Fin'n Catty

Fin 'N Catty (1943)

*** (out of 4)

A cat is hungry and wants a goldfish for dinner but catching him isn't going to be all that easy.

FIN 'N CATTY is pretty much what would eventually become Sylvester and Tweety. Instead of a bird the cat is dealing with a goldfish but you really can tell that this here probably influenced the future series. If you're a fan of animated shorts from this period then you'll certainly enjoy this as there are some nice laughs along the way. The highlight is certainly a scene where the cat and goldfish end up in a shower together but the cat doesn't realize what it's gotten into. This certainly isn't a classic but it's charming and has some nice laughs.

This is one of the special features on the DVD for Warner Brothers' "Old Acquaintance". I love how the classic Warner films on DVD always seem to come with various extras--including a short and a cartoon from the same year as the feature film.

This Loony Toons cartoon is a lot like the later Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, but as these two characters were not created until later, this film stars a cute cat and an equally cute goldfish. And, like the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, the cat spends the film trying to eat the fish and the fish outwits him again and again---but not nearly as easily as Tweety did, but in ways that still were quite funny. I loved the scene with the shower...but I won't say more as I don't want to spoil it. Plus, it turns out to have a very cute ending...one I certainly didn't expect!! Well made and funny--this is a marvelous little cartoon.

As we all know - cats hate water and goldfish hate cats. So when a cat wants to try and catch a goldfish in his bowl, how does he go about it? Well, here we see a cat trying to catch a fish without getting wet while the fish, realising this weakness, does all he can to get the cat wet.

Despite a dodgey narration start this cartoon actually is pretty funny. The use of running gags which are funny the first and last time make the material a lot better. Some of it doesn't totally work and the end is weak but that isn't too much of a problem as the laughs were pretty consistent for me the whole way.

The cat character is good - witness his repeated panicked run to get paper towels for himself, but the fish character is not as good as he could have been. Given that the audience were meant to get behind him, he is drawn (in both sense) a little bland and I enjoyed the cat more.

Overall though this was an enjoyable cartoon which uses running (literally) gags pretty well to create a consistent vein of humour that works.

Chuck Jones was a legendary animator and animation director, to me one of the best there was. His best cartoons are masterpieces, with much of his best work being in the 50s, and his misfires (yes he did do a handful) were still better than a lot of animation directors at their worst (even his worst Tom and Jerry cartoons were nowhere near as bad as Gene Deitch's). 'Fin n Catty' sounded cute and amusing, but also rather formulaic and risked one character being much stronger than the other.

'Fin n Catty' was pretty much what was expected. This is meant in a good way and doesn't in any way change my lifelong love for animation (not that there was any risk of that happening). It is not one of Jones' best cartoons and isn't a classic by all means, but it is still very well animated, scored and entertaining and the narration never bothered me. Even if one character is stronger than the other and there is little special about the story, again pretty much what was expected.

The story is slight and formulaic, so it is easy to see where it is all going.

Did also find the goldfish on the bland side and the personality isn't as interesting.

Great things are many though and the best aspects are outstanding. Those being the animation and the music. The animation is great, the background art is very richly detailed and eye catching. The colour is very vibrant and beautifully varied. Every bit as good is the music, Carl Stalling was an amazing composer whose scores added so much to every cartoon he scored for and 'Fin n Catty' is no exception, the perfect sense of mood, the clever and lush instrumentation and energetic character are all here.

Robert C Bruce's narration was in no way an issue. Narration in general varies greatly in execution for me in film, television and cartoons, and it comes over very well here. The narration is sonorously delivered by Bruce, the best of this type of narration in cartoons at the time, and the kind that entertains and educates. Reminding me fondly of the Goofy How to series, which will be great if that series does anything for you (have always been fond of it). The gags are plenty and while not hilarious or inventive they amuse hugely at least and don't get repetitive.

It is a very cute but never over sweet cartoon, while the conflict is amusing and has nice tension. While finding the goldfish slightly bland, the cat is very funny and compelling in personality.

Concluding, very nicely done. 8/10.