Notes to You is a 1941 Looney Tunes American cartoon featuring Porky Pig and an unnamed alley cat (who resembles Clampett's cat from The Hep Cat). This cartoon would be remade in 1948, as Back Alley Oproar, with Elmer Fudd in Porky's role and Sylvester as the musical cat.
When Porky tries to go to sleep, a cat starts singing Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville in his back yard. Porky then starts throwing objects at the cat. Porky finally hits him with a vase. The cat starts singing When Irish Eyes Are Smiling at Porky, and Porky throws a book at him, causing the cat to yowl in pain. Porky attempts to return to bed only for the cat to throw the book back and continue the song, as Porky closes the window in retaliation. Porky's phone rings and he answers it; the caller is revealed to be the cat finishing the song. Furious, Porky grabs a shotgun and claims "D-uh-d-uh-darn that old cat, I'll fix him this time once and for all!" and lays a saucer of milk on the porch. Porky then falls asleep as the cat drinks the milk and wakes Porky up by banging on the saucer.
Porky then chases the cat with the shotgun until the cat sings Rock-a-Bye Baby, which lulls Porky to sleep. The cat then wakes Porky up by conducting the loud music playing on the radio (Frat by John F. Barth), before running out and singing The Umbrella Man, an American hit recorded in 1938 by Kay Kyser's dance orchestra. Porky locks down the window, but the cat reopens the door and sings Jeepers Creepers. Porky chases him out again, only for the cat to slam the door open into Porky before shutting it behind him. When the cat is outside singing Make Love With a Guitar, Porky grabs his gun and shoots the cat, who manages to gasp out a chorus of Aloha 'Oe, and dies. As Porky feels guilt over the cat's death, he's startled to hear the cat's nine lives outside his window singing the Sextet from the opera Lucia di Lammermoor.
As the picture irises out, a crash is heard (presumably, Porky, at his wits' end, jumped out of the window).
This cartoon has been presented in its 1968 colorized form on many public domain video compilations, such as the 2004 Digiview Entertainment DVD release of Porky's Café (where its image was grayscaled to look more like the original version). It was released in its original black and white form in 1999 on a Columbia House Looney Tunes Collector's Edition VHS Tape entitled Musical Masterpieces. The original black and white print fully remastered and uncut was included on the Porky Pig 101 DVD on September 19, 2017, that was officially released by Warner Archive.
DVD - Porky Pig 101 (Uses 90's print soundtrack with the incorrect 1937 fanfare from "Porky's Railroad" playing over the Looney Tunes opening titles.)
Trivia
Notes
The gag where Porky threw a book threw a book out the window only to have a return version of that same book come in and hit Porky was used three years later in "Tick Tock Tuckered", the remake of "Porky's Badtime Story".
This cartoon would later be remade as the 1948 Merrie Melodie "Back Alley Oproar", also directed by Freleng, with Elmer Fudd in place of Porky Pig and Sylvester in place of the unnamed cat.
Public domain due to WB failing to renew copyright in time.
Censorship
When this cartoon aired on the FOX version of The Merrie Melodies Show, the following cuts were made:
The part where Porky holds the singing cat at gunpoint and the cat sings a lullaby to distract him.
The end where Porky shoots the cat, and the cat's nine lives sing Sextet from the opera "Lucia."
