A Mutt in a Rut is a 1959 Looney Tunes short directed by Robert McKimson.
Plot[]
Elmer is leaving for a day of work on a Saturday, promising to arrive home early. He and his dog part ways as the dog longingly watches him leave for the day.
After he turns on the television, Rover sees an odd show called The Dog Lovers Hour, about a man named Carlton Canine discussing about neglectful dog owners who mistreat their dogs and concludes that when a dog is old and outlived his usefulness. His owner will take them out, claiming to go hunting, then shoot the dog - much to Rover's horror and shock. After he looks over to a picture of Elmer, Rover starts to think that Elmer is a neglectful owner, much to his anger. So when Elmer gets home, Rover begins to behave in a hostile manner, such as kicking Elmer in the rear, laying on the bed, and throwing his slippers in the trash. Elmer throws Rover out of the house, refusing to let him back in until he stops misbehaving.
Elmer then sits down with a newspaper to see that Hunting Season has begun, so Elmer wonders if maybe Rover just wants to spend time with him due to not doing anything with Elmer for a while and he decided to go out hunting. He gets up to grab his gun, unaware that Rover is watching him. He happens to overhear what Elmer says and worries he'll be shooting him on this hunting trip, so he starts to make plans on how to rid of Elmer first...
While out, Rover makes multiple attempts on Elmer's life after Elmer tries to get him to get in front of him so that he can chase out some wild animals for him to attempt hunting. First he tries a simple method involving shooting Elmer, but his aiming makes him shoot a wild grizzly bear in the cave Elmer happened to be standing near. Elmer sees the dead bear and is very happy that Rover saved him, but when he goes to see him Rover runs off to attempt a second kill, which consists of a wild cat in a box. Elmer decides to sit down and rest, but when Rover releases the violent, wild cat, it attacks him instead of Elmer.
Elmer, who remains oblivious of his dog's actual murderous intentions, is very happy that Rover has been helping to keep him safe all day, but Rover refuses to believe he really cares about him and tries a third, and final time to rid of his "neglectful owner". So he sets up a bomb, but notices it wont go off. Rover gets up to check on it and sees that the line connecting the explosive to the trigger box has disconnected. So Rover puts them together, causing the bomb to go off. Elmer once again thanks Rover for being a good dog, causing Rover to finally realize and admit he was wrong all this about his owner as Elmer showers him with praises.
A very happy Elmer brings Rover back home and sits him down on the chair to rest his now broken leg. He turns on the television and goes to get him a drink. Once the television is switched on, a repeat airing of The Dog Lovers Hour is shown on TV, with Carlton Canine continuing to say how bad owners are, much to Rover's anger and aggravation, as the dog realizes that everything Carlton said is utter baloney. As Elmer returns, he notices Rover is missing and sees him attacking Carlton on television!
Availability[]
Foghorn Leghorn & Friends: Barnyard Bigmouth
Looney Tunes Super Stars 3-Pack, Disc 2
Looney Tunes Super Stars Family Multi-Feature, Disc 2
Streaming[]
Censorship[]
- The version aired on ABC's The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show cut the part where Rover tries to blow up Elmer with some buried dynamite, only to get blown up when he connects two disconnected wires on the detonator.[1]
- An earlier version aired on CBS' The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show left in the dynamite part but cut the part where Rover tries to shoot Elmer but accidentally kills a grizzly bear.[1]
Notes[]
- The dog on the title card is colored differently from Rover, the dog in the cartoon.
- Rover in this cartoon resembles Barnyard Dawg, albeit with all-white fur and no brown markings on his head and back aside from his ears and tail.
- Barnyard Dawg previously appeared as Elmer's dog Rover in "Don't Axe Me" the previous year.
- Though Rover does not physically speak in this cartoon, his inner monologue can be heard in three scenes, voiced by Mel Blanc.
- The scene where Rover releases a wild cat to attack Elmer but ends up being attacked instead is similar to a scene in the Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog cartoon "Don't Give Up the Sheep" (1953).
- This is the last solo Elmer Fudd cartoon released during Arthur Q. Bryan's lifetime.
Gallery[]
