The Jet Cage
Encyclopedia
The Jet Cage is a Looney Tunes
cartoon released in 1962
by Warner Bros.
. The short runs for about 6 minutes and is written and directed by Friz Freleng
.
Voice actors are Mel Blanc
(doing the voices of Sylvester
, Tweety
and Blackbird) and June Foray
(doing the voice for Granny
).
Animations have been created by Gerry Chiniquy
, Lee Halpern, Art Leonardi, Bob Matz and Virgill Ross. The layouts have been designed by Hawley Pratt
and the backgrounds by Tom O’ Loughlin. The original music is composed by Milt Franklyn
. 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 net. He is not credited in this cartoon, but the difference in music is obvious.
. This is considering his safety, as Sylvester is always lurking around waiting for a chance.
Granny reads a newspaper advertisement by Jet Age Technology who has invented a $12.95 Flying Bird-Cage, which would allow birds fly safely. Granny, who understands Tweety's longing for freedom, decides to buy 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 resolves to ground Tweety's cage and get his round-headed meal; his eyes rolling around to follow his every move. (It is at this point, after a blackout
, that the music composition changes from Franklyn to Lava.)
Each of the following attempts are in vain:
At the end, Sylvester — limping on crutches with all the bandages on — decides to joins the U.S. Air Force, vowing to earn his wings and get Tweety once and for all.
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...
cartoon released in 1962
1962 in film
The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
by 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,...
. The short runs for about 6 minutes and is written and directed by Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
.
Voice actors are 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...
(doing the voices of Sylvester
Sylvester (Looney Tunes)
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr., Sylvester the Cat or simply Sylvester, is a fictional character, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic Tuxedo cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper...
, Tweety
Tweety
Tweety Bird is a fictional Yellow Canary in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being a typical English onomatopoeia for the sounds of birds...
and Blackbird) and June Foray
June Foray
June Foray is an American voice actress, best known as the voice of many animated characters...
(doing the voice for Granny
Granny (Looney Tunes)
Granny is a co-star of many Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird animated shorts throughout the 1950s and 1960s, is a Looney Tunes character that was created by Tex Avery. She is the owner of Tweety . Granny's voice was first provided by Bea Benaderet from 1937 through 1953...
).
Animations have been created by Gerry Chiniquy
Gerry Chiniquy
Germain Adolph "Gerry" Chiniquy was an American animator. He is best known for his work with Friz Freleng, at both Warner Bros. and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises....
, Lee Halpern, Art Leonardi, Bob Matz and Virgill Ross. The layouts have been designed by Hawley Pratt
Hawley Pratt
Hawley Pratt was an American film director, animator, and illustrator. He is best known for his work during the heyday of Warner Bros. Cartoons and as the right-hand man of director Friz Freleng as a layout artist and later as a director...
and the backgrounds by Tom O’ Loughlin. The original music is composed by Milt Franklyn
Milt Franklyn
Milton J. Franklyn was a musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes animated cartoons....
. Franklyn died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while composing the cartoon's score. William Lava
William Lava
William "Bill" B. Lava was a musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated cartoons from 1962 onwards, replacing the deceased Milt Franklyn. Lava's music was very different from that of Franklyn and previous composer Carl Stalling...
finished the score, starting with the scene when Sylvester tries to catch Tweety with a net. He is not credited in this cartoon, but the difference in music is obvious.
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 not allowed to do so by GrannyGranny (Looney Tunes)
Granny is a co-star of many Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird animated shorts throughout the 1950s and 1960s, is a Looney Tunes character that was created by Tex Avery. She is the owner of Tweety . Granny's voice was first provided by Bea Benaderet from 1937 through 1953...
. This is considering his safety, as Sylvester is always lurking around waiting for a chance.
Granny reads a newspaper advertisement by Jet Age Technology who has invented a $12.95 Flying Bird-Cage, which would allow birds fly safely. Granny, who understands Tweety's longing for freedom, decides to buy 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 resolves to ground Tweety's cage and get his round-headed meal; his eyes rolling around to follow his every move. (It is at this point, after a blackout
Blackout gag
A blackout gag is a term mainly used in broad, rapid-fire, slapstick comedy to describe a manner in which a gag or joke is executed. The term is derived from burlesque and vaudeville, when the lights were quickly turned off after the punchline of a joke to accentuate it and/or allow for audience...
, that the music composition changes from Franklyn to Lava.)
Each of the following attempts are in vain:
- An attempt to snare the cage with a butterfly catcher’s net. The jet-powered cage is strong enough to drag the butterfly netButterfly netA butterfly net is one of several kinds of nets used to collect insects. The entire bag of the net is generally constructed from a lightweight mesh to minimize damage to delicate butterfly wings. Other types of nets used in insect collecting include beat nets, aquatic nets, and sweep nets....
, along with the cat hanging to it — until he crashes into a light pole. - After Tweety coming in for flying instructions ("I forgot what to do in case of fog!"), hiding inside the cage. Tweety eventually senses he's in trouble and releases the "bombs" while in mid-air, just before Sylvester is about to strike.
- Use of a rocket bomb to intercept the flying object of interest. The bomb simply flies back at the cat.
- A horseshoe-shaped magnetMagnetA magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
tied to a fishing rod. While the cage momentarily struggles against the magnet's pull (and the puddy tries to reel in his meal), Tweety manages to get the cage to break free. Sylvester is dragged into downtown traffic and crashes into a 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, "Well now I haven't!" ... just before he realizes he's in for a big fall!
At the end, Sylvester — limping on crutches with all the bandages on — decides to joins the U.S. Air Force, vowing to earn his wings and get Tweety once and for all.
Censorship
- The ABC version of this cartoon cuts the sequence where Sylvester builds a Nike rocket to capture Tweety (which predictably backfires).