Odor-able Kitty is a 1945 Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones.
Title[]
The title is an appropriate play on an "adorable kitty", foreshadowing the cat's disguise as a skunk.
Plot[]
Claude Cat suffers a large amount of abuse as a stray cat, from being kicked by butchers for looking at the meat in the windows, swatted with a broom by housewives, and beaten up by mean bulldogs. Tired of getting pushed around, he gets the idea to become a skunk. Using black and white paint paint, limburger cheese, and garlic to create a fake skunk disguise, Claude manages to scare off his problems around town.
After raiding a butcher's shop, Claude relaxes on a field, happy and full. Unfortunately, its stench attracts the unwanted attention of a French-speaking skunk named Henry, who falls for him. Claude runs from him and hides in a tree, which the skunk manages to find with ease.
The cat runs into town, grabbing a skunk fur scarf to trick the skunk into thinking that it is him instead. The cat climbs onto a tall pillar and warns him that if he takes one step closer, he'll jump to his death. The skunk does not listen, and the cat tosses the scarf off. As the skunk mourns the death of the supposed skunk, the cat sneaks away. This does not work, for as soon as he spots the cat, he cuddles him. Continuing to run, a dog believes that Claude is a skunk, and faints when it sees the real skunk. Finally, Claude disguises himself as Bugs Bunny to fool the skunk, which easily fails. Running is no use as the cat soon finds itself tired and worn out.
The skunk finally captures the painted cat and cuddles with him until his wife taps on his shoulder and screams, "Henry!" Not only is the amorous skunk already married with children, but his French accent disappears when he tries to explain himself to his wife and makes up a poor excuse. He is not believed, and he is whacked on his head. As Henry's wife clobbers her unfaithful husband, Claude wakes up and notices the scene and quickly crawls away. Realizing that his old life as a routinely-abused stray cat was not all bad, he cleans himself up, and happily goes back to a life of being kicked, swatted, and beaten. Claude contentedly states "Ah, this is the life."
Caricatures[]
Availability[]
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 1, Side 2: Firsts
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 2: Firsts
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3, Disc Four (with optional audio commentary by Michael Barrier)
Looney Tunes Collection All Stars Volume 4
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 7, Disc 2
Looney Tunes Collection Volume 3
Streaming[]
Notes[]
- This is the first appearance of Pepé Le Pew.[4][5]
- Chuck Jones, a co-creator for the character, also credited Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce with contributing to the character concept.[6]
- Pepé is known as Henry in this short. He would not get his name until "For Scent-imental Reasons". Additionally, Pepé has a wife and two children, and fakes his French accent. This is the only time this happens; in all other cartoons he is a bachelor and his French accent is genuine.
- This is not part of the typical formula for the Pepé Le Pew series of cartoons, since the character is "unknowingly" attracted to a male cat. Most of the films in the series are "Picaresque stories of seduction and sexual conquest or its failure".[6] Part of the film's twist ending is that Pepé is revealed as an American skunk who fakes his French accent. Given the theme of a married man/skunk attempting the seduction of another male, Ken Jennings suggests this film could be of interest to queer studies. Jennings sees the cat as a cross-dresser.[7]
- In subsequent cartoons since then, Pepe's romantic target would be a female cat e.g. Penelope Pussycat, at least for the most part, except for a few exceptions.
- Pepe would once again be "unknowingly" attracted to a male cat at the ending of "Dog Pounded" nine years later, except that the male cat in question is Sylvester.
- This is the last cartoon to have the PRODUCED BY WARNER BROS. CARTOONS at the opening and RELEASED BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES INC. at the ending titles.
- This is also the final cartoon to use the blue Color Rings of the 1944–45 season.
- A mouse resembling Hubie appears in this cartoon, running out of the butcher's shop yelling "SKUUNKKK!!!!" when Claude (disguised as a skunk) enters the butcher's shop.
- Bugs Bunny also makes a cameo as a costume.
Gallery[]
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References[]
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/catalogofc19723261213libr/page/146/mode/1up?view=theater
- ↑ Jones, Chuck (1989). "The Writers: The Slum Kid, the Scion, and Me", Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist (in en). Farrar Straus Giroux, page 115. ISBN 978-0374123482.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2013/08/odor-able-backgrounds.html
- ↑ Pepe Le Pew. A Looney Webpage. Retrieved on November 2, 2013.
- ↑ Pepe Le Pew: Stinky. Chuck Jones.com. Retrieved on November 2, 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sandler, Kevin S. (1998). "Notes to Pages 134-137", Reading the Rabbit: Explorations in Warner Bros. Animation (in en). Rutgers University Press, page 240–241. ISBN 978-0813525389.
- ↑ Jennings, Ken (2008). Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days (in en). Villard, page 7. ISBN 978-0345499974.
| Pepé Le Pew Cartoons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Odor-able Kitty | |||
| 1947 | Scent-imental over You | |||
| 1948 | Odor of the Day | |||
| 1949 | For Scent-imental Reasons | |||
| 1951 | Scent-imental Romeo | |||
| 1952 | Little Beau Pepé | |||
| 1953 | Wild over You | |||
| 1954 | Dog Pounded • The Cats Bah | |||
| 1955 | Past Perfumance • Two Scent's Worth | |||
| 1956 | Heaven Scent | |||
| 1957 | Touché and Go | |||
| 1959 | Really Scent | |||
| 1960 | Who Scent You? | |||
| 1961 | A Scent of the Matterhorn | |||
| 1962 | Louvre Come Back to Me! | |||
| 1995 | Carrotblanca | |||