Release Date:

July 13, 1935

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A tough mouse named Elmer wants to be a fighter, but his wise granny (who proves to be tougher than him) objects to the idea. That night, he sneaks off to the city to be a fighter and when he is put up against the champ (a bulldog), he realizes he isn’t as tough as he thought.

That’s Not All, Folks:

This was the oldest cartoon to be given a Blue Ribbon reissue. The Blue Ribbon reissues were re-releases of older cartoons in theaters. Unfortunately, for several years, the cartoons that were given this treatment had all of their opening credits removed, resulting in them being lost. While some of the cartoons have had their original titles found, sadly some of them are still elusive. For cartoons that have been given this treatment but don’t have their original titles found, I will give information about who was credited in the cartoon and what music played under the opening titles (only for cartoons scored by Carl Stalling as the cartoons scored by Norman Spencer or Bernard Brown that were reissued don’t have that info found).

Credits:

Supervision: I. Freleng

Music Score: Bernard Brown

Animation: Don Williams and Jack Carr

There is an in-joke on one of the boxing posters at the beginning: “Battling Freleng”.

The cat playing the harmonica resembles Beans the Cat (who would briefly become the next star after Buddy, and before Porky Pig).

What I Like About This One:

The opening song.

Elmer attempting to box a scarecrow.

The granny mouse has two awesome moments: the first is when she turns a log into clothespins with her fists and the second is when she knocks out the champ with a single punch.

Elmer and the champ fighting to the tune of “La Cucaracha” (one of the first times Freleng timed gags to the music).

The referee using a turtle to ring the bell.

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕