The Jet Cage is a 1962 Looney Tunes short directed by Friz Freleng.
Plot[]
Tweety sits in his house, a bird cage, looking at the birds through the window. Tweety yearns dearly to fly freely like other birds, but Granny will not allow him to do so. This is considering his safety, as Sylvester is always lurking around waiting for a chance to catch and eat Tweety.
Granny reads a newspaper advertisement by Jet Age Technology for a $12.95 Flying Bird-Cage, which would allow birds like Tweety to fly safely. Granny, who understands Tweety's longing for freedom, buys the cage and presents it to Tweety. This enables Tweety to fly around outdoors without leaving the security of his cage.
Sylvester is at first taken aback at the sight of Tweety flying safely, piloting the jet-powered cage like an airplane. Two crows also watch in awe. "And all this time, I've been doing it the hard way," one crow remarks. Sylvester's awe is short-lived, however, as he resolves to ground Tweety's cage and get his round-headed meal; his eyes rolling around to follow his every move, before the cat's expression turns grim with determination.
Each of the following attempts are in vain, however:
- An attempt to snare the cage with a butterfly net. The jet-powered cage is strong enough to drag the butterfly net, along with the cat hanging to it — until he crashes into a light pole.
- After Tweety comes in for flying instructions, "I forgot what to do in case of fog," Sylvester sneaks inside the cage. Once the cage is back in the air, Tweety activates the hatch, which sends Sylvester, all set to strike (AKA falling!), down into a brook.
- Use of a rocket bomb to intercept the flying object of interest. The bomb simply flies back at the cat.
- A horseshoe-shaped magnet tied to a fishing rod. While the cage momentarily struggles against the magnet's pull, and the puddy tat tries to reel in his meal, Tweety manages to get the cage to break free. Sylvester is dragged into downtown traffic and ultimately an oncoming bus.
- Sylvester using large flaps to fly beside Tweety. Sylvester gloats, mocking the bird for thinking he outsmarted him, but Tweety points out that Sylvester has his hands full. The cat tosses the flaps aside and shoots back, "Oh, yeah? Well now I haven't!" ... just before he realizes he's in for another big fall! Meanwhile, the flaps flutter downward.
Sylvester, limping on crutches and wrapped in bandages, decides to joins the U.S. Air Force, vowing to earn his wings and resentfully threatening to get Tweety once and for all.
Availability[]
Bugs and Tweety: Watch the Birdie (1997 dubbed version) (only in PAL regions)
Looney Tunes Presents Tweety: Home Tweet Home (1997 dubbed version)
Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 7)
I Love Tweety: Volume 1 (restored with DVNR)
Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s Volume 2, Disc 2 (part of The Road Runner Show episode, 16mm TV print)
Streaming[]
Censorship[]
- The ABC version of this cartoon cut the sequence where Sylvester builds a Nike rocket to capture Tweety, which predictably backfires.[1]
Notes[]
- This was the last cartoon from the Golden age of animation by Friz Freleng to feature Tweety, as the latter's final short "Hawaiian Aye Aye" would be directed by Gerry Chiniquy.
- Milt Franklyn died of a heart attack while composing the cartoon's score. William Lava finished the score, starting with the scene when Sylvester tries to catch Tweety with a butterfly net. He is not credited in this cartoon, but the difference in music is noticeable.
- When the shot of Sylvester's face, where his pupils are circling to observe Tweety, fades out, the music composition changes from Franklyn to Lava.
- This cartoon marks the final usage of "Powerhouse" in the Golden Age; the Powerhouse A section plays on the cartoon's title card.
- This is also one of the few cartoons where Tweety does not say his signature catchphrase "I tawt I taw a putty tat" along with "Snow Business", "Heir-Conditioned", "Trip for Tat" and "The Last Hungry Cat".
- Sylvester does not have a speaking role until the scene with the flaps.
- This is the last cartoon of the 1960s where Sylvester does not have the white tip on his tail, which had been missing since "Mouse and Garden". In his next appearance, in "Mexican Cat Dance" with Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester's tail has the white tip again.
- The animation of Sylvester building himself a rocket is taken from "Ain't She Tweet", while his being dragged down the street by his fishing rod through city traffic is reused from "A Bird in a Bonnet".
Gallery[]
TV Title Cards[]
References[]
External links[]
| Tweety Cartoons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | A Tale of Two Kitties | |||
| 1944 | Birdy and the Beast | |||
| 1945 | A Gruesome Twosome | |||
| 1947 | Tweetie Pie | |||
| 1948 | I Taw a Putty Tat | |||
| 1949 | Bad Ol' Putty Tat | |||
| 1950 | Home, Tweet Home • All a Bir-r-r-d • Canary Row | |||
| 1951 | Putty Tat Trouble • Room and Bird • Tweety's S.O.S. • Tweet Tweet Tweety | |||
| 1952 | Gift Wrapped • Ain't She Tweet • A Bird in a Guilty Cage | |||
| 1953 | Snow Business • Fowl Weather • Tom Tom Tomcat • A Street Cat Named Sylvester • Catty Cornered | |||
| 1954 | Dog Pounded • Muzzle Tough • Satan's Waitin' | |||
| 1955 | Sandy Claws • Tweety's Circus • Red Riding Hoodwinked • Heir-Conditioned | |||
| 1956 | Tweet and Sour • Tree Cornered Tweety • Tugboat Granny | |||
| 1957 | Tweet Zoo • Tweety and the Beanstalk • Birds Anonymous • Greedy for Tweety | |||
| 1958 | A Pizza Tweety-Pie • A Bird in a Bonnet | |||
| 1959 | Trick or Tweet • Tweet and Lovely • Tweet Dreams | |||
| 1960 | Hyde and Go Tweet • Trip for Tat | |||
| 1961 | The Rebel Without Claws • The Last Hungry Cat | |||
| 1962 | The Jet Cage | |||
| 1964 | Hawaiian Aye Aye | |||
| 2011 | I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat | |||