Gato Miedoso

Scaredy Cat (1948)

*** (out of 4)

Fun Merrie Melodies short has Porky Pig buying a new house but his cat Sylvester is the only one that can see the strange things going on in it. This leads to some misunderstanding as Porky doesn't realize the danger inside the house and Sylvester will have to build up the courage to fight it. This is a pretty good entry in the series as both Porky and Sylvester are at the top of their game. The biggest weakness is that the mice really aren't developed too well so they're only middle ground villains. The best sequence in the movie is when the mice push the bed out the window and Sylvester gets blamed for what follows even though he's just trying to save Porky.

It's easy to confuse this short with "Claws for Alarm" like I did.

Although not the more terrifying of the too this one really does not pull punches on its dark humor and the sequence of one life threatening trick after another narrowly avoided is very sinister.

It's a tremendously satisfying narrative of misunderstanding and redemption which is touching and funny.

Porky Pig and his loyal cat Sylvester move into a big scary looking house and Sylvester (who doesn't have any dialogue in this 'un) is instantly panicky and afraid. He's sure the house is over-run with homicidal mice, booby traps and ominous shadows. However Porky doesn't appear to be listening and insists Sylvester sleep in the kitchen and not beside him, where he feels more safe.

Sure enough, it's not long before the mice are poking at and prodding Sylvester with sharp objects or launching the poor kitty through windows. Despite repeated attempts, Porky will just not pay attention until he himself is kidnapped.

Now it's up to Sylvester to rescue him in an unusual role as the victim turned hero. You gotta love him, he's just so adorable.

In most cartoons starring Sylvester the Cat that are directed by Friz Freling or Robert McKimson, the pussycat is usually the aggressor who's after either Tweety or Hippity Hopper, the baby kangaroo mistaken for a giant mouse either by the red-nosed feline or his son, Sylvester, Jr. In Chuck Jones' Scaredy Cat, he's Porky Pig's mute pet who, despite many attempts of signaling his master of danger, gets admonished as being delusional since Porky always sees something different. This change of characterization is quite convincing in Jones' hands and he stages many scenes of mice about to carry another cat for execution quite atmospheric. The rodents look like Hubie and Bertie, by the way. Quite funny scenes of Porky just being nonchalant almost the whole way when weird things happen behind his back. The ending may be lost to modern audiences but Scaredy Cat is mostly successful in being spooky and highly amusing at the same time.

Sylvester, minus Tweety Bird, is on vacation with Porky Pig. Porky is oblivious to danger as Sylvester saves him time after time from attacks by adversaries in a haunted hotel. Every time something bad happens, the cat gets the blame. It's a really good romp, full of funny "ghost" scenes.