Jump to content

A Tale of Two Kitties

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 67.232.131.238 (talk) at 07:13, 23 October 2016. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the 1942 film. For the 2006 film, see Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.
A Tale of Two Kitties
Blue Ribbon reissue title card
Directed byBob Clampett
Produced byLeon Schlesinger
Animation byRod Scribner
Additional Animation:
Robert McKimson (uncr.)
Sid Sutherland (uncr.)
Revalee Chaney (uncr.)
Virgil Ross (uncr.)[1]
Layouts byBob Clampett (uncr.)[1]
Backgrounds byRichard H. Thomas (uncr.)[1]
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Running time
7 minutes (one reel)

A Tale of Two Kitties is an American Merrie Melodies cartoon, released in 1942, notable for the first appearance of a flesh colored canary, who would come to be known as Tweety. It was directed by Bob Clampett, written by Warren Foster, and features music by Carl W. Stalling. It was also the first appearance of Babbit and Catstello, based on the popular comedy duo Abbott and Costello. The title is an obvious pun on the Charles Dickens classic, A Tale of Two Cities.

It is one of many a.a.p.-owned cartoons to fall in the public domain, as United Artists did not renew the copyright in time. It was released to DVD commercially on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5.

Even in this initial appearance, Tweety reveals early on that his cute appearance masks a willingness to be merciless, even sadistic, towards anyone who threatens him. After slipping one of the cats a bomb which explodes (offscreen), the bird remarks, "Aw, da poor putty tat - he cwushed his widdow head!" Followed by a big grin. (This line was patterned after a catchphrase from a Red Skelton character, and would be used in other Warner cartoons, such as Easter Yeggs.)

The bird was unnamed in the short, although at the time the staff called it "Orson".

Cast

Mel Blanc as Tweety and Catstello (uncredited)

Tedd Pierce as Babbit (uncredited)

The animated short.

Influences in other media

I tawt I taw a putty tat!
I did, I taw a putty tat!
  • This short is referenced in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, where Eddie Valiant finds Tweety when he hangs from the pole of a building. Tweety drops Eddie by playing "This Little Piggy" in the exact manner as he does in this short.
  • In the Mighty Mouse short Prehistoric Perils, Oil Can Harry uses the same tactic to drop Pearl Pureheart off a power line.
  • In an episode of The Plucky Duck Show "The Return of Batduck", Plucky says "Is there an insurance salesman in the audience?" as Catstello does in this film.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/bob-clampetts-a-tale-of-two-kitties-1942/
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A_Tale_of_Two_Kitties&oldid=745776451"