Cat-Tails for Two

The obvious aspect of "Cat-Tails for Two" is that it's Speedy Gonzales's film (er, cartoon) debut, although he looks noticeably different from the Fastest Mouse In Mexico whom we know and love today. Moreover, he's a supporting character here. The main characters are a pair of cats: there's George, the intelligent but hapless one, and Benny, a seemingly retarded klutz (as I understand it, they were based on George and Lennie from John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"). The two felines are hungry for Mexican food, when they find a ship from south of the border, and George quickly derives that there must be mice on board (after which Benny kind of throws him on board). Sure enough, the only rodent on the ship is the untrappable Speedy. Most of the cartoon consists of George setting up traps and telling Benny what to do, only Speedy messes with things so that Benny ends up maiming George ("George is my friend!"). Towards the end, when George sets up a trap and Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" starts playing, you know that you're in for something good. And boy are you! Anyway, a pretty fun cartoon.

George and Benny are two cats in the vein of "Of Mice of Men". They are walking the docks looking for a meal. They spot a Mexican ship and decide to get themselves some Mexican mice. They lay a trap and one mice grabs all the cheese before the trap gets him. It is Speedy Gonzales, The Fastest Mouse in All Mexico.

This is the first Speedy Gonzales cartoon, but the design is completely different from the classic that everybody knows. It is bad. My guess is that he's supposed to be a scrawny Latino from the hood. The worst is his one gold teeth. It is like an old white person's idea of a Mexico working in the kitchen. Speedy has always been a second tier character. The problem is that he doesn't have a great foil. His best opponent is probably Sylvester, but he's not Sylvester's best opponent.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

'Cat-Tails for Two' is notable for having the first appearance of Speedy Gonzales (always has been one of those take or leave characters for me), but not as we know him. Oddly enough the cartoon's most notable asset is from personal opinion one of its weaker ones. Speedy is more a supporting character here and is little more than a plot device that could have been filled than any character easily.

Didn't expect much from the story in the first place, and apart from some lively energy there is not a whole lot to it and it could have done with more freshness.

However, the animation is nicely drawn, detailed and colourful. The music from Carl Stalling is full of beautiful and clever orchestration and lively energy. The songs sung are very catchy. No cheapness or repetitiveness here whatsoever.

Furthermore, Mel Blanc's vocals as expected are very exuberant and full of vigour, few actors have voiced multiple characters in one cartoon alone and give all of them a different identity with such conviction. Bennie and George are a very charismatic and amusing double act and are the characters that carry the cartoon by default, oafish Bennie is funnier but one really feels bad for poor George as he gets the worst of some pretty wild violence.

The dialogue is not particularly fresh but it is quite sharp-witted and amusing and there is a crisp pace throughout. The gags are nothing innovative but raised still a number of smiles and laughs, especially towards the end. The traps are pretty inventive and the wild violence doesn't get too sadistic.

In summation, very nice cartoon although its interest point is overridden by everything else being done better. 8/10 Bethany Cox