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'''Tweetie Pie''' is a 1947 ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' cartoon directed by [[Friz Freleng]]. It was the first cartoon to pair [[Tweety]] and [[Sylvester]], and also the first [[Warner Bros.]] short to earn an [[Academy Award|Oscar]] for Best Animated Short.<ref>https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1948</ref> It was later re-released as a Blue Ribbon reissue in 1955.
{{Under construction}}
 
  +
==Plot==
  +
Sylvester (known as Thomas in this cartoon) captures Tweety, whom he finds outside in the snow, getting warm by a cigar. The cat's mistress, an unseen owner, saves the bird from being eaten by the cat, whom she promptly reprimands.
  +
  +
Tweety is brought inside, and the mistress warns Thomas not to bother the bird. Ignoring this command, Thomas initiates a series of failed attempts to get Tweety from his cage, each ending in a noisy crash bringing the lady of the house to whack Thomas with a broom, and then finally, throw him out.
  +
  +
The cat tries to get back into the house through the chimney. Tweety puts wood in the fireplace, pours gasoline on it and lights it. The phoom sends Thomas flying right back up the chimney and into a bucket of frozen water.
  +
  +
However, Thomas gets back in the house via a window in the basement and creates a Rube Goldberg-esque trap to capture Tweety, which of course, backfires and injures him instead. Finally, Thomas tries to capture Tweety by running up to the attic and sawing a hole around Tweety's cage, but he ends up causing the entire inner ceiling to collapse (sans Tweety's cage, which is being held in place by a beam). The faux pas creates such a racket that Thomas is sure the mistress will come downstairs and wallop him, and so, he takes her broom, breaks it in half, and tosses the pieces into the fire. This proves to be a bad move, as he finds himself being walloped on the head repeatedly with a shovel...by Tweety.
  +
==Production==
  +
=== Development ===
  +
*[[Bob Clampett]] was working on a fourth Tweety episode in which Tweety was going to be paired with Friz Freleng's unnamed cat Sylvester. The project was left sitting when Clampett left for reasons unknown. Eddie Selzer wanted the woodpecker from "[[Peck Up Your Troubles]]" to be paired with Sylvester again, but when Freleng wanted to replace the woodpecker with Tweety, Selzer objected and Freleng threatened to quit. Eddie apologized to Friz later that evening and later allowed Tweety to be used.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=1Y83AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&dq=freleng+threatened+to+quit&source=bl&ots=wpwz0FGutA&sig=ER6wHV8rwwvaaDhOINskJGhd08o&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-6tiKv-TTAhUT0GMKHfXbDLQQ6AEIODAD#v=onepage&q=freleng%20threatened%20to%20quit&f=false The Noble Approach, By Tod Polson</ref> This was a wise decision for two reasons:
  +
*Warner Brothers didn't lose a talented director like Friz Freleng.
  +
*Tweetie Pie, the very 1st Tweety/Sylvester cartoon, went on to win Warner Brothers' 1st Academy Award For Best Short Film (1947), with the duo proving to be one of the most endearing of Looney Tunes pairs, alongside other pairs such as [[Bugs Bunny]] and [[Elmer Fudd]] and [[Daffy Duck]] and [[Porky Pig]]. After this cartoon, Tweety and Sylvester would be permanently paired up until 1964. Even so, Sylvester appeared in many cartoons without Tweety, as Tweety appeared in only 42 cartoons between 1942-64 and Sylvester appeared in 103 from 1945-69, excluding his prototypes. Tweety did appear in cameos without Sylvester in the 1954 cartoon "[[No Barking]]".<ref name="~HBTHYNA66">Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 187-188.</ref>
  +
==Gallery==
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{{Gallerylink}}
  +
==Availability==
  +
Tweetie Pie is available in its Blue Ribbon reissue on these video sets:
  +
*DVD - ''[[Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2]]'', Disc Three
  +
*DVD - ''[[Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 2]]''
  +
*DVD - TCM Academy Award-Winning Classic Cartoons (Barnes & Noble Exclusive)
  +
*DVD - Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection
  +
*DVD - [[Looney Tunes Super Stars' Tweety & Sylvester: Feline Fwenzy]]
  +
*Blu-Ray/DVD - [[Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1]]
  +
*DVD - Looney Tunes Showcase: Volume 1
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*DVD - Tweety Pie and Friends
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*VHS - The Best Of Bugs Bunny and Friends
  +
*VHS - Little Tweety And Little Inki Cartoon Festival Featuring "I Taw A Putty Tat"
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*VHS - ''[[Cartoon Moviestars]]'': Tweety and Sylvester
  +
*Laserdisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 1
  +
*VHS - Looney Tunes The Collectors Edition Volume 15: A Battle of Wits
  +
==Trivia==
  +
===Notes===
  +
*On early TV airings of the cartoon from the 70's or 80's, the original opening soundtrack was heard over the A.A.P and opening titles of the cartoon for some odd reason.<ref>http://bloglarry.blogspot.com/2006/06/wb-cartoon-credit-weirdness.html</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn27c5lrr7c</ref>
  +
*The Rube-Goldberg esque contraption was previously used in "[[Trap Happy Porky]]", although unlike this cartoon where the trap fails in "Trap Happy Porky" the trap was successful (coincidentally both "Trap Happy Porky" and "Tweetie Pie" were written by [[Tedd Pierce]]).
  +
*The "kiss the wittow birdie" scenario of Sylvester asked to kiss Tweety, only to eat the bird and get forced to spit it out would be re-used for two more times; "[[Gift Wrapped]]" (1952) and "[[Catty Cornered]]" (1953).
  +
*In this cartoon, Sylvester is called "Thomas", a reference of Tom Cat from MGM's Tom & Jerry, one of WB's rivals at the time. In 1948 the name was changed to Sylvester (beginning from the cartoon "[[Scaredy Cat]]"), presumably to avoid a lawsuit from MGM.
  +
*This is the first cartoon Tweety has feathers and is defined as a canary. Prior to that, Tweety was pink, naked (no feathers) and is defined as a baby bird of an unknown bird species. According to Bob Clampett in the documentary film ''[[Bugs Bunny Superstar]]'', Tweety was given feathers to satisfy censors who objected his featherless appearance which was considered "too naked".
  +
*Although not a direct remake, most of the cartoon's concept were derived from [[The Cagey Canary]], a 1941 one-shot [[Merrie Melodies]] cartoon planned by [[Tex Avery]] and finished by Bob Clampett, also featuring another [[Sylvester|cat]]-and-[[Tweety|canary]] pairing with a similar premise (Coincidentally both "Tweetie Pie" and "The Cagey Canary" were written by [[Michael Maltese]]).
  +
*Sylvester doesn't speak in this short, the other Tweety shorts where Sylvester is mute are "[[Bad Ol' Putty Tat]]", "[[Putty Tat Trouble]]" and "[[Tree Cornered Tweety]]".
  +
*Although the original titles have not yet been restored for DVD, historians have found black and white copies of the original titles.<ref>Ramapith http://ramapithblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-taut-i-taw-new-posts-coming.html</ref>
  +
==References==
  +
{{reflist}}
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{{SylvesterShorts}}
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{{TweetyShorts}}
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{{Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies}}
  +
{{Blue Ribbon}}
  +
{{Warner Bros. Cartoons}}
  +
{{Warner Bros. Animation}}
 
[[Category:Merrie Melodies]]
 
[[Category:Merrie Melodies]]
 
[[Category:Merrie Melodies shorts]]
 
[[Category:Merrie Melodies shorts]]

Revision as of 22:37, 27 June 2018


Tweetie Pie is a 1947 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. It was the first cartoon to pair Tweety and Sylvester, and also the first Warner Bros. short to earn an Oscar for Best Animated Short.[1] It was later re-released as a Blue Ribbon reissue in 1955.

Plot

Sylvester (known as Thomas in this cartoon) captures Tweety, whom he finds outside in the snow, getting warm by a cigar. The cat's mistress, an unseen owner, saves the bird from being eaten by the cat, whom she promptly reprimands.

Tweety is brought inside, and the mistress warns Thomas not to bother the bird. Ignoring this command, Thomas initiates a series of failed attempts to get Tweety from his cage, each ending in a noisy crash bringing the lady of the house to whack Thomas with a broom, and then finally, throw him out.

The cat tries to get back into the house through the chimney. Tweety puts wood in the fireplace, pours gasoline on it and lights it. The phoom sends Thomas flying right back up the chimney and into a bucket of frozen water.

However, Thomas gets back in the house via a window in the basement and creates a Rube Goldberg-esque trap to capture Tweety, which of course, backfires and injures him instead. Finally, Thomas tries to capture Tweety by running up to the attic and sawing a hole around Tweety's cage, but he ends up causing the entire inner ceiling to collapse (sans Tweety's cage, which is being held in place by a beam). The faux pas creates such a racket that Thomas is sure the mistress will come downstairs and wallop him, and so, he takes her broom, breaks it in half, and tosses the pieces into the fire. This proves to be a bad move, as he finds himself being walloped on the head repeatedly with a shovel...by Tweety.

Production

Development

  • Bob Clampett was working on a fourth Tweety episode in which Tweety was going to be paired with Friz Freleng's unnamed cat Sylvester. The project was left sitting when Clampett left for reasons unknown. Eddie Selzer wanted the woodpecker from "Peck Up Your Troubles" to be paired with Sylvester again, but when Freleng wanted to replace the woodpecker with Tweety, Selzer objected and Freleng threatened to quit. Eddie apologized to Friz later that evening and later allowed Tweety to be used.[2] This was a wise decision for two reasons:
  • Warner Brothers didn't lose a talented director like Friz Freleng.
  • Tweetie Pie, the very 1st Tweety/Sylvester cartoon, went on to win Warner Brothers' 1st Academy Award For Best Short Film (1947), with the duo proving to be one of the most endearing of Looney Tunes pairs, alongside other pairs such as Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. After this cartoon, Tweety and Sylvester would be permanently paired up until 1964. Even so, Sylvester appeared in many cartoons without Tweety, as Tweety appeared in only 42 cartoons between 1942-64 and Sylvester appeared in 103 from 1945-69, excluding his prototypes. Tweety did appear in cameos without Sylvester in the 1954 cartoon "No Barking".[3]

Gallery

WARNER BROS. WIKI LOGO
Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Tweetie Pie.

Availability

Tweetie Pie is available in its Blue Ribbon reissue on these video sets:

Trivia

Notes

  • On early TV airings of the cartoon from the 70's or 80's, the original opening soundtrack was heard over the A.A.P and opening titles of the cartoon for some odd reason.[4][5]
  • The Rube-Goldberg esque contraption was previously used in "Trap Happy Porky", although unlike this cartoon where the trap fails in "Trap Happy Porky" the trap was successful (coincidentally both "Trap Happy Porky" and "Tweetie Pie" were written by Tedd Pierce).
  • The "kiss the wittow birdie" scenario of Sylvester asked to kiss Tweety, only to eat the bird and get forced to spit it out would be re-used for two more times; "Gift Wrapped" (1952) and "Catty Cornered" (1953).
  • In this cartoon, Sylvester is called "Thomas", a reference of Tom Cat from MGM's Tom & Jerry, one of WB's rivals at the time. In 1948 the name was changed to Sylvester (beginning from the cartoon "Scaredy Cat"), presumably to avoid a lawsuit from MGM.
  • This is the first cartoon Tweety has feathers and is defined as a canary. Prior to that, Tweety was pink, naked (no feathers) and is defined as a baby bird of an unknown bird species. According to Bob Clampett in the documentary film Bugs Bunny Superstar, Tweety was given feathers to satisfy censors who objected his featherless appearance which was considered "too naked".
  • Although not a direct remake, most of the cartoon's concept were derived from The Cagey Canary, a 1941 one-shot Merrie Melodies cartoon planned by Tex Avery and finished by Bob Clampett, also featuring another cat-and-canary pairing with a similar premise (Coincidentally both "Tweetie Pie" and "The Cagey Canary" were written by Michael Maltese).
  • Sylvester doesn't speak in this short, the other Tweety shorts where Sylvester is mute are "Bad Ol' Putty Tat", "Putty Tat Trouble" and "Tree Cornered Tweety".
  • Although the original titles have not yet been restored for DVD, historians have found black and white copies of the original titles.[6]

References


v - e - d
Sylvester transparent logo
1940s
Life with FeathersPeck Up Your Troubles
1950s
Home, Tweet Home
1960s
The Pied Piper of Guadalupe
1970s-present


v - e - d
Tweety-logo
1940s
1950s
1960s
"Hyde and Go Tweet" (1960)
1970s-present


v - e - d
Looney tunes and merrie melodies logo
Media
Franchises: Show-logo-looneyTunesMerrie Melodies logo

Shorts:
Television: The Bugs Bunny ShowThe Porky Pig ShowThe Road Runner ShowThe Merrie Melodies ShowSylvester and TweetyThe Daffy Duck ShowThe Daffy/Speedy ShowLooney Tunes on NickelodeonMerrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny and FriendsThat's Warner Bros.!Bugs N' Daffy
Feature Films: The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner MovieThe Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny MovieBugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit TalesDaffy Duck's Fantastic IslandDaffy Duck's QuackbustersSpace JamThe Looney Tunes Hall of FameLooney Tunes: Back in Action
Specials: Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie GhouliesCarnival of the AnimalsBugs Bunny's Easter FunniesBugs Bunny in SpaceBugs Bunny's Howl-o-Ween SpecialA Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's CourtBugs Bunny's ValentineBugs Bunny's Looney Christmas TalesHow Bugs Bunny Won the WestThe Bugs Bunny Mother's Day SpecialBugs Bunny's Thanksgiving DietDaffy Duck's Easter SpecialBugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All OverThe Bugs Bunny Mystery SpecialDaffy Duck's Thanks-For-Giving SpecialBugs Bunny: All American HeroBugs Bunny's Mad World of TelevisionAn Ounce of PreventionBugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video StarsBugs Bunny's Wild World of SportsHappy Birthday Bugs! 50 Looney YearsBugs Bunny's Overtures to DisasterBugs Bunny's Creature FeaturesBugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes

Characters
Main characters: Barnyard DawgBeaky BuzzardBugs BunnyCecil TurtleCharlie DogClaude CatDaffy DuckElmer FuddFoghorn LeghornGossamerGrannyHector the BulldogHenery HawkHippety HopperHubie and BertieLola BunnyMac and ToshMarc Anthony and PussyfootMarvin the MartianMichigan J. FrogMiss PrissyPenelope PussycatPepé Le PewPete PumaPorky PigRalph WolfRoad RunnerSam SheepdogSpeedy GonzalesSylvesterSylvester Jr.TazThe CrusherTweety BirdWile E. CoyoteWitch HazelYosemite Sam

Minor characters: Blacque Jacque ShellacqueBoskoThe CrusherGiovanni JonesYoyo DodoTasmanian She-DevilMelissa DuckHugo the Abominable SnowmanSpike and ChesterNasty CanastaThe GremlinPrivate SnafuPetunia PigPlayboy PenguinShropshire SlasherCount BloodcountMama BuzzardColonel ShuffleEgghead Jr.Owl JolsonToro the BullRocky and MugsyMinah BirdInkiBeansLittle KittyHam And ExOliver OwlPiggyGabby GoatBuddyHoneySlowpoke RodriguezThe Three BearsFoxyK-9A. FleaSnifflesConstruction WorkerFrisky PuppyRalph MouseHoney BunnyRoxyThe Martin BrothersRalph PhillipsClyde BunnyFauntleroy FlipDr. I.Q. HiGruesome GorillaSloppy MoeHatta MariBusinessmanThe WeaselWiloughbyThe Two Curious PuppiesCool CatBabbit and CatstelloInstant MartiansBobo the ElephantColonel RimfireSmokey The GenieJose and ManuelMerlin the Magic Mouse and Second BananaConrad the CatAngus MacRoryBanty RoosterThree Little PigsTom TurkeyGoopy GeerNelly the GiraffeAla BahmaDr. LorreCottontail SmithBunny and ClaudeClaude HopperThe Hep CatThe Drunk StorkThe CatSinging CatSouthern SheriffOld Woman's CanaryOld Woman's CatBluebeardPorky's Drunken FriendsOld WomanLittle Red Riding Hood's Grandma • Little Red Riding Hood (Little Red Walking Hood/Little Red Riding Rabbit/Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears) • Goldilocks (The Bear's Tale/Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears) • The CrowKing ArthurKing Arthur's Knights

Studios
Warner Bros. CartoonsDePatie-Freleng EnterprisesFormat FilmsChuck Jones EnterprisesReel FX
People
Dave BarryWarren BatchelderMel BlancTed BonnicksenArthur Q. BryanBill ButlerBob ClampettRuss DysonMilt FranklynFriz FrelengManny GouldGeorge GrandpreKen HarrisHugh HarmanRochelle HudsonRudolf IsingUb IwerksChuck JonesCarman MaxwellNorman McCabeChuck McKimsonRobert McKimsonTom McKimsonWillian LavaLou LillyMichael MalteseTedd PierceHawley PrattTom RayVirgil RossLeon SchlesingerRob ScribnerEddie SelzerCarl StallingLarry Storch
Music/Songs
A Hot Time in the Old Town TonightWhistle and Blow Your Blues AwayI Think You're DuckyThe Merry-Go-Round Broke DownMerrily We Roll Along
Other


v - e - d
Blue ribbon card empty
Titles
A Feud There Was
See also


v - e - d
Warner Bros. Cartoons 1947
Media
Shorts (1929-1939): Bosko the Talk-Ink KidSinkin' in the BathtubCongo JazzHold AnythingThe Booze Hangs HighBox Car BluesBig Man from the NorthAin't Nature Grand!Speaking of the WeatherDaffy Duck & EggheadKatnip KollegeHave You Got Any Castles?Believe It or Else

Shorts (1940-1949): A Wild HareOdor-able KittyLife with Feathers
Shorts (1950-1959): Home, Tweet Home
Shorts (1960-1969): False Hare

Studios
Songs
Other
Warner Bros. CartoonsLooney TunesMerrie Melodies
See also


v - e - d
Warner Bros. Animation Logo (Template-only)
Looney Tunes/Spielberg universe
Animated series: The Bugs Bunny ShowTiny Toon AdventuresTaz-ManiaAnimaniacsThe Sylvester & Tweety MysteriesPinky and the BrainFreakazoid!Road RoversHisteria!Pinky, Elmyra and the BrainThe Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie ShowBaby Looney TunesDuck DodgersLoonatics UnleashedThe Looney Tunes ShowNew Looney Tunes

Films: Bugs Bunny: SuperstarThe Bugs Bunny/Road Runner MovieThe Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny MovieBugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit TalesDaffy Duck's Fantastic IslandDaffy Duck's QuackbustersSpace JamWakko's WishTweety's High-Flying AdventureLooney Tunes: Back in ActionBah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes ChristmasLooney Tunes: Rabbits Run

DC Comics
Animated series: Batman: The Animated SeriesSuperman: The Animated SeriesBatman BeyondStatic ShockThe Zeta ProjectJustice LeagueTeen TitansJustice League UnlimitedThe BatmanKrypto the SuperdogLegion of Super HeroesBatman: The Brave and the BoldYoung JusticeGreen Lantern: The Animated SeriesTeen Titans Go!Beware the BatmanDC Super Hero Girls

Animated films: Batman: Mask of the PhantasmBatman & Mr. Freeze: SubZeroThe Lego Batman MovieBatman: Return of the Caped CrusadersBatman vs. Two-Face

Hanna-Barbera
Animated series: What's New, Scooby-Doo?Tom and Jerry TalesShaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!Scooby-Doo! Mystery IncorporatedThe Tom and Jerry ShowBe Cool, Scooby-Doo!Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs!

Direct-to-video film series: Scooby-Doo on Zombie IslandScooby-Doo! and the Witch's GhostTom and Jerry: The Magic RingTom and Jerry: Blast Off to MarsThe Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania!

Other TV series
Detention¡Mucha Lucha!Xiaolin ShowdownCoconut Fred's Fruit Salad IslandBaby BluesRight Now KapowDorothy and the Wizard of OzBunniculaGreen Eggs and HamUnikitty!WayneheadOzzy & DrixMike Tyson Mysteries3 SouthMadJohnny TestFirehouse TalesThunderCatsThunderCats Roar
Other original films
Theatrical: Quest for CamelotThe Iron GiantOsmosis JonesThe Lego MovieStorksThe Lego Ninjago Movie

Direct-to-video: Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.!¡Mucha Lucha!: The Return of El MaléficoHappiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown

Films, distribution only
Gay Purr-eeThe Incredible Mr. LimpetTreasure IslandOliver TwistThe Nutcracker PrinceRover DangerfieldThumbelinaA Troll in Central ParkThe Pebble and the PenguinCats Don't DanceThe Fearless FourThe King and IThe Scarecrow