Release Date:

February 21, 1953

Main Character(s):

Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot

Summary:

A mouse is loose in the house where Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot reside. The owners, Tom and Vi, decide that Pussyfoot has to do her job and catch mice, or she’ll be replaced by another cat, much to Marc Anthony’s horror. Marc Anthony decides to teach Pussyfoot about mouse-catching, but the mouse only uses her as a horse whenever he goes out to steal food, so Marc Anthony risks getting in trouble with Tom to prevent him from seeing this.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1237 and was released as a Looney Tune.

This is the second appearance of Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot.

Like with “Feed the Kitty”, Pussyfoot is again inexplicably referred to as male: “Kitten or no kitten, he’s gotta do his job and catch mice, or we’ll just have to get another cat!”

The title is a pun for the 1948 Broadway musical, “Kiss Me Kate”.

A painting near the closet has its signature as “Parlo De Gardo”, which is a Spanish pseudonym for Philip DeGuard.

In several cartoons, the faces of the owners are usually never shown. This one provides a brief exception as Tom’s head can be seen when Marc Anthony covers his eyes to play “Guess Who?” with him as a distraction from seeing the mouse use Pussyfoot.

I love the rendition of “Kiss Me Sweet” over the opening credits (this is also easily the best usage of this tune).

Favorite Scene:

The mouse fools Marc Anthony into believing that he’s harming Pussyfoot, and if he wants to see her again, he’ll have to shove cheese into the hole in several small chunks. Marc Anthony begins doing this, only for Tom to catch him in the act and then spank him in the behind with a rolled-up newspaper several times to the point that Marc Anthony’s behind turns red.

The “Guess Who?” scene is also hilarious with Tom assuming it’s “Grandma Esmeralda come all the way from Duluth!” and kisses “her” happily only to find out he smooched Marc Anthony.

What Happens in This One:

Pussyfoot is seen napping on Marc Anthony’s back, with Marc Anthony also napping himself. Pussyfoot then yawns and stretches, but falls off of Marc Anthony, with her startled meow waking him up. He picks her up and blows on her fur, so he can lick it (rather than brushing it) before kissing her, to which she in turn, gives him a small lick on the face. Marc Anthony puts her back on his back, before Pussyfoot starts making biscuits on his back, causing Marc Anthony to grunt and grimace in pain. Once Pussyfoot settles back down on his back, Marc Anthony sighs in relief and is about to continue napping before he hears Tom and Vi talking (animated by Lloyd Vaughan).

Vi is distressed, “Oh, Tom, there’s been a mouse in the kitchen again”. Tom: “Well, that’s the reason we’ve got a cat, isn’t it?” Vi: “But, Tom, Pussyfoot is just a little kitten”. Tom: “Look, Vi, kitten or no kitten, he’s gotta do his job and catch mice, or we’ll just have to get another cat. That’s final.” Marc Anthony reacts in horror at this decision, as he picks Pussyfoot up. She gives him an affectionate lick as he shudders in fear while shedding a tear. Marc Anthony then sees the mouse walk to his hole while carrying a small piece of cheese, an olive, a sugar cube, and a doughnut all on his head (animated by Vaughan).

Marc Anthony points to the mouse hole and tries to tell Pussyfoot she is supposed to catch the mouse by imitating a cat and then pushing her into the mouse hole to catch the mouse. He nods in satisfaction towards the living room, but then leaps in shock at what he sees: the mouse is using Pussyfoot as a horse pulling a cart for him to steal food. The mouse shortly comes back with his cart full of another piece of cheese and several produce. Marc Anthony gives a “you’ve got to be kidding me” look at the audience before his right ear droops and he takes Pussyfoot back out to hold her while thinking of a plan (animated by Ben Washam).

Marc Anthony sits Pussyfoot in the corner while he brings out a chalkboard from the closet. He draws a picture of a cat on it and points to Pussyfoot and to the board at the same time to tell her that she’s a cat. Next, he draws a picture of a mouse and points to the mouse’s hole and to the board to explain that the creature in the wall is a mouse. Marc Anthony then makes a drawing of a cat threatening a mouse labeled “Cats Hate Mice!” and with the cat in the drawing snarling, “Grr!”, and the mouse pleading, “Have Mercy!” Marc Anthony blinks for a few seconds before realizing Pussyfoot’s no longer where he put her, and his eyes briefly bulge out in horror when he sees that the mouse is again using her as a horse, now having stolen some pieces of bread. He takes Pussyfoot out of the hole again and looks at her while putting his hand on his cheek and thinking (animated by Washam).

Later, Marc Anthony sneaks a jack-in-the-box in front of the hole and attaches a piece of cheese to a string rigged to open it as bait. In tune to alluring Egyptian-like music, the mouse goes into a trance while walking up to the cheese. After grabbing it, the jack-in-the-box opens, with the jack popping out with an evil smile that scares the mouse so badly that he passes out. Marc Anthony puts the unconscious mouse tail-first into Pussyfoot’s mouth before pushing Pussyfoot’s brow down to make her look ferocious. Excited, Marc Anthony runs into the living room and pantomimes to Tom that Pussyfoot apparently caught the mouse. Tom tells him, “Okay, okay. I’m coming. But it better be good” (animated by Washam).

By the time Marc Anthony gets back into the kitchen, he screams in horror while skidding to a stop upon seeing that the mouse has once more used Pussyfoot as a horse. The mouse notices him, and runs off, so Marc Anthony hides Pussyfoot in the closet with the cart and the jar of olives the mouse stole. “Well?”, Tom asks in annoyance. Marc Anthony comes out of the closet with a feminine look on his face and wearing a lampshade like a tutu as a distraction. He dances like a ballerina in time to ballet-like music. Tom sarcastically comments, “Very touching”, and slaps Marc Anthony with the newspaper as he walks back to the living room in annoyance, “A cat that won’t catch mice and now a crazy dog” (animated by Washam).

Oblivious that Pussyfoot is walking past him while pulling the cart with the olives, Marc Anthony sighs in relief and goes back to the closet before making an offscreen take when finding Pussyfoot is not in the closet and after searching through it, looks on in horror when he sees (animated by Washam) Pussyfoot going into the living room with the cart and olives. To prevent Tom from seeing this, Marc Anthony puts his hands over Tom’s eyes. Figuring someone is playing “Guess Who?” with him, Tom guesses “Vi?” and “Aunt Harriet?” to which Marc Anthony shakes his head at both guesses. Tom then makes another guess in excitement, “Oh, I know! It’s Grandma Esmeralda come all the way from Duluth!” and unknowingly grabs Marc Anthony, “Grandma!”, before smooching him. Upon realizing who he just gave a big smooch, Tom yells, “What!? You again!?”, before tossing Marc Anthony out of the living room, which ends with the latter crashing offscreen (animated by Ken Harris).

Irritated that nothing is working, Marc Anthony pushes Pussyfoot off to the side with his foot in annoyance. A piece of paper tied to a string lands near Pussyfoot who chases it into the mouse hole. The mouse then flies a paper airplane that lands near Marc Anthony. He opens it and reads a threatening message from the mouse, “Shove the cheese (in small chunks) into the hole or you will never see your cat again (except in small chunks) Signed The Kit-Napper”. Figuring the mouse isn’t being serious, Marc Anthony gives a “Whatever” chuckle and tosses the note aside, before another paper airplane flies up to him, with this one reading, “Well- How about it? Hm? Signed The Kit-Napper” (animated by Harris).

Marc Anthony’s eyes widen in horror (animated by Harris) as the mouse sees his reaction. To make it convincing, he whacks his bed with a plank and makes yowling-like noises in order for it to seem like he is indeed harming Pussyfoot. It turns out that Pussyfoot is actually licking up “Evaporated Milk”. Marc Anthony sweats in fear at the apparent torture and goes to the hole with a wedge of cheese, shoving chunk by chunk into the hole. Unfortunately, Tom enters and exclaims in bewilderment at what Marc Anthony is doing, “Hey, for the love of-!?” Marc Anthony rapidly continues shoving the chunks into the hole while giving a sheepish expression and sweating. Tom then holds Marc Anthony by the tail and spanks him with the newspaper several times to the point that Marc Anthony’s behind turns red (animated by Vaughan).

Thinking again, Marc Anthony gets another idea (animated by Washam) and gets out from the closet, a magnifying mirror that makes one’s face look significantly larger than it actually is. He puts it up to the hole, and puts Pussyfoot in front of it before furrowing her brow to make her look angry. Inside the hole, the mouse is seen putting away the cheese chunks he stole before Marc Anthony sticks a handwritten note into the hole where the mouse can see it, “Come See the New Cat”. Curious, the mouse complies, and sees a large, angry cat (actually Pussyfoot in front of the magnifying mirror) looking into the hole, scaring him and his entire family into leaving the hole and house altogether. With the mice all gone, Tom and Vi are proud, “Well, I’ll be-! Vi, I always said that cat had the makings of a champion mouser!” Marc Anthony nods in agreement and holds Pussyfoot under a light that he turns on. In Marc Anthony’s grasp, Pussyfoot furrows her brow for real this time and attempts to land a punch to demonstrate, only to spin around in place due to being held (animated by Harris).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕