The Mouse-Merized Cat

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Blue Ribbon
Original Title

Airdate:
19 October 1946 Blue Ribbon reissue: 26 November 1955

Series:

Merrie Melodies

MPAA Number:	Production Number:	Vitaphone Number:
10799	MM-7-15 1404 (reissue)	1496

Runtime:

6 minutes, 27 seconds (reissue)

Copyright Renewed:

31 October 1973^[1]

Starring:

Babbit and Catstello

Crew

Voice Characterizations:

Mel Blanc
Tedd Pierce (uncredited)
Richard Bickenbach (uncredited)
Sam Wolfe (uncredited)
Robert Lyons (uncredited)^[2]

Director:

Robert McKimson

Written By:

Warren Foster

Producer:

Eddie Selzer (uncredited)

Animated By:

Richard Bickenbach
Cal Dalton
Arthur Davis
Don Williams

Effects Animation:

A.C. Gamer (uncredited)

Layout Artist:

Cornett Wood

Background Artist:

Richard H. Thomas

Film Editor:

Treg Brown (uncredited)

Musician:

Carl Stalling

The Mouse-Merized Cat is a 1946 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson.

Title[]

The title is a play on "mesmerized."

Plot[]

Babbit hypnotizes Catstello who initially resists, but finds himself acting like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Rochester, and then a chicken that lays an egg, and a dog that chases the cat. Babbit and the cat alternately try to hypnotize Catstello, but he turns the tables and hypnotizes Babbit into a cowboy and the cat into a horse. They ride off and crash through a window, leaving him to enjoy his cheese in peace.

Caricatures[]

Availability[]

Streaming[]

Censorship[]

Cartoon Network, Boomerang and The WB cut the scene of Babbit hypnotizing Catstello to act like Rochester receiving a telephone call from Jack Benny.^[3] Cartoon Network USA initially aired this short uncut in the early-to-mid-1990s. In the late-1990s and early-2000s, this scene was cut. During the 2009 New Year's Day Looney Toonormous Marathon, Cartoon Network USA aired this scene uncensored. Whether this was a mistake or a sign that their censors were allowing objectionable content is unknown.
- While the Rochester scene is usually censored on Cartoon Network/Boomerang USA, international Cartoon Network/Boomerang feeds keep this scene uncut.
Despite having a history of editing out Rochester impressions in other cartoons, MeTV airings of this cartoon leave the scene intact.

Notes[]

Much like Frank Tashlin's "Tale of Two Mice" (1945), in this cartoon both Babbit and Catstello are recast as mice wanting to get cheese while avoiding a cat, and has Catstello turning against Babbit in the end. McKimson finished work on that cartoon.
Although the original titles exist, the Blue Ribbon reissue titles were restored on HBO Max instead, likely due to them being in B&W.
The audio of Catstello's Bing Crosby and Jimmy Durante impressions are taken from "Swooner Crooner" and the audio for his Frank Sinatra impression is taken from "Hollywood Canine Canteen".
- Coincidentally, all three cartoons were written by Warren Foster and produced by the same Frank Tashlin/Robert McKimson unit.