Feed the Kitty
Encyclopedia
Feed the Kitty is a Merrie Melodies
cartoon directed by Chuck Jones
and written by Michael Maltese
, in which bulldog Marc Antony
(referred to as Marc Anthony in this cartoon) adopts a small cat, Pussyfoot
(not officially named in this cartoon), and tries to hide it from his owner. The cartoon was released theatrically on February 2, 1952, and in 1994 was voted #36 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons
of all time by members of the animation field.
Marc Anthony, a massive-chested bulldog, tries to intimidate a cute little stray kitten with his ferocious barking and grimacing. Not only is the kitten not frightened, it climbs right up on the dog's back and prepares a bed for itself in his fur. Despite wincing at its kneading, Marc instantly falls for the sleeping kitten and decides to adopt it, bringing it home with him.
Upon his arrival, his human owner (voiced by Bea Benaderet
), tired of picking up his things, tells him not to bring one more thing inside the house. Much of the cartoon centers on the kitten continually getting into things around the house and coming very close to alerting Marc's owner of its presence, with the bulldog employing numerous tactics to hide or disguise it as common household items. As his owner becomes increasingly confused by his seemingly odd behavior, the kitten continues to play.
After a while, Marc Anthony takes the kitten into the kitchen and attempts to scold it, but when he hears his owner walking toward the kitchen, he hastily hides the kitten in a flour bin and tries to look innocent. Growing tired of his antics, his owner pushes him into his basket and tells him to stay there while she bakes cookies. He watches as the lady takes some flower out of the bin, and becomes terrified when he realizes that the kitten is in the measuring cup. She pours the flour (and the kitten) into a mixing bowl and prepares to use an electric mixer. The bulldog tries several times to thwart her, finally spraying his face with whipped cream to make himself appear rabid
, resulting in his exasperated owner throwing him out of the house. While she is taking him outside, the kitten climbs out of the bowl and hides behind a box of soap flakes to clean itself up.
Marc Anthony, not realizing that the kitten has escaped, watches through a window as his owner mixes the cookie batter, rolls out the dough, cuts it into shapes and places the cookies in the oven. At each phase of the process, the poor bulldog becomes increasingly distressed until he finally collapses in tears, literally crying a puddle in the back yard. His owner comes out a short time later and, thinking he is crying over being disciplined, lets him back inside and tells him he's been punished enough. She attempts to console him by giving him a cookie in the shape of a cat. Stunned, Marc Anthony takes the cookie and places it on his back where the kitten had slept earlier, walks a short distance, then breaks down crying once again.
The kitten then walks up and meows at him. Marc Anthony is immediately overjoyed to see his friend safe and sound, picks the kitten up and kisses it, then suddenly realizes that his owner is watching. He vainly tries to disguise the kitten like he did earlier, but she simply stands there tapping her foot. He finally begs at his mistress's feet, and to his surprise, she allows him to keep the kitten, sternly telling him that he's in charge of caring for it, cleaning up after it, etc. The dog, in turn, glares sternly at the kitten in the manner of a disciplinarian, but it simply purrs at him and climbs onto his back once again. As it kneads his fur and curls up to sleep, he smiles contentedly and tucks it in.
DVD box set, supplemented with an audio commentary
by Greg Ford and a music-only audio track. It is also available as a bonus feature (and was discussed as an example of how Jones used personality in animation) on the DVD release of the PBS documentary
entitled Extremes & Inbetweens: A Life In Animation about the life and career of director Chuck Jones
. It is also available on the Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 1 DVD box set and the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1
Blu-ray box set.
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
cartoon directed by Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
and written by Michael Maltese
Michael Maltese
Michael "Mike" Maltese was a long-time storyboard artist and screenwriter for classic animated cartoon shorts.-Career:...
, in which bulldog Marc Antony
Marc Antony and Pussyfoot
Marc Antony and Pussyfoot are animated characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons...
(referred to as Marc Anthony in this cartoon) adopts a small cat, Pussyfoot
Marc Antony and Pussyfoot
Marc Antony and Pussyfoot are animated characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons...
(not officially named in this cartoon), and tries to hide it from his owner. The cartoon was released theatrically on February 2, 1952, and in 1994 was voted #36 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons
The 50 Greatest Cartoons
The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals is a 1994 book by animation historian Jerry Beck, consisting of articles about, and rankings of fifty highly-regarded animated short films made in North America, as well as many other notable cartoons. It generated a significant...
of all time by members of the animation field.
Plot
This cartoon is the first of a short series directed by Jones and using the characters of Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot.Marc Anthony, a massive-chested bulldog, tries to intimidate a cute little stray kitten with his ferocious barking and grimacing. Not only is the kitten not frightened, it climbs right up on the dog's back and prepares a bed for itself in his fur. Despite wincing at its kneading, Marc instantly falls for the sleeping kitten and decides to adopt it, bringing it home with him.
Upon his arrival, his human owner (voiced by Bea Benaderet
Bea Benaderet
Bea Benaderet was an American actress born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, California. She is best remembered for her wide variety of television work, which included a starring role in the 1960s television series Petticoat Junction and Green Acres as Shady Rest Hotel owner Kate...
), tired of picking up his things, tells him not to bring one more thing inside the house. Much of the cartoon centers on the kitten continually getting into things around the house and coming very close to alerting Marc's owner of its presence, with the bulldog employing numerous tactics to hide or disguise it as common household items. As his owner becomes increasingly confused by his seemingly odd behavior, the kitten continues to play.
After a while, Marc Anthony takes the kitten into the kitchen and attempts to scold it, but when he hears his owner walking toward the kitchen, he hastily hides the kitten in a flour bin and tries to look innocent. Growing tired of his antics, his owner pushes him into his basket and tells him to stay there while she bakes cookies. He watches as the lady takes some flower out of the bin, and becomes terrified when he realizes that the kitten is in the measuring cup. She pours the flour (and the kitten) into a mixing bowl and prepares to use an electric mixer. The bulldog tries several times to thwart her, finally spraying his face with whipped cream to make himself appear rabid
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
, resulting in his exasperated owner throwing him out of the house. While she is taking him outside, the kitten climbs out of the bowl and hides behind a box of soap flakes to clean itself up.
Marc Anthony, not realizing that the kitten has escaped, watches through a window as his owner mixes the cookie batter, rolls out the dough, cuts it into shapes and places the cookies in the oven. At each phase of the process, the poor bulldog becomes increasingly distressed until he finally collapses in tears, literally crying a puddle in the back yard. His owner comes out a short time later and, thinking he is crying over being disciplined, lets him back inside and tells him he's been punished enough. She attempts to console him by giving him a cookie in the shape of a cat. Stunned, Marc Anthony takes the cookie and places it on his back where the kitten had slept earlier, walks a short distance, then breaks down crying once again.
The kitten then walks up and meows at him. Marc Anthony is immediately overjoyed to see his friend safe and sound, picks the kitten up and kisses it, then suddenly realizes that his owner is watching. He vainly tries to disguise the kitten like he did earlier, but she simply stands there tapping her foot. He finally begs at his mistress's feet, and to his surprise, she allows him to keep the kitten, sternly telling him that he's in charge of caring for it, cleaning up after it, etc. The dog, in turn, glares sternly at the kitten in the manner of a disciplinarian, but it simply purrs at him and climbs onto his back once again. As it kneads his fur and curls up to sleep, he smiles contentedly and tucks it in.
Availability
Feed the Kitty is available on DVD on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on October 28, 2003. It contains 56 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements...
DVD box set, supplemented with an audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
by Greg Ford and a music-only audio track. It is also available as a bonus feature (and was discussed as an example of how Jones used personality in animation) on the DVD release of the PBS documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
entitled Extremes & Inbetweens: A Life In Animation about the life and career of director Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
. It is also available on the Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 1 DVD box set and the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1 is a Blu-ray box set announced by Warner Home Video. It was released on November 15, 2011. It contains 50 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements.-Disc 1:-Behind the Tunes:...
Blu-ray box set.
See also
- Looney TunesLooney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1950–1959)
- Marc Antony and PussyfootMarc Antony and PussyfootMarc Antony and Pussyfoot are animated characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons...