ball down. He tries a monkey disguise that does not fool the old lady. Then he somehow sneaks in and hears Granny saying she is checking out. (But it’s an apartment.) He disguises himself as a bellboy to get her luggage but when he opens the cage, he finds Granny in there.

Apparently, she was not leaving, as Sylvester is still trying to break in. He uses a lever and tosses a weight on the other end. It bounces him up, and he grabs Tweety, but upon landing the weight lands on his head. Swinging over just makes him crash into the wall. Finally, he tries to get over by crawling over an electric wire. A trolley comes along, which repeatedly shocks him. As he runs off, we see it’s Granny and Tweety piloting the trolley.

Personal Rating: 3

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Drafty, isn’t it?

“Have I got your attention?”

This is an army recruitment short. We see Ralph Phillips (who starred in “From A to ZZZZZ” and “Boyhood Daze”) now around 19 years old. His dreams are being haunted by an ominous shadow. While he sleeps, a little imp like creature named Willie comes and starts to talk to the young man. He tells him that he should join the army no matter what. It will help him throughout life and the horrible conditions are pretty much exaggerated in the cartoons, anyway. Ralph’s dog chases the creature, waking Ralph. They see the shadow again outside the window and now realize it is a join the army poster.

Personal Rating: 2

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Don’t Give up the Sheep

“Hello, Fred.”

This is the first appearance of Ralph and Sam, and it shows. Sam is erroneously called Ralph, and the real Ralph looks less like a coyote and more like a starving animal.

It starts with Sam going to work. He greets Fred Sheepdog and they switch places for the day. Ralph shows up and plans to get the sheep. He sets the time-clock ahead and this works. Until Sam sees the village clock and runs back to the field. (One thing to keep in mind, Ralph usually gets his prey. He just does not get to eat it.)

3 more scenes deserve mention. Ralph digs under the ground to get the sheep but he gets greedy and takes them all. Sam sees this and rushes down. The wolf grabs him. POW! Ralph uses a rope swing to swing down and get a sheep, bur he grabs Sam. Finally, Sam quits for the day and Fred greets him. Sam starts pounding him and we see it’s really Ralph in disguise. The real Fred shows up and takes over Sam’s Ralph pounding.

Personal Rating: 3

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Feed the Kitty

“Don’t you dare bring one more thing into this house!”

A little kitten comes across a big dog. He tries to frighten her, but she treats him as her bed. Falling for her, Marc Antony takes her with him to her new home. The mistress of the house decides the dog has enough material objects and warns him to not bring in anymore things. So now he must try to keep the kitten hidden. This lady never stops moving and frequently runs into it. Puppy has to pass it off as a toy and a powder puff just to keep it safe.

When she comes into the kitchen, he hides it in the flour bin. Wouldn’t you know it, she is about to make cookies. He tries to save her, but the mistress throws him out. Unbeknownst to him, his kitty crawls out of the bowl but not before he thinks she has been beaten, rolled out, cut into shapes, and baked. The dog is reduced to a blubbering wreck and the woman tries to cheer him up with a cat shaped cookie. (Seriously, who makes cookies shaped like cats?) He puts it on his back and cries, but surprise! She’s alive! The woman finally gets wise and says if he takes care of it, he can keep it. A happy ending for all.

Rating: 5

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Baton Bunny

“Guest conductor: Mr. Bugs Bunny”

The beauty of this short, is that there is no dialogue. We have Bugs trying to conduct a orchestra, but things just don’t seem to go right for him. His cuffs keep sliding along his body and a fly annoys him to no end. Every time he tries to move and fix the problem, the musicians play in accordance with his movements. Bugs always gives them a glare and I can see why. If they are there, then shouldn’t they be professionals who know what to play?

That aside, Bugs is by no means patient in this short. (He has a man thrown out for coughing.) After a staged Native American attack with his ears, Bugs goes crazy trying to kill the fly from earlier. He manages to hit it and bows. To his shock there is no audience. (Traitors.) But wait! There is a sound of clapping. It’s the fly he squished. Bugs bows to his only admirer.

Personal Rating: 3

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The Hypo-Chondri-Cat

“Have you ever operated on a sick cat before, doctor?”

Its a rainy night and Hubie and Bertie have just settled in to their new home, eating cheese by the fire. They run into Claude and a chase ensures. It looks like they are trapped, but an open window sends Claude running to his bed to make sure he did not catch a cold. The mice now know his weakness and decide to torment him. He changes color at their suggestion and is soon begging them for their help.

They get ready for a operation and Claude faints. He has a way, disturbing fever dream (can you say, “extremely creepy?”) and wakes to find the mice crying at what appears to be his grave. He tries to tell them he is alive, but they walk right by. The clock strikes 12 and Hubie recalls that at midnight, ghosts appear. They “now” see Claude and he begs them for their help again. They push him off a cliff and he begins to fly towards cat heaven (Thanks to a balloon) Now filled with an inner peace, he bids the mice farewell. I wonder what happens when he finds out it’s not real?

Personal Rating: 4

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Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century

“Can you do it, Dodgers?”

This is probably the longest title for a Looney Tune made in the golden age. (Its sequel is longer.) And don’t worry. If you forget what you are watching, the short keeps reminding us. I’m sure everyone has seen this one. I mean, George Lucas showed it in certain theaters when “Star Wars” came out, and a clip appears in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

The plot is that in the 24th and a half century, the shaving cream atom (aludium fozdex) is alarmingly low. The only remaining source is on Planet X and Daffy and Marvin are both trying to claim it for their planets. For once, Daffy actually wins this battle but as Porky says, it’s not really a big deal. The fighting has only left a football sized planet left. Also interesting is the fact that this is the only short where Marvin did not appear with Bugs. (He really should have appeared more.)

Personal Rating: 5

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Rabbit Fire

“Sthurvival of the fittest. And besides its fun!”

This is the short that I believe most everyone thinks of when they think of “Looney Tunes.” It defines classic. Most memorable is definitely the duck season/rabbit season line. That will be remembered until time itself stops. As for the plot, it is basically the same as “Rabbit Seasoning” (even though this one came first) It also marks the first time time Bugs and Daffy starred in the same short. (Their first time on screen together was in “Porky Pig’s Feat” but that was just a cameo by Bugs)

As a kid, this was one of the first one I ever saw and to this day I can still remember the joy of seeing it whenever it came on. (You know, back when Cartoon Network was cool, and this stuff was pretty much on every day?)

Personal Rating: 5