Marc Antony and Pussyfoot
Encyclopedia
Marc Antony and Pussyfoot (sometimes called "Kitty" or "Cleo" in some of the WB animation history books) are animated
character
s in the Warner Bros.
Looney Tunes
and Merrie Melodies
series of cartoons. Marc Antony is a burly bulldog
that is usually brown with a tan belly and black ears, though his coloration varies in some shorts. Pussyfoot/Cleo, in contrast, is an extremely cute, blue-eyed kitten
to whom Marc is utterly devoted. Chuck Jones
, the creator, has discussed the efforts to maximize the kitten's sheer adorableness. All head and eyes, it is black with a white face and belly and a white tip on its fluffy tail.
. Pussyfoot has appeared in some recent Warner Bros. merchandising
, however, and the pair have been featured in various Warner Bros. productions, such as the third segment of the 1982 Twilight Zone movie
, and a 1999 Looney Tunes comic book
story called "Bringing Up Baby". Tiny Toon Adventures
featured a similar character named Barky Marky who was a comparatively minor character on the show. The pair were also an inspiration for the Buttons and Mindy characters that were featured in the successor to Tiny Toons, Animaniacs
. Interestingly enough, in the Buttons and Mindy short Cat on a Hot Steal Beam, the cat that Mindy follows throughout the cartoon is none other than Pussyfoot. Pussyfoot also makes a cameo appearance in Chuck Jones' 1995 short Another Froggy Evening
.
Chuck Jones
would later revisit the gimmick of a cute kitten with an unlikely protector in a MGM Tom and Jerry
short, The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse
, with Jerry becoming a kitten's friend and protector against a selfish and jealous Tom.
A segment of Feed the Kitty, in which Marc Antony believes that Pussyfoot has been turned into a cookie (and unaware that the kitten is actually perfectly safe), was the subject of an homage in the Pixar
film Monsters, Inc.
In it, monster James P. Sullivan ("Sulley") believes that a little human girl he is protecting has fallen into a trash compactor and reacts nearly shot for shot as Marc Antony did in his cartoon short.
A reference is also made to Feed the Kitty in the 13th and 14th episodes of season 14 of South Park
with Eric Cartman
acting as Pussyfoot and Cthulhu
as Marc Antony in his "cute kitten" routine.
Feed the Kitty
is available on DVD, appearing on the compilation Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 and Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection, and Blu-ray, on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1
.
Marc Antony and Pussyfoot are set to appear in The Looney Tunes Show
. Marc Antony and Pussyfoot also appear in The Looney Tunes Show
opening.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s in the Warner Bros.
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...
and Merrie Melodies
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,...
series of cartoons. Marc Antony is a burly bulldog
Bulldog
Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
that is usually brown with a tan belly and black ears, though his coloration varies in some shorts. Pussyfoot/Cleo, in contrast, is an extremely cute, blue-eyed kitten
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
to whom Marc is utterly devoted. 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...
, the creator, has discussed the efforts to maximize the kitten's sheer adorableness. All head and eyes, it is black with a white face and belly and a white tip on its fluffy tail.
Recent history and influence
Since their retirement, Marc Antony and Pussyfoot have been largely forgotten due to the popularity of other characters such as Jones' earlier creations, Wile E. Coyote and Pepe le PewPepé 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...
. Pussyfoot has appeared in some recent Warner Bros. merchandising
Merchandising
Merchandising is the methods, practices, and operations used to promote and sustain certain categories of commercial activity. In the broadest sense, merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer...
, however, and the pair have been featured in various Warner Bros. productions, such as the third segment of the 1982 Twilight Zone movie
Twilight Zone: The Movie
Twilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 science fiction horror film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a 1959 and '60s TV series created by Rod Serling. Those starring in the film are: Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers,...
, and a 1999 Looney Tunes comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
story called "Bringing Up Baby". Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
featured a similar character named Barky Marky who was a comparatively minor character on the show. The pair were also an inspiration for the Buttons and Mindy characters that were featured in the successor to Tiny Toons, Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
. Interestingly enough, in the Buttons and Mindy short Cat on a Hot Steal Beam, the cat that Mindy follows throughout the cartoon is none other than Pussyfoot. Pussyfoot also makes a cameo appearance in Chuck Jones' 1995 short Another Froggy Evening
Another Froggy Evening
Another Froggy Evening is a 1995 cartoon by Chuck Jones and a sequel to his 1955 cartoon One Froggy Evening.The short features Michigan J. Frog and Marvin the Martian who reveals that Michigan's croaking noise is actually Martian for "Would you like to hear me sing?" This sequel is actually a...
.
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...
would later revisit the gimmick of a cute kitten with an unlikely protector in a MGM Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
short, The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse
The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse
The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse is a 1964 cartoon directed and produced by Chuck Jones. The title is a play on words on The Unsinkable Molly Brown, a popular Broadway musical that was made into a feature film, also in 1964....
, with Jerry becoming a kitten's friend and protector against a selfish and jealous Tom.
A segment of Feed the Kitty, in which Marc Antony believes that Pussyfoot has been turned into a cookie (and unaware that the kitten is actually perfectly safe), was the subject of an homage in the Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
film Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
In it, monster James P. Sullivan ("Sulley") believes that a little human girl he is protecting has fallen into a trash compactor and reacts nearly shot for shot as Marc Antony did in his cartoon short.
A reference is also made to Feed the Kitty in the 13th and 14th episodes of season 14 of South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
with Eric Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
acting as Pussyfoot and Cthulhu
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
as Marc Antony in his "cute kitten" routine.
Feed the Kitty
Feed the Kitty
Feed the Kitty is a Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, in which bulldog Marc Antony adopts a small cat, Pussyfoot , and tries to hide it from his owner...
is available on DVD, appearing on the compilation Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 and Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection, and Blu-ray, on 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:...
.
Marc Antony and Pussyfoot are set to appear in The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show is a packaged show, created for Cartoon Network, and broadcast from 2002 to 2005. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The show featured cartoon shorts from the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon series produced from 1930 to 1969.-External links:...
. Marc Antony and Pussyfoot also appear in The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show is a packaged show, created for Cartoon Network, and broadcast from 2002 to 2005. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The show featured cartoon shorts from the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon series produced from 1930 to 1969.-External links:...
opening.
Classic Shorts
- "Feed the KittyFeed the KittyFeed the Kitty is a Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, in which bulldog Marc Antony adopts a small cat, Pussyfoot , and tries to hide it from his owner...
" (1952) - "Kiss Me Cat" (1953)
- "Feline Frame-UpFeline Frame-UpFeline Frame-Up is an animated short film in the Looney Tunes series produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc and released on February 13, 1954....
" (1954) - "Go Fly a KitGo Fly a KitGo Fly a Kit is a 1957 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. It features the characters Marc Antony and Pussyfoot. It is available on disc 4 of the DVD set Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4. The title is a pun on "Go fly a kite."...
" (1957) - "Cat Feud" (1958)
Other Media
- AnimaniacsAnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
episode 14, part "Cat on a Hot Steel Beam" (Pussyfoot only) - Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
- Space JamSpace JamAside from Jordan, a number of NBA players and coaches appeared in the film. Larry Bird portrays a friend of Jordan who joins him for a game of golf. When the Monstars steal the NBA players' talent, they invade a game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks, causing the Knicks' Patrick...
- Looney Tunes: Back in ActionLooney Tunes: Back in ActionLooney Tunes: Back in Action is a 2003 American live action/animated adventure comedy film directed by Joe Dante and starring Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Timothy Dalton, and Steve Martin. The film is essentially a feature-length Looney Tunes cartoon, with all the wackiness and surrealism typical...
- The Looney Tunes Show(2011)The Looney Tunes ShowThe Looney Tunes Show is a packaged show, created for Cartoon Network, and broadcast from 2002 to 2005. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The show featured cartoon shorts from the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon series produced from 1930 to 1969.-External links:...