For Scent-imental Reasons
Encyclopedia
For Scent-imental Reasons is a Warner Bros.
Looney Tunes
short released in 1949. It was directed by Chuck Jones
, written by Michael Maltese
, and featured the characters Pepe Le Pew
and Penelope Pussycat (all voices were done by Mel Blanc
). It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It is the first ever Chuck Jones
directed cartoon to win this award from the Academy.
The perfume store owner cries out that he will now be bankrupt. He then notices a black female cat (not named in this short, the black cat character is later identified in Carrotblanca
as Penelope Pussycat) rubbing against his legs saying "Le mew, Le purr." The shop owner picks up the feline and flings her into the store, ordering her to remove the skunk from the premises. As is part of the running gag of how a female black cat is believed by Pepe to be "le femme skunk fatale", a bottle of white hair dye spills from a table and runs down the head, back and tail of the cat (Other shorts have her accidentally getting white paint from her head to the tip of her tail through it being spilled on her, squeezing under a freshly painted fence or railing, or on occasion, painting the skunk-like stripe deliberately to avoid abuse from humans who do not like stray cats). Pepe Le Pew immediately sees her and mistakes her for a skunk.
The female cat smells Pepe's odor and immediately tries to run away, chased by Pepe. As she attempts to wiggle free as Pepe tells her things such as, "it is love at sight first, no?," and "we will make beautiful music together." Just before Pepe tries to kiss her, she breaks free. She climbs into the sink in an attempt to wash the stripe and the smell off but is unsuccessful. She runs to a window and tries to open it, but it is stuck. She finally takes refuge inside a locked glass cabinet. Pepe first tries to lure her out sweetly, then demands through hand signals and expressions she come out of the cabinet. She refuses, indicating that it is due to his odor. In the original short, Pepe Le Pew pulls out a gun and holds it up to his head, then walks out of sight and fires the weapon, presumably killing himself. This scene was edited out for many years, (see Censorship for details), but later restored. Panicked, the female cat rushes out, directly into Pepe's arms. He says to her, "I missed, fortunately for you," and begins attempting to kiss her once again. The chase continues until Pepe finds her on the windowsill and says that she is trying to prove her love for him by committing suicide, but that he will save her. Pepe grabs for her, but she slips through his arms. Pepe then calls out, "Vive l'amour, we die together!" and steps off the window ledge. The female cat falls into a barrel of water under a rainspout, while Pepe lands in a can of blue paint.
When Pepe climbs out he is blue, and he sees the ragged-looking, sneezing wet cat beside him with the white skunk-like stripe washed off and does not recognize what moments earlier was the object of his extreme desire. He asks if she has seen a beautiful young lady skunk, then wanders off to find her. As he calls out to his "lady skunk", the soaked black cat watches his muscular blue form walking away and her heart begins to pound. When Pepe goes back into the perfume shop to look for the female skunk, he hears the door shut and the lock behind him. When he turns, he sees the drenched female cat leering at him and begins to panic. She drops the key to the lock down her neckline as the startled Pepe says "oh no!" and runs away. As Pepe runs as fast as he can, the female cat follows using Pepe's familiar hopping pace. The short ends with Pepe telling the audience: "You know, it is possible to be too attractive!" while continuing to run from the feline.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney 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...
short released in 1949. It was 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...
, written by Michael Maltese
Michael Maltese
Michael "Mike" Maltese was a long-time storyboard artist and screenwriter for classic animated cartoon shorts.-Career:...
, and featured the characters Pepe Le Pew
Pepé Le Pew
Pepé Le Pew is a fictional character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, first introduced in 1945. A French skunk that always strolls around in Paris in the springtime, when everyone's thoughts are of "love", Pepé is constantly seeking "l'amour" of his own...
and Penelope Pussycat (all voices were done by Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
). It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It is the first ever 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...
directed cartoon to win this award from the Academy.
Plot
The beginning shows a happy man riding his bicycle through Paris, singing and greeting everyone he encounters. He arrives at his shop, a perfume store, and unlocks his store's door. After peering into the store and sniffing, he immediately runs away. He shouts out in a panic and runs up to a gendarme for assistance, yelling unintelligible phrases. The gendarme looks into the shop and it is revealed that Pepe Le Pew, a smelly skunk, is inside the store, smelling the various types of perfumes and singing to himself in French. The gendarme looks horrified and speaks in his French accent about the "terrible odor," which is implied by brownish "fumes" emanating from Pepe Le Pew's tail, then runs away as quickly as he can.The perfume store owner cries out that he will now be bankrupt. He then notices a black female cat (not named in this short, the black cat character is later identified in Carrotblanca
Carrotblanca
Carrotblanca is a 1995 8-minute Looney Tunes cartoon. It was originally shown in cinemas alongside The Amazing Panda Adventure and The Pebble and the Penguin...
as Penelope Pussycat) rubbing against his legs saying "Le mew, Le purr." The shop owner picks up the feline and flings her into the store, ordering her to remove the skunk from the premises. As is part of the running gag of how a female black cat is believed by Pepe to be "le femme skunk fatale", a bottle of white hair dye spills from a table and runs down the head, back and tail of the cat (Other shorts have her accidentally getting white paint from her head to the tip of her tail through it being spilled on her, squeezing under a freshly painted fence or railing, or on occasion, painting the skunk-like stripe deliberately to avoid abuse from humans who do not like stray cats). Pepe Le Pew immediately sees her and mistakes her for a skunk.
The female cat smells Pepe's odor and immediately tries to run away, chased by Pepe. As she attempts to wiggle free as Pepe tells her things such as, "it is love at sight first, no?," and "we will make beautiful music together." Just before Pepe tries to kiss her, she breaks free. She climbs into the sink in an attempt to wash the stripe and the smell off but is unsuccessful. She runs to a window and tries to open it, but it is stuck. She finally takes refuge inside a locked glass cabinet. Pepe first tries to lure her out sweetly, then demands through hand signals and expressions she come out of the cabinet. She refuses, indicating that it is due to his odor. In the original short, Pepe Le Pew pulls out a gun and holds it up to his head, then walks out of sight and fires the weapon, presumably killing himself. This scene was edited out for many years, (see Censorship for details), but later restored. Panicked, the female cat rushes out, directly into Pepe's arms. He says to her, "I missed, fortunately for you," and begins attempting to kiss her once again. The chase continues until Pepe finds her on the windowsill and says that she is trying to prove her love for him by committing suicide, but that he will save her. Pepe grabs for her, but she slips through his arms. Pepe then calls out, "Vive l'amour, we die together!" and steps off the window ledge. The female cat falls into a barrel of water under a rainspout, while Pepe lands in a can of blue paint.
When Pepe climbs out he is blue, and he sees the ragged-looking, sneezing wet cat beside him with the white skunk-like stripe washed off and does not recognize what moments earlier was the object of his extreme desire. He asks if she has seen a beautiful young lady skunk, then wanders off to find her. As he calls out to his "lady skunk", the soaked black cat watches his muscular blue form walking away and her heart begins to pound. When Pepe goes back into the perfume shop to look for the female skunk, he hears the door shut and the lock behind him. When he turns, he sees the drenched female cat leering at him and begins to panic. She drops the key to the lock down her neckline as the startled Pepe says "oh no!" and runs away. As Pepe runs as fast as he can, the female cat follows using Pepe's familiar hopping pace. The short ends with Pepe telling the audience: "You know, it is possible to be too attractive!" while continuing to run from the feline.
Censorship
- When this cartoon aired on ABC's "Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show" and the British channel ITV, the entire sequence where Pepe tries to coax the cat out of a glass case is cut because near the end of the gag, Pepe puts a gun to his head and pretends to commit suicide (off-screen) when the cat mimes that she's rejecting him because of his stench.
- In addition to the above cut, ABC and ITV also edited the scene where Pepe tries to save Penelope from jumping, only to have her slip from his hands. Pepe then turns to the camera, salutes, and says, "Vive l'amour! We die together." Only the "We die together" line was cut on ABC and ITV.
- On Cartoon Network, in addition to the first ABC cut, a later line to suicide is edited out before Pepe and Penelope go out the window (Pepe's line about the cat committing suicide to prove her love to him). Cartoon Network had shown "For Scentimental Reasons" uncut until December 2003 and has aired it edited in 2004.
Availability
- This cartoon can be seen (uncut and remastered) on the first volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1Looney 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 set (disc 3) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation CollectionWarner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation CollectionDue to the success of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection and Popeye DVD series, Warner Home Video issued a 3-DVD set on February 12, 2008 showcasing the various animation properties that they own including their home-grown product Looney Tunes...
(disc 1).
- The oft-censored glass case/suicide sequence was used in both the Chuck Jones compilation movie The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner MovieThe Bugs Bunny/Road Runner MovieThe Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie is a 1979 Looney Tunes film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. cartoon shorts and animated bridging sequences, hosted by Bugs Bunny...
and Chuck Amuck: The MovieChuck Amuck: The MovieChuck Amuck: The Movie is a 1991 documentary film about Chuck Jones' career with Warner Bros., centered on his work with Looney Tunes; narrated by Dick Vosburgh....
, though in the former, the scene with Penelope attempting to wash the stripe off her back is left out.