Release Date:

September 28, 1946

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A worm who is after an apple is chased by a crow, who is chased by a cat, who is chased by a dog, who is chased by a dogcatcher, while the dogcatcher’s battle-ax wife is pursued by a mouse.

That’s Not All, Folks:

Despite the production number being 5-16 (the fifth Looney Tune in the 16th release season), the cartoon was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. “Some Sunday Morning” played under the opening credits:

Story: Tedd Pierce and Michael Maltese

Animation: Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Basil Davidovich, and Lloyd Vaughan

Layouts and Backgrounds: Richard Morley and Peter Brown

Voice Characterization: Mel Blanc

Musical Direction: Carl Stalling

Direction: Charles M. Jones

Starting with this cartoon up until Freleng’s “Bugs Bunny Rides Again” (1948), all cartoons directed by either Jones or Freleng would be written by both Maltese and Pierce.

This was Jones’ attempt at creating a multi-chase cartoon and also serves as a foreshadowing of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons in terms of chase cartoons with predators failing to catch prey.

The mouse in this cartoon resembles Hubie and Bertie, while the skunk that everyone runs away from resembles Pepe Le Pew.

The title is a pun for “Fair and Warmer”.

This and Jones’ previous cartoon, “The Eager Beaver”, just so happen to be right next to each other on the Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Volume 2 Blu-ray set (which is due to every new Looney Tunes Blu-ray release starting with that set having all of the cartoons on each disc presented in alphabetical order, which is a presentation that I really enjoy because you get cartoons from all sorts of different eras right next to each other).

What I Like About This One:

The narrator describes the beautiful morning as being “so quiet you can hear…. an apple drop”. Once that happens, the worm comes in with cutlery and a napkin, only to find the crow waiting beside the apple. We then see the crow getting chased by the cat, the cat getting chased by the dog, and the dog skidding to a stop and running away once he sees the dogcatcher. Chasing the bulldog, the dogcatcher runs off when he sees his wife armed with her rolling pin. The wife claims she’s not afraid of man nor beast, but a mouse replies, “No? I’m a beast” and growls at her, spending the rest of the cartoon chasing her. Witnessing this, the dogcatcher imitates Jimmy Durante, “Everybody wants to get into the act!” (animated by Basil Davidovich)

The crow paints his fist red and attaches leaves to it to resemble an apple, but the worm mallets it instead (animated by Lloyd Vaughan).

The dog then has the cat climbing a tree and he attempts to go after him but the cat places banana peels on the tree so that the dog will lose his grip and fall into the waiting dogcatcher’s net. Witnessing this, the crow’s thoughts are illustrated: “A. Dogs chase cats. B: Cats chase birds. C: I’m a bird. Therefore, D: I gotta help the dog” (animated by Vaughan). The crow snips the bottom of the net with scissors, which the dog bounces out of like a basketball. The cat imitates a basketball player and dribbles the dog back into the net. The crow grabs an old shoe from the city dump and kicks the dogcatcher in the shin (animated by Ben Washam).

The cat zooms off limb by limb when confronted by the dog (animated by Ken Harris).

Searching for the apple via a periscope, the worm finds the wife still being chased by the mouse and aims a missile at the apple tree. Seeing the cat there, the worm substitutes him for the crow, so that the crow gets all his feathers blown off. The crow brags, “Never even touched me!” but the worm runs past with a mirror to show him that that’s not the case (animated by Harris).

Later sneaking up on the apple, the worm is unaware of everyone else tiptoeing behind him. It’s only when the worm sneezes and everyone says “Gesundheit” in unison do they become aware of each other’s presence (animated by Vaughan).

Everyone runs smack into a cliff side, with the dogcatcher peeling everyone off one by one, before the five-way chase resumes. They all run behind a billboard but then run away when a skunk appears and does a Pepe-like hop after them (animated by Davidovich).

Running into the lumber yard, everyone unknowingly sneaks off the wooden planks and atop the others’ heads. The worm then descends one plank down in front of the crow, the worm and crow descend in front of the cat, the worm, crow, and cat descend in front of the dog, while the worm, crow, cat, and dog all descend in front of the dogcatcher (animated by Davidovich).

As the mouse is once more chasing the wife, the skunk appears again (animated by Davidovich) and they all dive into the ground (animated by Vaughan). The worm gets rid of the other four by poking them with a needle and sending them running away when they come face to face with the confused skunk (animated by Washam).

The worm then comes out wearing a gas mask (animated by Washam). The narrator asks him if he has to go through a chase like that every day just to get something to eat. The worm removes his mask to reveal that he’s not after a meal, but rather a new home: “Eat it, nothin’. This is the last furnished apartment in town” (animated by Harris).

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½