Tom Tom Tomcat
Tom Tom Tomcat is a 1953 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Friz Freleng.[2] The short was released on June 27, 1953, and stars Tweety and Sylvester the Cat.[3]
| Tom Tom Tomcat | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | I. Freleng |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer (uncredited) |
| Story by | Warren Foster[1] |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by | Ken Champin Virgil Ross Arthur Davis Manuel Perez |
| Layouts by | Hawley Pratt |
| Backgrounds by | Irv Wyner |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date | June 27, 1953 |
Running time | 6:29 |
| Language | English |
The cartoon has been criticized for its stereotypical and insensitive depictions of Native Americans.[4]
Plot
In 1890, Granny and Tweety are riding through the desert in their wagon, to the tune of Oh! Susanna, when they are ambushed by one hundred Indians (who bear remarkable resemblance to Sylvester). They are forced to hole up in a fort, where Granny begins to shoot them down while Tweety counts (Ten Little Indians). On the tenth, one nearly takes Tweety, but is shot down just in time.
More attempts include an archer and a battering ram, both foiled. One archer almost drags Tweety out again ("Granny! Help! A Mohican got me!") but Granny surprises him with a bomb instead. The cats' attempts continue like this, all of them backfiring or being foiled; usually the cats are blown up or shot. In one instance, Chief Rain-In-The-P-P-Puss orders the actual Sylvester to sneak into the fort; Sylvester emerges later with the top of his head having been scalped off by Granny ("Ya got any more bright ideas?").
Finally, Granny and Tweety disguise themselves as a fellow Indian, and lead the cats into the powder house. When one asks for a match, they kindly oblige, and the powder house explodes, causing all the one hundred cats to erupt into the sky and then fall. Remarks Tweety: "Oh my goodness!" Tweety comments, "It's raining putty tats!"
See also
References
- Beck, Jerry (1991). I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety. New York: Henry Holt and Co. p. 115. ISBN 0-8050-1644-9.
- Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 250. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 151–152. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- Behnken, Brian D.; Smithers, Gregory D. (2015). Racism in American Popular Media: From Aunt Jemima to the Frito Bandito. ABC-CLIO. p. 109. ISBN 9781440829772. Retrieved 13 June 2020.