Release Date:

February 3, 1951

Main Character(s):

Sylvester

Summary:

Sylvester’s owners leave for a two-week vacation but forget to put him out, leaving him locked in with almost nothing to eat. He is relieved to find a cabinet filled with canned food, but the only can opener is in the possession of a mouse who refuses to give it to him.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1161 and was released as a Looney Tune.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. The original restoration of the cartoon on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 DVD set in 2003 uses the Blue Ribbon titles and for some reason, the incorrect opening theme. It was restored again in 2012 for the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 Blu-ray set with the original opening rings put back in, as well as the correct opening theme.

This is the first cartoon that Warren Foster wrote for Freleng, starting their nearly decade-long partnership (though Foster would still write McKimson’s next few cartoons).

Having last been at the studio in the late 1930’s, Cal Howard co-wrote this cartoon only. He would not write another cartoon for the studio again until he became the head writer during the final years of the Golden Age during the Seven Arts era from 1967 to 1969 and before that also co-wrote with Hanna-Barbera writer Tom Dagenais two of the three Daffy and Speedy cartoons directed by Rudy Larriva and subcontracted to Format Films in 1967 after DePatie-Freleng ended their contract with Warner Bros. with those being “The Music Mice-Tro” and “The Spy Swatter”.

With this cartoon, Manuel Perez returned to being an animator for Freleng, and would stay until 1955 (he would also animate on most of the cartoons from the DePatie-Freleng era).

Sylvester’s owners are revealed to be named “Mr. and Mrs. Champin”. This is a reference to Ken Champin.

The title is a pun for “canned food”.

The cartoon is in the 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons book.

Each of the main three directors used the piano key teeth gag (used as the screenshot in this post) at some point. Other than this cartoon, Freleng also used it in “Muzzle Tough” (1954). Jones used it in one of his Roadrunner cartoons, “Hook Line and Stinker” (1958), while McKimson used it in both “The Super Snooper” (1952) and “Rushing Roulette” (1965).

This is one of five Freleng cartoons to have animation by John Carey. The other four include “Rabbit Every Monday”, “Putty Tat Trouble” (which are tomorrow and Wednesday’s cartoon respectively), “The Fair Haired Hare” (released two months later), and “Foxy by Proxy” (1952).

The mouse resembles the respective ones from “Mouse Mazurka” and “Stooge for a Mouse”.

The cartoon’s premise would be reworked for McKimson’s “Moby Duck” (1965), only this time it’s on a desert island where Daffy and Speedy have been shipwrecked and when a box of canned food washes ashore, Daffy selfishly wants it all, making Speedy’s refusal to give him the can opener he has justified.

The cartoon is shown on a television in one scene during the 1964 crime film, “Kitten with a Whip”.

“Huckleberry Duck” plays under the opening credits.

Various can labels in the cabinet are references to crew members. These include “Pawley’s Salmon” (referring to Hawley Pratt), “Fritzling Packed Sardines” (referring to Freleng), “Ross Codfish” (referring to Virgil Ross), and “Champin Tuna” (another reference to Ken Champin). In addition, the can of cat food seen on the title card reads, “Farren’s Fine Cat Food”, which is a reference to assistant animator Sid Farren.

What I Like About This One:

As his owners are finishing up their packing, Sylvester is seen sleeping on the couch with the air from his snoring enabling a feather floating down to stay afloat. Upon hearing the master announce, “California, here we come!”, Sylvester wakes up and after coughing out the feather, which flew into his mouth, asks in confusion, “California?” Seeing them driving away out the window, Sylvester chuckles, “They forgot to put out the cat” but then becomes frantic upon realizing this: “Th-th-THE CAT!? I’M THE CAT!!!!!!!”, putting emphasis on “I’M” (animated by Ken Champin).

Finding the back door locked, Sylvester frantically runs to the front door, and trips over a piece of furniture in the midst of running. He also finds the front door locked, and looks through the mail slot to find a note in an empty milk bottle, “Dear Milkman. Gone on vacation. No milk for two weeks”. Horrified, Sylvester exclaims, “No milk for two weeks!? I’ll STARVE!” He runs into the kitchen and finds nothing in several cabinets (animated by Champin) before his eyes literally spring out of his head in delight upon seeing a cabinet filled with canned food. After sighing in relief, Sylvester states, “All I need now is a can opener” (animated by Virgil Ross).

Taking a can of tuna with him, Sylvester starts searching the top drawer for a can opener, before this quickly turns into frantic searching upon not seeing one and becomes more and more desperate as he throws out various utensils. After throwing out the top and middle drawers in a panicked manner, he hears the mouse whistling to him while he’s in the middle of digging through the bottom drawer, showing him that he has a can opener. Sylvester runs toward the mouse in excitement, talking very fast, “Gimme, gimme, gimme! Gimme the can opener! Quick! Gimme! Gimme the can opener! Quick!” (animated by John Carey) The mouse just throws it into his hole, with Sylvester trying to reach for it to no avail. Sylvester chases after the mouse in anger, which ends with him slamming his face against the mouse’s hole in the wall after the latter enters (animated by Arthur Davis).

Sylvester attempts to smash the can on the ground and jump up and down on it several times before sweating in fear upon seeing it’s still unopened. He spots an ax and attempts to use it in order to split it open but before he can do so, the blade flies off the handle and out through the mail slot. Frustrated, Sylvester pounds the can with the handle before he sees (animated by Carey) the mouse putting the can opener out in the open (animated by Champin). He runs towards it again with the same excited fast talking (animated by Carey only for the mouse to grab it at the last minute, with Sylvester again slamming his face against the mouse’s hole (animated by Champin).

He then attempts to reach for it with a small hook but the mouse moves it towards an electric wire. Thinking he’s got it, Sylvester unknowingly pulls the wire closer and closer to the wire next to it (animated by Manuel Perez), with the inevitable causing him to get a tremendous electric shock that disintegrates his fur, with the fur on the tip of his tail disappearing with a poof (animated by Champin).

Sylvester hoists a piano up with a rope and pulley (animated by Carey) and puts the can under said piano. The mouse tricks him into letting go by offering the can opener to him, which causes Sylvester to let go of the rope. Once he does, the mouse runs away silently laughing while Sylvester gives an “Oh, no” before the piano crashes atop him, sending him through the floor into the basement. In a daze, he is also seen with some of the piano keys as teeth (animated by Ross).

Next, Sylvester attempts to cut open the wall with a saw but the mouse is below the floor and uses another saw on the exact spot where Sylvester is standing. Seeing this other saw below him sawing at the exact same time, Sylvester briefly takes his out and examines it before continuing to saw the wall, which is stopped by the mouse having cut out a complete circle below him, sending him falling (animated by Ross).

Sylvester comes back up with a dynamite stick and retreats into his hole before Sylvester lights the fuse and throws it into the hole. Unbeknownst to him, the mouse blows air into a bag and pops it near him. Thinking the dynamite just went off, Sylvester peeks his head into the hole, getting his head fur blown off by the real dynamite (animated by Davis).

Sylvester then attempts to suck the can opener out with a vacuum, oblivious to the mouse putting the vacuum’s sucking end behind him. After he turns it on, he ends up getting sucked in and trapped in the vacuum bag. For the heck of it, the mouse vacuums up some hot coals from the fireplace, which fly towards Sylvester’s behind, causing him to shout in pain and get pulled off of the vacuum, still trapped in the bag. Angry, he chases the mouse, attempting to hit him with a golf club, but due to being unable to see from the vacuum bag, falls and crashes into the basement, with the mouse having opened its door (animated by Davis).

Fed up, Sylvester comes back up with several explosives, scaring the mouse into retreating into his hole. Sylvester shoves them all into the hole, but the second he lights the fuse, a tremendous explosion happens, destroying the wall and the living room. However, this does finally get him the can opener, as he runs back to the cabinet (animated by Ross) happily exclaiming, “I got it! I got it! I got it!” only to find the cabinet now bolted shut with a padlock. The mouse shows him the key to unlock it, but not wanting to go through the same thing again, Sylvester screams in frustration before passing out. The mouse then twirls the key with his finger as he gives a cheeky look at the camera (animated by Champin).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕