A Bird in a Bonnet

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A Bird in a Bonnet

Directed By: Friz Freleng Produced By: John W. Burton Released: September 27, 1958 Series: Merrie Melodies Story: Warren Foster Animation: Gerry Chiniquy Art Davis Virgil Ross Layouts: Hawley Pratt Backgrounds: Tom O'Loughlin Film Editor: Treg Brown Voiced By: Mel Blanc June Foray Daws Butler Music: John Seely Starring: Sylvester Tweety Granny Preceded By: Weasel While You Work Succeeded By: Hook, Line and Stinker A Bird in a Bonnet (1958)

A Bird in a Bonnet is a 1958 Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng.

Plot

In New York City, Granny is in a hat shop looking for a new hat. The saleslady has her try on several hats, but Granny seems unsatisfied with each choice (a Napoleon chapeau makes her imitate Napoleon's hand in coat pose and chuckle "Not tonight, Josephine!"). At the same time, Sylvester is chasing Tweety outside and Tweety makes his way into the hat shop. Just as Tweety hides at a table, Sylvester runs in and tries to rummage through the hats to look for him, but the saleslady catches him in the act, and using the broom, chases him out. Just as the saleslady comes to the table where Tweety is hiding, Tweety stands real still on a hat, making the saleslady think that he's a cute little stuffed bird on a hat. After Granny tries it on, she thinks the same thing and buys the hat.

Tweety soon realizes the joys of being said "stuffed bird" has a two-fold purpose, the second being that it is perfect refuge from Sylvester. But as usual, the puddy tat does everything to get at the bird, first following Granny out of the hat shop. The first time, Granny turns around, but sees Sylvester sleeping peacefully. The second time, Granny quickly gets wise and swats the cat with her umbrella.

Other failed attempts for Sylvester to get Tweety include:

• Perching himself atop a delivery truck. Just as he is about to grab dinner, the truck speeds away, requiring the cat to take the crosstown bus to return downtown. Sylvester then barely avoids getting hit by an oncoming car, causing his heart to beat fast and his fur to go white.
• Hiding inside an English gentleman's hat. The man walks up beside Granny and makes a snide remark, just as Sylvester is making a grab for Tweety. Granny uses her umbrella to clout the man and — unwitting — the cat.
• Following Granny into Lacy's Department Store (a play on Macy's) and into an elevator. The cat's tail gets stuck in the elevator door, and when he finally disembarks the elevator, his tail has been stretched from the store's eight floors.
• At J.C. Denny's (a pun on J.C. Penney), the cat snatching Granny's hat with the obvious intent of getting Tweety. Granny follows the thieving cat outside, but Sylvester makes his getaway by putting the hat on and using a balloon to float to safety ... until Tweety pops the balloon. The hat glides to the street undamaged (where Granny retrieves it), while Sylvester plummets into a manhole ("Whoo-hoo-hoo. Hey, look at this, Ralph! A pussycat!" says an Ed Norton-esque sewer worker).
• Later, using a bellows to blow Granny's hat from her head, causing it to go onto the street. Sylvester barely avoids getting hit by several cars and recovers the hat, but he is struck by a motorscooter driving from an alley. Granny manages to retrieve the hat safely.

Sylvester then uses a fishing rod and reel to latch onto the hat. Granny gets into a taxi, and Sylvester is pulled away by the speeding driver. After being an unwilling car skiier for several city blocks (and nearly getting hit by two trucks), Sylvester eventually realizes he needs to reel himself in ... which he does to open the taxi's sunroof and grab Tweety. Just after saying, "Now I've got you, buster!" the car drives into the Holland Tunnel, where the cat hits his head against the side of the entrance; the bird flies out of his hand and back safely onto the taxicab's roof. "You know, I wose more puddy tats that way!" remarks Tweety.

Availability

• (2001) DVD - I Love Tweety: Volume 3 (restored)

Censorship

• 
  On the ABC version of this cartoon, a brief scene of Granny whacking Sylvester with her umbrella was cut with a very obvious jump cut.

Notes

• "A Bird in a Bonnet" is one of six cartoons scored by John Seely of Capitol Records using stock music from the Hi-Q library because of a musicians' strike in 1958; the others are "Weasel While You Work", "Hip Hip-Hurry!", "Hook, Line and Stinker", "Gopher Broke", and "Pre-Hysterical Hare". This cartoon is the only Friz Freleng cartoon to have a Seely score; two others were directed by Chuck Jones (both starring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner), while the remaining three were helmed by Robert McKimson.
• On an episode of ABC's The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show, this cartoon has been re-titled as "Bird in a Bonnet", as pictured in the gallery below.
• Although this short is not available on any home media format in the United States (as recently as 2015), this short has been released fully restored and remastered as part of the I Love Tweety Volume 3 Japanese DVD in 2001.
• This is the only Sylvester and Tweety cartoon to be scored by John Seely
• On the Boomerang SVOD, this short is unrestored, despite being restored already for a previous release.

Gallery

TV Title Cards

The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show (Final Season)

The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show

Preceded by A Pizza Tweety-Pie

Tweety and Sylvester cartoons 1958

Succeeded by Trick or Tweet