Release Date:

February 15, 1941

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A dumb dog goes hunting for a wise-guy quail, whose top-knot keeps falling in front of his face.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon originally had the quail making razzing noises when trying to keep his top knot from falling in his face. Since razzing was considered a huge no-no by the censors, all later release prints had the razzing replaced with a whistling noise. The biggest tell of the original soundtrack was when the dog asks the quail if heard a “funny noise that went like this” and then blows a very messy raspberry (that the clearly disgusted quail tries to shield himself from). The original version with the razzing intact was finally made public in 2021 when the cartoon was a bonus feature on Volume 3 of the Tex Avery Screwball Classics series (a series of Blu-rays collecting Avery’s MGM cartoons from newly restored scans).

The quail speaks in a similar voice to that of Bugs Bunny and even refers to the dog as “doc”.

This is one of the few cartoons where the cue sheet (the sheet that reveals what songs are heard in the cartoon) is publicly available.

What I Like About This One:

The running gag of the dog constantly running into trees.

The razzing noises the quail makes.

When the dog first encounters the quail (who is still constantly razzing to keep his top knot from falling), he asks him if he heard a funny noise that went like this: the dog then very messily blows a big raspberry to which the quail shields himself from in disgust.

The dog getting wise to the fact that the bird he was speaking to is the very type he’s hunting. “Say, wait a minute, YOU’RE a quail!” In response, the quail yells, “YOU’RE RIGHT!” in the dog’s ear, razzes into it, and pulls on his nose.

During a chase, the quail passes the dog with “Good morning, neighbor” before doing another razz at his top knot. The dog says “Good morning” to him as well before realizing, “That was the quail”.

The rendition of “They Gotta Quit Kickin’ My Dawg Around” when the dog sniffs at a trail of quail tracks.

The quail tracks end up leading underwater where the dog sees some fish and the quail swim by.

The quail using his top knot as a windshield wiper when he exits the water.

When the dog has the quail cornered, the quail’s top knot becomes several hairs standing on end.

The quail getting the dog to “fetch the stick”.

The animation of the dog angrily gnashing his teeth (and destroying the stick in the process) when he realizes he’s been tricked.

Fed up, the dog runs very fast after the quail but ends up crashing through a fence made of rocks, a log cabin, and several trees. Amongst the wreckage, the dog comments, “Ah, lots of trees” and then razzes to keep his ear off his muzzle.

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½