A Tale Of Two Kitties
- Studio
- Leon Schlesinger Studios
- Distributor
- Warner Bros.
Synopsis
Two alley cats, Babbitt and Catsello, decide to make a meal out of Orson as he sleeps in his nest atop a telephone pole. The gullible (and loud) Catsello is repeatedly gulled into trying to "get the bird," earning a variety of thrashings from the casually murderous little canary. Catsello finally resorts to an air strike (with a pair of wooden boards for wings), but it's wartime, and Orson has the cat blasted out of the sky by anti-aircraft guns.
Characters
Babbitt, Catsello, Orson (Tweety)
Credits
Directing
- Director
- Robert Clampett
Producing
- Producer
- Leon Schlesinger
Writing
- Writer
- Warren Foster
Animation
- Animator
- Rod Scribner
- Animators, uncredited
- Virgil Ross, Robert McKimson, Sid Sutherland, Rev Chaney
Voices
- Voice
- Tedd Pierce (Babbitt), Mel Blanc (Catsello, Orson)
Music
- Music
- Carl W. Stalling
Production notes
The first appearance of Tweety, here named Orson. Also, the first Tweety cartoon in which Warren Foster was a writer, and the first appearance of Babbitt and Catsello.
As "Orson," Tweety is flesh-colored, not yellow. The two cats are caricatures of Abbott and Costello. The characters and plot are reused in 1945's "A Tale Of Two Mice."
Final line (by Orson, wearing an air raid warden's hat): "Turn out those lights!"
In September of 1943, beginning with A Feud There Was, Warner Bros. began re-releasing select color cartoons in their Blue Ribbon program. Typically the Blue Ribbon reissues received new opening sequences with Blue Ribbon title cards and standardized music. Cartoon production credits were also removed. Between ten and fifteen cartoons were released in any given year, with cartoons coming from as far back as 1935. The reissues continued until the close of the studio in the 1960's.
All Blue Ribbon cartoons were released as "Merrie Melodie" cartoons regardless of the original series. The first "Looney Tunes" short to be included in the Blue Ribbon series was The Hep Cat, which was added in 1949. The only current prints of many of these cartoons are the Blue Ribbon releases, although restoration of these cartoons with original elements and titles is always ongoing.
As "Orson," Tweety is flesh-colored, not yellow. The two cats are caricatures of Abbott and Costello. The characters and plot are reused in 1945's "A Tale Of Two Mice."
Final line (by Orson, wearing an air raid warden's hat): "Turn out those lights!"
In September of 1943, beginning with A Feud There Was, Warner Bros. began re-releasing select color cartoons in their Blue Ribbon program. Typically the Blue Ribbon reissues received new opening sequences with Blue Ribbon title cards and standardized music. Cartoon production credits were also removed. Between ten and fifteen cartoons were released in any given year, with cartoons coming from as far back as 1935. The reissues continued until the close of the studio in the 1960's.
All Blue Ribbon cartoons were released as "Merrie Melodie" cartoons regardless of the original series. The first "Looney Tunes" short to be included in the Blue Ribbon series was The Hep Cat, which was added in 1949. The only current prints of many of these cartoons are the Blue Ribbon releases, although restoration of these cartoons with original elements and titles is always ongoing.
Pictures
Reviews
A Tale Of Two Kitties
I prefer the naked, psychotic Tweety.
This marked the debut of Tweety. Except he was called Orson in this cartoon (although never called on by name). However, Clampett's main focus of the cartoon was on the two cats making sure they resembled Abbott and Costello as much as possible. This was definitely accomplished. Those who have seen this cartoon know that it looks as though the real Bud and Lou climbed through the looking glass into the toon universe and became animated cats. The central joke of these two was that they wanted to catch a bird but would not succeed. Clampett and his staff thought it would be the funniest if the bird they were after was a supposedly helpless new born bird. So, they designed this pink, lumpy little mess of a bird that talked like a baby and fought like a marine.
But, something else happened in this cartoon. As perfect and thoroughly entertaining as Babbitt and Catstello are, the little bird managed to upstage them a little simply by saying one little phrase "I tawt I taw a putty tat." Tweety is so secure in his ability to outwit these cats that he treats them like an illusion at first and therefore can relax. Audiences were elated by this display of chutzpah. By accident, they had stumbled upon a second "Bugs Bunny"-like figure that would re-establish WB's place in the industry, on top in the polls.
It should also be noted that this is the first time Tweety dealt with two adversaries at once. A feat he would repeat in A Gruesome Twosome, Putty Tat Trouble, Tweet and Sour, Catty Cornered, and Trick or Tweet.
A Tale Of Two Kitties
Contains one of the best moments in cartoons of all time. Specifically, its jab at the censors and how easy it is to KNOW what Catsello is talking about: Catsello is at the top of the pole at Babbit's insistance to grab Tweety (Orson); Babbit says, "Give me the bird, give me the bird!" Catstello look into the camera and says directly to the audience, "If the Hays Office would only let me, I'd give him the bird all right!" This KILLS me every time I see it. Pure comedic genius.