Release Date:

January 20, 1951

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A fox shaves his fur to look like a dog in order to get past the bulldog guarding chickens on the farm. The bulldog immediately sees through the ruse but plays along and decides to “teach” the fox numerous lessons on how to be a watchdog.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1137 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue.

This is the first cartoon since “Swallow the Leader” to be a one-shot.

The bulldog in this cartoon uses the same voice as the one in “Hippety Hopper” and the same character design as the one in “It’s Hummer Time” and “Early to Bet” (the latter released four months later and will actually be the cartoon two weeks from today).

In July 2020 (just a few months before it was made available on HBO Max in a beautiful restoration in November 2020 with this same restored print recently having been made available on disc this past June via Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault Volume 1), my family and I were doing a game where we were naming Looney Tunes-related stuff that begins with each letter of the alphabet. While everyone else took turns, they had also had me name out my picks for each letter. Most of the time, I had chose last names of directors and animators (for instance, I chose Chuck Jones for “J”), I chose this particular cartoon for “X” since no one at the studio had a last name that began with “X” nor was there a cartoon that begins with “X” (and speaking of alphabetical, the second, third, and fourth volumes of Collector’s Choice as well as Collector’s Vault have all of the cartoons available on them presented in alphabetical order and this is going to be the case going forward with future releases. I actually like this approach because it allows you to view cartoons from different eras all right next to each other).

The cartoon was originally titled “The Foxy Fox”.

All of the fox’s dialogue is through inner monologue, apart from when he says, “Oooh, you evil genius, you” upon looking in the mirror.

The animator draft for the cartoon can be viewed here.

A soundalike of “Huckleberry Duck” plays during the scenes where the bulldog catches the fox up to the point where he throws him out (“Well… goodbye, fox”), and where the bulldog gives the respective lessons of watchdogs having to chase burglars out and having to fetch the stick. Out of all the cartoons that use it, the soundalike in this one is the closest where it sounds like the actual Raymond Scott tune as evidenced by its appearance in the video for “Huckleberry Duck” on the amazing “Looney Tunes Songs” YouTube channel.

The noise the fox makes when the bulldog first catches him is the same noise used when Daffy grumbles in anger before he says, “And I’ve never been so humiliated in all my life!” in “Duck Amuck” (1953).

What I Like About This One:

The cartoon starts off with the barnyard at night as all of the lights go off with ominous music playing in the background with the fox narrating: “As the last light went out, I knew my chance had come… to get at those chickens”. He sneaks into the yard with a bag and into the henhouse. After one of the hens sees the fox upon waking up, she faints while letting out a quiet squawk and ending up upside down as the hens are sleeping on the roosting bars (animated by John Carey).

After the fox grabs this hen as well as another offscreen (animated by Carey), he sneaks out only for the bulldog to suddenly appear in front of him, causing him to make a loud startled noise that scares the hens away and also causes him to fall backwards. The bulldog picks him up and talks calmly to him, “Hey, fox, c’mere (animated by Rod Scribner). I understand you’re a fox and you want to steal chickens. Okay. To each his own. But don’t do it around here. I’m the watchdog and it makes me look bad” (animated by Charles McKimson). He starts walking the fox toward the fence, “Y’know, some places, they’d slap ya around a bit, like this” and proceeds to slap the fox. “But not here. Live and let live’s our motto. Well…. goodbye, fox” and throws him out (animated by Phil DeLara).

On the ground outside of the fence, the fox gets up and shakes his fist as his narrates, “Foiled! But I was determined to succeed!” (animated by Charles) In his house, he’s seen pacing back and forth: “All that night, my scheming, crafty brain searched for a way to get those chickens”. By morning, “Suddenly, like a sledgehammer, an idea hit me!” A mallet literally appears above him and hits him on the head. “I disguised myself as a dog!” After shaving off his tail fur and most of his facial fur (animated by DeLara), he imitates woofing while looking in the mirror: “Oooh, you evil genius, you” (animated by Charles).

The fox sneaks back into the farmyard (animated by DeLara), and with an evil scheming facial expression and gesture, he narrates, “My timing was perfect. I decided to give him my ‘thirst’ routine” (animated by Charles). The fox goes up to the bulldog waking him up by slapping him, going into a dying of thirst routine (animated by Bill Melendez). The bulldog’s thoughts show that he immediately knows it’s the fox (animated by Charles), but decides to play along. He gives the fox his water dish and tells him, “Hey, dog. You’re in terrible shape. What happened?” The fox narrates, “I told him a harrowing tale of hunger. Tin cans tied to my tail, autos running over me, dogcatchers after me! Misery! Hard luck!” (animated by Melendez). The bulldog confides, “Gosh. Things like that shouldn’t happen to a dog” (animated by Charles).

The bulldog walks the fox back to his doghouse, offering him food and shelter (animated by Carey). Unaware that the bulldog is actually on to him, the fox believes, “The fool! He fell for my crafty scheme!” The bulldog pulls out his box of dog food called pellets, “Here, chum. Have a pellet”. The fox is dismayed but decides to eat one anyway, “Pellets! When I wanted pullets! I resigned to put up with whatever came along until I had a chance until I had a chance at the chickens!” (animated by Charles)

A hen then lands on the fox’s head as the bulldog observes, “Heh. I sees ya like chickens too, huh?” The fox nods with a forced smile as he sweats and holds back his arm, “What torture! I had to hold out! I had to! I couldn’t grab! Couldn’t grab!” The hen gets up, having laid an egg on top of the fox’s head. The bulldog smashes the egg atop the fox’s head as he laughs, “The yolk’s on you, chum!” This makes the fox so angry that he causes the egg to fry on his head (animated by Charles).

Later, the fox walks toward the chicken yard, unaware the bulldog is watching him from behind a tree. As the fox attempts to open the henhouse door, he is stopped by the bulldog walking up to him: “Hey, chum. I was thinkin’. Instead of ya’s bein’ a bum all your life, I could learn ya’s to be a watchdog”. He then walks away for a considerable distance as he explains, “One of the things a watchdog’s gotta do is to chase burglars out of the place. Now I’ll help ya’s. I’ll be the burglar and you be the watchdog (animated by DeLara up to here). Now I’m a burglar sneakin’ in. You’re gonna attack me. This is Lesson 1” (animated by Charles). The fox shrugs and goes up to the bulldog while imitating a dog only for the bulldog to hit him with a metal pipe. The bulldog explains, “Burglars always carry a hunk of pipe to sock ya with. That’s Lesson 2” (animated by Scribner).

The fox then tries to use clippers on the wire fence before the bulldog comes up to him with a piece of wood, “Hey, chum. We gotta continue our lessons. When I throws the stick, you runs and brings it back. This is Lesson 3”. The fox goes to get the stick in an unenthusiastic manner. As the fox comes back with it in his mouth, the bulldog prepares a dynamite stick and instructs, “That’s the stuff. Now go fetch this other stick. Go get it, boy”. The fox does this as well, where it explodes in his mouth offscreen. “Huh. He got it” (animated by Scribner). The bulldog informs, “Sometimes, they plays a trick on ya’s like that. Ya gotta keep your eyes open. That is Lesson 4” (animated by Charles).

That night as the bulldog and fox are in separate beds in the bulldog’s doghouse, the fox narrates, “Somehow, I managed to get through the day and at last, we got to bed”. The bulldog bids him, “Good night, chum” before he goes to sleep. The fox is glad as he thinks, “Asleep at last! Now’s my chance!” (animated by Carey) He sneaks out of the doghouse and goes into the henhouse before coming out, having stolen a chicken. The bulldog grabs him again, so the fox imitates sleepwalking and gives him a card that reads, “Never Awaken a Sleepwalker. No Matter What Happens” with “Danger” on both the top and the bottom of the card (animated by DeLara).

The bulldog then sees the fox “sleepwalking” past him with a chicken in his clutches. After he “sleepwalks” out of the yard, the fox passes a very large chicken and decides to take that instead. Upon taking it behind a rock, it suddenly speaks in the bulldog’s voice, revealing it’s actually the bulldog in disguise, “Hey, chum. Never be greedy. That’s Lesson 5”. The fox is so freaked out upon seeing it’s the bulldog that he runs off, despite the bulldog telling him, “Hey, wait. There’s another lesson” (animated by Melendez). The fox runs to the side of the road and hitchhikes where he is immediately picked up by a truck (animated by Scribner). The bulldog tells us, “He should’ve stayed for Lesson 6. Never hitch rides with strangers!” It turns out the truck the fox hitched a ride on is one for a fox furrier company! (animated by Charles)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕