Die Geschichte zweier Katzen

Soon after Tweety is hatched he is attacked by two dumb but HILARIOUS cats that are made to resemble Abbot and Costallo.

This short directed by Bob Clampett is an HILARIOUS short packed with the debut of Tweety! The short is filled with great gimmicks and outstanding voice work by Mel Blanc.

4(****)out of 4(****)stars

TURN OFF THOSE LIGHTS!!!!

The cats included instead are Babbit and Castello, spoofs on people called Bud Abbot and Lou Castello. Tweetie Pie is a lot different from the Tweetie Pie we know today, in this episode the bird has more of a mean streak and is not yellow. The two cats are very entertaining, Castello being a plump, cowardly cat who receives most of the action and Babbit is a braver, more grown-up cat.

I quite like this Looney Tunes episode because it is funny and Tweetie Pie does a good job in his first appearance. The only things here that bothered me were the references to WWII at the time, Castello pretends to be a Spitfire (he has a large wooden plank around him that resemble wings) and he is shot at. The way he falls to the ground is surprisingly disturbing.

The plot is similar to Tweetie Pie and Sylvester plots, Tweetie Pie sees a putty tat trying to eat him and he makes sure that he does not become breakfast, lunch or dinner. In this episode, Tweetie Pie is trying to make sure he is not eaten by Castello, who is hungry. Unfortunately, Castello is not finding his job easy at all...

I recommend this is anyone who likes Tweetie Pie and to anyone who does not mind references to WWII in a cartoon. Enjoy "A Tale of Two Kitties"! :-)

In this day and age, we have seemingly come to interpret Tweety Bird as "cute". In his first appearance, he was nothing like that; quite the opposite, he was a bad-ass. In "A Tale of Two Kitties", wandering felines Babbit and Catstello (spoofing Abbott and Costello) find a bird's nest. Grouchy, straight-talking Babbit sends the nervous Catstello up to get the bird, only the tiny avian - whose name isn't actually identified - proves to be the nastiest mother ever. There's naturally an anvil gag.

It's just great to see how the guys behind the Looney Tunes weren't afraid to show anything that they wanted. Definitely one to see.

This is the cartoon where Clampett first introduced Tweety. He is a funnier and much more aggressive character here. His design is slightly different from the later Tweety everyone remembers. He looks more like a bird that has just been hatched; tiny, featherless and colored a pinkish hue. The actually stars of the cartoon, though, are a couple of cat caricatures of Abbot and Costello. "Babbit" tries to use "Catstello" to catch Tweety for himself. The cats are very appealing as characters, the timing of the gags is crisp and the dialogue is very clever. This cartoon also marks the beginning of Clampett's breaking away from a more literal style of animation to a more expressive, cartoonier one.

At 17, I still enjoy Looney Tunes, and a Tale of Two Kitties is no exception. It is not a favourite by all means, but it is fun to watch and a funny takeoff of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. With the exception of an odd-looking Tweety (as if he had just hatched), the animation is fine. The backgrounds are nice in particular and the camera angles are clever. The music is very good, and the humour is all intact and well timed. I particularly loved the "this little piggy went to market" bit, reminded me of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

The voice acting is commendable. While Mel Blanc slightly overdoes it as Catstello, he does a stellar job as Tweety, who is just as sweet, funny and likable as he is now. Strictly speaking, he is quite bad ass as well. Plus Ted Pierce does well as Babbit in a good grouchy straight talking impression. All in all, it is a lot of fun, not the best Looney Tunes cartoon, but recommended. 8/10 Bethany Cox