Birds Anonymous

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Birds Anonymous

Directed By:		Friz Freleng
Produced By:		Eddie Selzer
Released:		August 10, 1957
Series:		Merrie Melodies
Story:		Warren Foster
Animation:		Gerry Chiniquy Art Davis Virgil Ross
Layouts:		Hawley Pratt
Backgrounds:		Boris Gorelick
Film Editor:		Treg Brown
Voiced By:		Mel Blanc
Music:		Milt Franklyn
Starring:		Sylvester Tweety Clarence B.A. Cats Sam
Preceded By:		Tabasco Road
Succeeded By:		Ducking the Devil

Sylvester_and_Tweety_E66_–_Birds_Anonymous — Sylvester and Tweety E66 – Birds Anonymous

Birds Anonymous is a 1957 Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng.

Plot

Sylvester catches Tweety and is about to eat him when Clarence advises against it. He claims it will lead to addiction and hands Sylvester a business card for Birds Anonymous. Sylvester goes to a meeting and hears the testimony of several cats and decides to kick the habit. Back home, he turns on the television, but a cooking program featuring a roast bird tempts him. He turns on the radio to distract himself, but it plays "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob-bob-bobbin' Along". He handcuffs himself to the radiator so he can't reach Tweety, but desire overcomes him and he pulls it right off the floor. He grabs the bird but just as he is about to pop it in his mouth, Clarence shoots a plunger in Sylvester's face to stop him.

That night, Sylvester can't sleep because he is in withdrawals. "Just one," he rants, "I'll quit after just one more." He grabs Tweety and Clarence stops him again by pouring alum in his mouth, which makes him pucker so much that he physically cannot fit Tweety inside. Sylvester starts to cry about his situation, so Clarence demonstrates how to love birds without eating them. He plants a kiss on Tweety's head, but the taste of the bird overcomes him, and he starts chasing Tweety himself. Sylvester finally intervenes and stops him.

Availability

VHS - The Looney Tunes Video Show, Volume 9
VHS - The Bodyguard (United Kingdom only)
VHS - A Salute to Friz Freleng
VHS - Looney Tunes Presents: Tweety: Tweet and Lovely
VHS - Stark Raving Looneys
VHS - Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 13: Comic Cat-Tastrophies
DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3, Disc 4
DVD - Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection
DVD - Looney Tunes Super Stars' Tweety & Sylvester: Feline Fwenzy
DVD - Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection: Looney Tunes
Blu-ray, DVD - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc 2
Streaming - Boomerang
Streaming - HBO Max

Notes

This cartoon won the 1957 Academy Award for best animated short subject. Before producer Eddie Selzer died, he gave the Oscar to Mel Blanc. The Oscar is now with Mel Blanc's family.^{[citation needed|date=]}

This cartoon was included in Bugs Bunny's Easter Special, Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet, and Friz Freleng's Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (edited for time), which names the unnamed cat Clarence.
Unlike most Warner Bros. cartoons reissued during the 1959-64 season, the original closing title is kept. This is most likely because many of the last cartoons to be reissued with altered opening titles say "COPYRIGHT 1957 BY THE VITAPHONE CORP" instead of "COPYRIGHT 1957 BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES INC.", because Vitaphone dissolved in 1959.