Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog

Sorry it has been a while, just been busy.

I wish more people knew about these two. They are really hilarious. While most Looney Tunes  who are always paired together try to kill each other, these two are best friends. They wake up greet each other and go to work. Sam’s job is to guard a flock of sheep while Ralph’s is to steal them. Thus, they fight and bicker but its not because of malice but because their jobs are so different. Ralph also looks familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it…

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

Marc Antony and Pussyfoot

If there is one thing I hate, it is cats. To me, they are fat, ugly, annoying, and they stink to boot. Cartoons are a different manner, and this includes the cutest Looney Tune ever: Pussyfoot! She (I’m pretty sure it’s a she, even if the shorts use masculine pronouns.) is just a baby kitten who does not know any better and ambles around having adventures.

Her “big brother” is a bulldog named Marc Antony. He at first tried to scare her, but when she used his back as a bed, he fell for her and kept her as his pet. Since she is only a baby however, he must protect her from everything. From his master, to Claude Cat he has his paws full. But at the end of the day, her love and affection makes his efforts worthwhile. I think everyone needs a Pussyfoot in their life.

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

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

Hubie and Bertie

Real mice are not that smart. I say that with kindness, but its true. These two change that unfair stereotype…mostly. Hubie is quite smart. As for his friend…well, I would not say he’s dumb just…slow. If you tell him what to do, he can do it. That’s a good thing because I enjoy seeing them drive cats insane.

This also might just be the start of cartoons where cats wouldn’t just get beat up by mice, but would get outsmarted by them. (Don’t quote me on that.) In case you ever have trouble telling them apart, just remember Blanc voiced Hubie and Freberg voiced Bertie. (That, and Bertie has huge buck teeth.)

Frigid Hare

“Jumping ice cubes! Its freezing!”

Out of the two shorts that Playboy Penguin appeared in, this is my favorite. Bugs is on his way for a vacation and makes a wrong turn at Albuquerque and ends up at the south pole. There he saves a penguin from an… Eskimo? (Never mind. I’m not going to mention he’s in the wrong hemisphere.) Now the little bird is smitten with him and we see the cutest scene ever! (I want to hold him) Bugs throws him away, and sees him get nabbed by the Inuit. Realizing he must do the right thing he disguises himself as a woman again, and manages to rescue the penguin.

Upon the guy’s realization that his dreamboat is a rabbit, the chase begins. They end up dangling over a cliff where Playboy returns the favor and saves bugs. (The Eskimo is carried off by a whale that has a vertical tail. WRONG!) Bugs wants nothing more to do with the bird and just wants to get to his vacation spot. Until he learns that the days down there are 6 months long! We wont see bugs again until 1951. (Not literally.)

Personal Rating: 3

For Scent-imental Reasons

“Touching, is it not?”

This may not be the first Pepe cartoon but it is Penelope’s, and it won an Oscar. (the only Looney Tune that won an Oscar and was not directed by Friz Freleng) We see a man going to open his perfume shop for the day. Only to find Le Pew in there already. The shop owner is a coward and won’t even try to get him out. So he has to go whine to some guard like character, but even he wants nothing to do with it. So the shop owner throws in a cat that is purring by his legs. (What a dick.)

Upon being launched in, a bottle of white dye gets poured on her back, and cartoon history is born. The skunk mistakes her for one of his species and a chase ensures. One gag is that she is locked in a glass room and they both pantomime talking. (The only time I recall her ever communicating) In the end, they both fall out a window and land in different substances. Pepe in paint that apparently masks his scent, because now Penelope is chasing him! We iris out on Pepe wondering if he is too attractive.

Personal Rating: 4

Pepe le Pew and Penelope Pussycat

This is such an original idea! This skunk first named Henry, then Stinky finally got his name in his third (and Oscar winning) cartoon. His third one coincidentally had the first appearance of a female cat who would get a white stripe down her back, and have her mistaken for a skunk. This would be popular and they would go on to many other starring shorts. Penelope can not talk apparently, or perhaps Pepe’s odor has melted her tongue away. I would not be surprised.

I unfortunately have not seen many of their cartoons, but the ones i have seen are pure genius. Besides Penelope (or Fabrette as she was once called) Pepe has also chased a male cat, a female chihuahua, and Sylvester. Penelope pretty much always stayed with Pepe. Except for her grand talking appearance in “Carrotblanca.”

Haredevil Hare

“I’m alone on the moon!”

In the cartoon that was the first appearance of our favorite martian, we find Bugs being forced to be the first rabbit to be sent into space. He is reluctant at first until he sees all the carrots being loaded into the ship. Once on the moon he encounters Marvin (who has a way different voice) preparing to blow up the earth. Bugs takes the infamous illudium pu 36 explosive space modulator and Marvin’s reserves (or his dog K-9) is sent to retrieve it. Bugs and the dog end up in a comedic embrace and Bugs makes his getaway. He then returns the explosive to the martians attached to a detonator. Bugs lowers the plunger and finally the scientists get through to him and ask for a statement for the press. Bugs response is “GET ME OUT OF HERE!” All that’s left of the moon is a sliver and Bugs… with the two martians hanging on to him for dear life.

Personal Rating: 3