Release Date:

March 20, 1943

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A weasel steals a “mammy” chicken’s egg while she’s away, and when the egg hatches, the kid initially thinks the weasel is his mother before realizing he isn’t and starts heckling the weasel.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. “Mammy’s Little Coal Black Rose” is sung over the opening credits and is partially heard in the reissue print.

In addition, cels of the original title card and credits were found in June 2021.

The cartoon no longer airs on television due to racial stereotypes. Despite this, however, it isn’t part of the Censored Eleven and was put out on the Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 2 laserdisc.

The cartoon is in the public domain.

The word “Mammy” is said approximately 40 times in the cartoon.

This is the first cartoon where a character says someone “isn’t whistling Dixie”, which is slang for “You are so right!”

What I Like About This One:

The mother chicken’s egg tapping in Morse code which translates, “Kill de fatted worm. Yo is practically a mammy. PS Congratulations, Junior” (animated by Ken Harris).

After the weasel steals the egg, he starts singing out the ingredients of “Egg Delight Surprise” in time to an original tune. He also realizes “add one egg” doesn’t hit quite right after the previous ingredients, “One cup of flour, a pinch of salt, an ounce of sugar-”

The kid is revealed to be a blabbermouth when the egg is cracked open and immediately assumes the weasel is his mother. Although the weasel is somewhat touched by this, he still wants to eat him and decides to play along (animated by Robert Cannon).

The weasel then ditches his original recipe for “Chicken a La Weasel”.

The kid questioning the weasel as to what animals they are and imitating each (horses, hyenas, or monkeys). The weasel pulls out his own baby picture and shows it to the kid, telling him it’s a mirror.

The kid then decides to play “catch” where he throws the vegetables as part of the recipe at the weasel. This of course annoys the weasel who carelessly threatens the kid in his normal voice before realizing his error and correcting himself to a feminine voice suggesting they play a “better” game- hide and seek which he gets the kid to start counting while he puts the pot lid over him and puts him in the oven. The chick is actually outside of the oven, and he gives the weasel a hotfoot by lighting matches in between his toes, causing the weasel to zoom out in pain and douse his foot in a small barrel of water labeled “For use in case of hotfoot only”.

Now clearly aware that the weasel is not his mother, the kid decides they play “tag”. When the weasel is seen waiting for the kid with a meat cleaver, the kid is one step ahead of him and crowns him with a mallet.

Pretending to feel sympathetic, the kid gives the weasel a pepper shaker (telling him it’s salt) to put on his tail to catch him. He turns on a fan after the weasel throws it, which blows the pepper in the weasel’s face, causing him to constantly sneeze for the rest of the cartoon.

The weasel’s next big sneeze causing the kid to get stuck in a light bulb. When the weasel sticks his finger in the socket, he gets electrocuted.

The weasel’s next predicament involves him sneezing into a closet and coming out with a kettle on his head. His next sneeze forms the kettle in the shape of a crown, with his next one sending him tumbling into the stove and a long red carpet, ending with him coming out as a king with a black eye.

Finally, the kid gives the weasel one more whiff of the pepper, getting him stuck on the ceiling. The kid offers to catch him- by having him land in the washing machine! While in said washing machine, the weasel holds a white flag, saying, “I surrender, dear”.

In the end, the kid is back with his real mother and tells her about how the weasel kidnapped him and how he outwitted him at every turn. The mother doesn’t believe him and scolds him for telling “such big lies”. The kid claims he’s telling the truth. The bandaged weasel then shows up and backs the kid up: “He ain’t just whistlin’ Dixie, mammy!” before giving out one final sneeze (animated by Cannon).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕