Birds Anonymous

Birds Anonymous is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster.[3] The short was released on August 10, 1957, and stars Tweety and Sylvester.[4]

Birds Anonymous
Directed byFriz Freleng
Produced byEdward Selzer
Story byWarren Foster[1]
StarringMel Blanc (voice)
Music byMilt Franklyn
Edited byTreg Brown
Animation by
Layouts byHawley Pratt
Backgrounds byBoris Gorelick
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
August 10, 1957 (1957-08-10)
Running time
6:56

Plot

Sylvester is once again attempting to catch and eat Tweety, this time very nearly succeeding, only to be stopped by an erudite, mild-mannered cat (retroactively named Clarence in modern Looney Tunes comics), who explains that Sylvester's constant cravings for birds can only lead to self-destruction, and knows that the only way to overcome this weakness is to kick the bird habit for good. Clarence invites Sylvester to a meeting of "Birds Anonymous" ("B.A."), a support group of cats, who have resolved to help one another overcome their bird addictions. Sylvester agrees to attend and hears other cats briefly tell of their own struggles and that B.A. was able to help them. Empowered by their stories, Sylvester adopts a new motto for himself: "Birds is strictly for the birds!"

Back at home, it does not take long for Sylvester's new-found will power to falter, due in large part to ubiquitous temptation as he and Tweety live together. Sylvester's temptations are only exacerbated after watching a TV chef preparing a turkey, and then hearing a disc jockey on the radio mention bird-themed songs. Sylvester valiantly makes many attempts to control his urges, even handcuffing himself to an iron radiator out of the reach of Tweety, but when Tweety asks him, "Don't you like me anymore?", Sylvester finally caves, and makes another grab for the bird, but is stopped again by Clarence, who reluctantly shoots a plunger at Sylvester's mouth. When he has expressed the fear that Sylvester might be weakening, he gratefully confirms Clarence's suspicion.

That night, Sylvester tries to sleep, but is tormented by insomnia and withdrawal symptoms before completely succumbs to his basic instincts, reasoning that he can quit after just "one little bird" and that "no one will know the difference", and ends up being stopped yet again when Clarence arrives and pours alum in his mouth causing it to shrink, after which Sylvester attempts to literally suck Tweety into his mouth through a straw to no avail. Sylvester collapses into sobs on the floor tearfully admitting weakness, and that since he is a pussycat he doesn't care and that it can't be helped, but Clarence consoles him saying that birds and cats can coexist peacefully. To prove his point, Clarence kisses Tweety's head, but yielding to his own long-suppressed temptation, backslides and attempts to devour Tweety himself, with Sylvester having to restrain him. The cartoon ends with Tweety telling the audience "Like I said before, once a bad ol' puddy tat, always a bad ol' puddy tat."

Production notes

Birds Anonymous is a reference of 1950s melodramas about the sufferings of substance abuse and drug recovery groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. [5] The voice of the B.A. cat is similar to that of Marvin the Martian, the creation of Chuck Jones. The voice of the second B.A. Cat was used by Blanc for the love-bird in Life With Feathers, among other places.

The premise was later adapted into The Last Hungry Cat, again with Sylvester struggling against his conscience over Tweety.

Honors

Birds Anonymous won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1958,[6] beating Tabasco Road starring Speedy Gonzales [7]; both shorts were eventually given Blue Ribbon reissues in 1961. When Eddie Selzer died, the statuette was passed on to Mel Blanc, who said that this was his favorite cartoon to do voices for, especially when it came to Sylvester.

Availability

This film appeared in The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie's third act "The Oswalds" where Sylvester and Clarence fight over Tweety again with Granny intervening.

As of 2005, Birds Anonymous can also be found, uncut and restored, on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 and on Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection. It can also be found on the former UK rental VHS tape of The Bodyguard from 1993. A music/effects only track is also available.

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References
  1. Beck, Jerry (1991). I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety. New York: Henry Holt and Co. pp. 138–139. ISBN 0-8050-1644-9.
  2. BFI
  3. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 300. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  4. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 151–152. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. UC Berkeley Library
  6. BCDB
  7. Short Subject Winners: 1958 Oscars
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