Gift Wrapped

"Gift Wrapped" a 52 short from "Looney Tunes" is one memorable and well done Christmas cartoon. It's set on Christmas morning as Sylvester the cat awakes to be disappointed at his present so he wants to move in and take granny's present which is that cute pretty yellow little flying bird "Tweety". In typical fashion the chase and fun clever gags begin it's a trio triangle effect Sylvester after Tweety, then Bulldog is after Sylvester, only the subplot and wild card is sweet old smart Granny is around to keep peace and joy on Christmas. The scenes go in with Christmas of the tree and the singing only in the end Tweety is comfortable and right at home with Granny and singing carols as the Bulldog and Sylvester are wrapped with their voices put to rest! Well done Christmas cartoon that's fun and memorable!

This animated short can be seen on Disc 3 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2, it feature Sylvester cat who I like, Tweety bird who I'm not a fan of, and Granny whom I dislike worse then Tweety bird. Needless to say I really didn't care for this cartoon at all. It's nice that it's unedited for once. But couldn't they unedit the audio for "Bugs Bunny Rides Again" which was actually a good cartoon as well, or at least instead of?. Anyway in this short, it's Christmas time in the household and Granny, Tweety, Sylvester, and the Bulldog (for no reason whatsoever) are up to the usual stuff. Blah.

My Grade: D

. . . Livingston is not given enough credit here in GIFT WRAPPED and by those pontificating on this lengthy animation. This Sylvester Cat and Tweeting Bird cartoon begins with a voiceover of Captain Livingston's most revered poem, commonly referred to by its opening words, "Twas the Night before Christmas." Space does not permit a full recap of how a senile Tory traitor was spoofed by devious "friends" and relatives into stealing credit for "A Visit from Saint Nick" after the rightful author had passed away. Nor is there room to expound upon the cartoon writers continual stereotypical demeaning of Native American luminaries Geronimo and Pocahontas. Suffice it to say that this film deserves an "R" rating for wallowing in questionable material.

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Sylvester gets up on Christmas Day and is eager to unwrap his gifts. He is disappointed with his rubber mouse gift. There is Tweety Bird in a wrapped cage with a label for Granny. Sylvester switches the label and attempts to eat Tweety.

This is a solid Tweety and Sylvester and Granny short. On top of that, this is a solid Christmas short. On top on top of that, I absolutely love Granny smacking their butts like a ketchup bottle. That is always hilarious to me. This is a good short in many ways.

. . . being swallowed by a slightly larger finned friend, which in turn is gobbled up by a yet more formidable sea creature, and so forth. GIFT WRAPPED trots out this tried and true formula, switching the interminable sequence of fish to multiple montages of a feathered being getting et up by a feline who is then consumed by a bulldog. This whole sequence of events may give young tater tots misconceptions about the basics of food consumption. On the other hand, GIFT WRAPPED is more likely than not to push an impressionable urchin into the Vegetarian Camp just in time to refuse their helpings of Christmas goose and mincemeat pie.