Release Date:

February 2, 1952

Main Character(s):

Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot

Summary:

A large bulldog named Marc Anthony befriends a cute little kitten named Pussyfoot he finds after she proves to be unafraid of him and only cuddles up on his back for a nap. He decides to keep her as a pet but his mistress is fed up with him always bringing stuff into the house so he must hide Pussyfoot from his mistress.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1197 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue.

This is the first appearance of one of the most adorable cartoon duos, Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot. With this being their introductory cartoon, Marc Anthony at first behaves like any cartoon dog would do, barking loudly at a cat, before he becomes attached to Pussyfoot. They would also appear in three other cartoons (all directed by Jones), with those being “Kiss Me Cat” (1953), “Feline Frame Up” (1954), and “Cat Feud” (1958). They would even get their own episode in Looney Tunes Cartoons, “Boarding Games” (2023).

The cartoon’s most memorable scene where Marc Anthony mistakenly believes that Pussyfoot has been made into a cookie was paid homage to in Pixar’s fourth movie, “Monsters Inc” (2001) where Sulley mistakenly believes that Boo has gone into the trash compactor (indeed, Sulley and Boo’s friendship in that movie is quite similar to Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot’s).

Although Pussyfoot is female, she is claimed to be male in this one and the aforementioned “Kiss Me Cat”.

Marc Anthony’s name is a nod to the Roman Emperor, Mark Antony, although his name is spelled different and also contains an “H”.

The title alludes to a phrase regarding money (“feeding”) being donated to a larger pot (“kitty”). Although this was among the first Warner cartoons I ever saw when I first got into these cartoons in 2013, I literally did not realize this reference until writing this post (proof that you learn something new every day).

The cartoon was ranked number 36 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons and is also in the 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons book.

The Looney Tunes Christmas ornament for 2019 was a reference to this cartoon called “A Kitty for Christmas”, which involves Marc Anthony with a Santa hat and Pussyfoot making biscuits on his back, with the cookies left for Santa, being cat-shaped cookies similar to the one in this cartoon that Marc Anthony assumes is Pussyfoot (and I do indeed have that as my ornament for that year).

There are no voice credits in the cartoon due to Mel Blanc not voicing any characters (though he did do Marc Anthony’s various noises he makes as neither Marc Anthony or Pussyfoot ever speak) and all of the dialogue goes to the mistress, who is voiced by Bea Benaderet.

Footage from this cartoon was shown in the 1984 movie, “Gremlins” (a movie that Jones actually contributed to via cameos from Bugs and Daffy).

Favorite Scene:

When Pussyfoot scurries into a mouse hole after Marc Anthony hides her under a bowl, Marc Anthony mistakenly grabs out a mouse and puts it on his back. Upon seeing Pussyfoot eating out of his dog dish, Marc Anthony chuckles at this before making a realization and getting angry at seeing the mouse on his back, and tossing him back into his hole.

What Happens in This One:

The first shot of the cartoon is two eyes in the dark, which is just Pussyfoot coming out of an empty tin can. Spotting her, Marc Anthony runs up to her, attempting to scare her with his loud barking. She only lets out a small meow, to which a confused Marc Anthony continues bellowing at her. She only climbs up him, and starts making biscuits on his back, to which he grimaces and grunts in pain before she settles down and curls up for a nap. Finding this adorable, Marc Anthony chuckles at this and kisses her goodnight to which she licks him, causing Marc Anthony to give a close-mouthed smile for the audience (animated by Ben Washam).

Marc Anthony walks very slowly back into the house with Pussyfoot still asleep on his back in order to not wake her (animated by Washam). Meanwhile, the mistress is not pleased with Marc Anthony having left stuff everywhere: “Oh, that dog! Always messing my house up!” Upon seeing him walk in, she scolds, “Oh, there you are, Marc Anthony! Now, you listen to me! Don’t you dare bring one more thing into this house! Do you hear me? One more thing! Not one solitary single thing!” While she’s saying this, he puts Pussyfoot on a shelf and puts a bowl atop her to hide her, while he nods to the mistress’ scolding. Suddenly, Pussyfoot walks away under the bowl, which causes the mistress to mistake her for a mouse (animated by Lloyd Vaughan).

Marc Anthony goes after Pussyfoot and finds the bowl she was under covering up a mouse hole in the wall. He reaches in for Pussyfoot and presumably finds her but is unaware that he’s actually taken out a confused mouse instead and puts it on his back before walking off. Marc Anthony spots Pussyfoot eating out of his dog dish and chuckles at this, before stopping upon realizing someone else is on his back. Turning around to see the mouse, Marc Anthony gets a nervous kiss and a sheepish grin from the mouse, and gives him an angry stare before tossing him back into his hole (animated by Vaughan).

Pussyfoot attempts to attack a ball but it causes her to roll towards the mistress and hit her ankle. Before she can discover her, Marc Anthony takes the wind-up key off of a wind-up toy car and uses Pussyfoot as a wind-up toy. The mistress tells him, “Marc Anthony, I don’t know where you got that strange toy, but keep it out of my way”. Marc Anthony eagerly nods in agreement and rapidly kisses her foot before dashing away. Confused, the mistress remarks, “Well, I never” (animated by Phil Monroe).

Sighing in relief, Marc Anthony then sees Pussyfoot in the toy car he removed the wind-up key from and she accidentally begins “driving” it around the kitchen before she goes under the rug in the living room towards the mistress. Marc Anthony goes under the rug and attempts to prevent Pussyfoot from being spotted, but unbeknownst to him, Pussyfoot and the toy car exit the rug out someplace else, resulting in Marc Anthony accidentally grabbing the mistress’ ankle. After she lets out a startled noise, she spots Marc Anthony under the rug and asks, “Marc Anthony, have you gone insane? What in the world is the matter-” Marc Anthony spots Pussyfoot getting out of the toy car and climbing up to the make-up area, so he quickly dashes over there and grabs her to use as a powder puff. The mistress asks, “What have you got in your hand? Give it to me this instant.” Marc Anthony uses Pussyfoot to powder himself and dance while doing so in tune to “Oh, You Beautiful Doll”. The mistress can only comment, “Now, I HAVE seen everything!” (animated by Vaughan)

Later, Marc Anthony is scolding Pussyfoot with “Mm-mm-mm” noises, but she starts batting at his finger, which causes him to revert to happy and start cuddling her affectionately. Marc Anthony then hears the mistress open the door and walk in, so he hides Pussyfoot in the flour bin. Upon finding Marc Anthony standing next to the flour bin, the mistress asks, “NOW what are up to?”, to which Marc Anthony gives a soulful eyes expression as if to say, “Who me?” The mistress then says, “You look very guilty”, but Marc Anthony shakes his head. She gently pushes him towards his basket with a broom, “Alright, into your basket and stay there. I don’t want any of your foolishness while I’m making the cookies” (animated by Vaughan).

Marc Anthony silently reacts in shock at this news (animated by Vaughan) as the mistress scoops out some flour and he sees Pussyfoot’s eyes in the measuring cup, much to his horror. As the mistress is busy getting ingredients out of the fridge, Marc Anthony attempts to sneak past her and get Pussyfoot out of the mixing bowl, but the mistress misinterprets him attempting to sneak in some flour for himself and hits him with her wooden spoon: “Marc Anthony, you greedy thing! Can’t you even wait ‘til they’re done!?” (animated by Monroe)

The mistress is about to mix up the batter but finds that the mixer won’t turn on. It turns out Marc Anthony has pulled out the plug with his foot and is standing there with an innocent expression. When she exclaims, “Marc Anthony!”, he points to the cord as if he accidentally pulled it out, but she is fed up as she plugs it back in. “Give me that cord! I’ve had just about enough of this!” To distract her even further, Marc Anthony takes some whipped cream out of the fridge and sprays it all over his mouth area to pose as a rabid dog. This only angers the mistress even further as she exclaims, “Oh! My whipped cream! That’s the last straw!” before she drags Marc Anthony out of the house by his collar (animated by Monroe).

Unbeknownst to Marc Anthony, Pussyfoot climbs out of the mixing bowl, covered in cookie batter and goes behind a box of soap flakes to clean herself up. The mistress walks back into the house and sighs, “Now maybe I can get something accomplished”. Unable to do anything about it, Marc Anthony watches from out the window and makes various pained reactions as the dough is being mixed, rolled, cut, and baked. After the cookies are put into the oven, Marc Anthony believes he lost his new friend and starts crying loudly (animated by Ken Harris).

After a while, it’s revealed that he has cried a large puddle on the driveway. Thinking he’s crying about being thrown out, the mistress opens the door and tells him, “Alright, Marc Anthony. I think you’ve been punished enough”. Inside, she comments on his very upset expression, “My, what a long face. Well, I know just the thing for that. Here”. She presents a cat-shaped cookie, which causes Marc Anthony to believe it’s Pussyfoot and for his lip to quiver as he’s about to cry again. Taking it from the mistress, he sadly puts it on his back in place of the real Pussyfoot, and starts crying loudly again. Suddenly, a now clean Pussyfoot comes up to him and meows, much to his extreme delight, as he starts kissing her in relief (animated by Harris).

However, the mistress has finally discovered that Marc Anthony has brought a pet into the house and he now realizes that she no longer believes that what he previously passed up as a wind-up toy and a powder puff are those things. He starts crying again in a begging manner, presumably explaining that he found her outside and loves her very much. The mistress tells him, “Marc Anthony, will you calm down? You can keep that dear little kitten if you want to”. Marc Anthony’s jaw drops in delight at this before the mistress reminds him, “But, remember. You’ve got to take care of him, and let him share your bed. And clean up after him. He’s YOUR responsibility. Now you hear me?” (animated by Harris)

With this, Marc Anthony picks it up where they left off with him scolding her, and Pussyfoot attempting to play with his finger and purring at him. Touched, Marc Anthony puts her onto his back (animated by Vaughan) as she starts making biscuits again, as he grimaces and grunts in pain before sighing in relief. After she’s curled up on his back for a nap, Marc Anthony covers her with a tuft of his fur as a blanket (animated by Washam).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕