Release Date:

April 7, 1945

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

During meat rationing, a dog named Fido really wants meat and is disappointed that his dinner is all vegetables and dog food that does not contain meat. After imagining various items as meats, Fido assumes a real steak that falls out of a meat market truck also isn’t real but when a little dog picks it up, he realizes it’s genuine and attempts to get it back. A bulldog also wants the steak, and it becomes a three-way battle between the dogs.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 13-14, the 13th Looney Tune in the 14th release season.

This is the last cartoon to use the “rotating credits” system, where only one or two animators were credited per cartoon. From the next cartoon onwards (barring “Dough for the Do Do”, which only credited Mel Blanc and Carl Stalling), every cartoon would have the full slate of credits where all four main animators in a director’s unit would now be credited as well as the layout and background artists.

As Tashlin left before the cartoon was released, he is uncredited.

The title is a pun for “behind the eight ball”.

This is the last cartoon to use the 1941-1945 Looney Tunes intro theme.

The cartoon was originally titled “Chow Hounds”.

The cartoon is seen at one point in the “It’s a Good Life” segment from “Twilight Zone: The Movie”.

This is the last cartoon written by Melvin Millar.

“Boy Scout in Switzerland” plays when Fido and the bulldog crash into a gate.

What I Like About This One:

Fido’s dreaming of meat that includes him shaking his head over an onion on a hamburger and then nodding once it’s taken off (animated by Arthur Davis).

Fido accidentally hitting his head on his doghouse and angrily muttering about it when his mistress calls him for dinner (animated by Davis).

Fido is so excited about dinner that he does an Indian war dance around his food bowl but his mood immediately changes once he sees it’s all vegetables (animated by Cal Dalton). He dismisses a carrot as “Bugs Bunny food” and angrily mutters at the door (animated by Davis). He is glad to find a can of dog food (animated by Izzy Ellis), makes kissing noises at the door, and immediately puts a handful in his mouth, before noticing something doesn’t taste right. He reads the back of the can which specifically lists out all the ingredients: “This Dog Food Contains Vitamins, Carbohydrates, Proteins, Dextrose, Calcium- But No Meat!” (animated by Dalton)

Angry, Fido spits the food out and growls at the can before stomping on it. He then goes into a fit: “I want meat! Red, juicy, tender, delicious meat!” and stops at one point to calmly ask, “You’ve had this feeling, before, haven’t you, folks?” Everything literally gets darker when Fido becomes more desperate but lights up again when Fido mistakes a tree stump for dark meat. Attempting to bite it results in him and the stump flying into a pond. He then mistakes a tennis racket for a T-bone steak and attempts to chew on it, but the strings only form a mustache on his face (animated by Ellis).

A steak then falls out of a meat market truck after said trucks hits some bumps in the road that haven’t been filled with asphalt yet. Zooming over to the steak, Fido stops and remembers how the previous two things he tried to consume were not meat. Boasting about how he knows this is a mirage, Fido doesn’t notice the little dog walking in and picking up the steak before he sees for himself (animated by Davis) and when his brain cell beeps in Morse code to him, “That was real meat- you dope!” (animated by Ellis)

Attempting to get his steak back, Fido tries to tug it from what he thinks is the little dog but it was actually stuck on a telephone pole, which uproots from the ground and hits Fido in the face. Even though he yelps in pain, it’s revealed that the only thing the pole did to him was compress his muzzle into his face (animated by Dalton).

Before Fido can pick up the discarded steak, the bulldog grabs it and starts licking his lips in hunger. The bulldog then becomes angry once Fido swipes it from him (animated by Davis). Fido gets the bulldog’s attention and tricks him into crashing headfirst into a fire hydrant (animated by Ellis).

When the bulldog regains his senses, Fido tries to explain to him what’s going on. “Now wait a minute. Let me explain the setup. This is my steak and a little dog that I never saw before mind you came along and took it. So I chased after him and just recovered it. And I’m sure that you will appreciate my position in the-”. But the bulldog isn’t in a listening mood and punches Fido while he’s in the middle of talking. Dazed, Fido repeats “Let me explain” four times before collapsing (animated by Davis).

Fido then attempts to club the bulldog on the head, but the bulldog appears to have a hard skull as the hit only causes him to angrily look up at Fido and repeated hitting causes the club to break in two. The little dog then steals the steak from the bulldog’s mouth as Fido and the bulldog both do a wild take where their limbs leave their body before they zoom off after the little dog (animated by Dalton).

Fido and the bulldog then crash into a gate and roll backwards before Fido opens the gate but shuts it on the bulldog who does the same roll backwards (animated by Anatolle Kirsanoff). The dogs all take turns sneaking off with the steak and then tripping each other when they pass an opening in the fence. The bulldog tries to peer around the fence to avoid getting tripped but Fido hits him into the ground with a mallet instead (animated by Dalton).

Making a run for it with the steak, Fido enters an alley where the bulldog puts a trash can over him and hits it with a mallet. Once he realizes the little dog has it, he stops Fido from vibrating and they both chase after the little dog. In the midst of the fight, they find that the little dog has managed to consume the steak (animated by Dalton).

Accepting defeat, Fido asks the bulldog, “Well, we can dream, can’t we?”, as he mallets both the bulldog and himself on the head and they both smile as they dream of a parade of meats passing by (animated by Davis).

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½