Odor-Able Kitty

And thus was born the most amorous skunk ever to grace the silver screen. While the plot has an abused cat painting himself like a skunk and inadvertently attracting Pepe Le Pew (called Henry here), Pepe certainly steals the show. No doubt Chuck Jones realized that this love-seeking member of the genus Mephitis had that special something necessary to be a star in his own right, and so he cast Pepe in "For Scent-imental Reasons" four years later, firmly establishing PLP's enduring presence on screens everywhere.

So, while "Odor-Able Kitty" may be a place holder otherwise, I try to imagine watching it for the very first time in 1945. Could anyone have guessed that this supporting character would soon join the ranks of Bugs, Daffy, Porky, and the rest? Whether or not anyone did, Pepe remains one of the most likable characters to this day. C'est l'amour!

An alley cat is tired of getting kicked around. He is kicked out of a butcher shop. He gets shoo away by an old lady and chased by a scary dog. He comes up with the idea to disguise himself as a skunk. It works with his regular interactions, but then Pepé le Pew takes an interest.

This is early Pepé le Pew (don't know where in his development) and there is a difference. He is chasing after a male cat although I don't know if he knows that it's a male cat. Maybe it is a commentary on the French. I'm not even sure if he is French in this. Aside from all that, the basics of a Pepé le Pew short is all there.

Fed up with being kicked from one house to another, and being bullied by dogs and shopkeepers, a cat decides the only way to get rid of others is to pretend to be a skunk. However when she does, she suddenly gets a great deal of unwanted attention from a certain amorous skunk.

Although this film is not that original in terms of the main character, I still enjoyed it a great deal. The film looks like it will be about the cat but, when the cat says `I will paint myself like a skunk' you immediately know where this is going. From that point on it goes the usual way but still manages to be funny and a little bit fresher than it often can be. Jokes involving Bugs Bunny and the `real' Pepe are both a little different and funny enough to lift the usual chase material.

Pepe is good despite him just doing his usual one trick routine. The cat is a better character than the usual cat that Pepe chases - this one has a bit of character and some good lines and actions.

Overall, this film will annoy those who simply don't like Pepe but it is different enough to surprise those people who, like me, just find it hard to get past the fact that he usually only has one joke in him. This is not perfect but it is fresher and funnier than many of Pepe's films.

Pepe Le Pew is not one of my favourites, but he is a likable character and the sort that you appreciate much more as an adult. Odor-able Kitty is his debut, and is a very credible one. Okay, it is different to what we are used to from Pepe, perhaps there is a notion of not quite finding their feet yet- which is natural when it comes to debuts- and Pepe does look a little awkward here. On the other hand, the animation on the whole is very good, perhaps not as elegant as the later Pepe cartoons but it has a nice style to it. The music is typical Carl Stalling, the orchestration is lush and there is so much characters that proves a vital part of the humour. The dialogue has the freshness and wit that you'd expect from Looney Tunes, the cat bags the best lines actually. The gags, the best being the ending, are clever and imaginatively timed. Pepe is memorable for a first outing, though not as amorous or witty as he would be later, while the cat is a strong support character that I like even better than Penelope. Mel Blanc's(with his Pepe as ever sounding eerily like Maurice Chevalier) vocal characterisations don't disappoint. All in all, a more than credible debut, even if there was better to come. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The brilliant Chuck Jones, master of Warner Bros. cartoon comedy, brings us the first (?) Pepe LePew cartoon. An alley cat, tired of being pushed around, paints himself in the colors of a skunk, and with a healthy dose of Limburger, turns the tables on his tormentors. Then along comes Pepe, and you know the rest. Many of Pepe's famous gags were born here, including his chase/hop, in which he hops casually along while his prey runs himself to exhaustion.

In my opinion, Warner Bros. cartoons became less inventive and more ho-hum in the 50s. This 1947 'toon is one of the few examples of Mel Blanc putting his absolutely crazy voice into Pepe's mouth. But the kicker is the ending, where Pepe is revealed to be an American "wolf in skunk's clothing"! A must see! Classic Warner Bros...