Birds Anonymous

"Birds Anonymous," like "Alcoholics Anonymous" is trying to cure an addiction. In this case, it's cats curing their addiction to eating birds. As one bird says in a testimony, "It cost me five houses," however the analogy of "BA" to "AA" really doesn't fit since cats are inbred to go after birds while choosing to drink is just that: a choice.

Nevertheless, it's just a cartoon and a spoof and shows poor Sylvester trying to do the right thing but everywhere he looks and turns, it makes things worse. For instance, he turns on the TV and the first thing he sees is an ad for a tasty bird - a turkey. The announcer says, "Every succulent morsel will simply melt in your mouth...." Listening to this, the poor cat is sweating like Niagara Falls and is tongue is about on the floor. The radio brings more (albeit sadistic) laughs as the music is nothing but songs about birds.

I felt sorry for Sylvester in here. Addiction is brutal and really no laughing matter, whether it's drugs, alcohol or whatever. As some insincere political bigwig once said: "I feel your pain." In here, I felt Sylvester's pain. I've always been in the minority here and rooted for Tweety, but not in this episode. Give the cat a break!

Perhaps, since there are hundreds of these featuring Bosco, Goofy Gophers, H. Hawk, Col. Shuffle, Buddy, Foghorn Leghorn, Gabby Goat, Pete Puma, Nasty Canasta, Sniffles, Speedy Gonzales, Hector the Bulldog, Pepe Le Pew, Melissa Duck, Slowpoke Rodriguez, Hubie & Bertie, Black Jack Shellac, Beaky Buzzard, Angus Mac Roary, Foxy, Granny, Witch Hazel, Rocky & Mugsy, Penelope Cat, Miss Priscilla Hen, Spike the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier. However, it is quite important to remember that though BIRDS ANONYMOUS was far worthier of a gelded statuette award than any of the umpteen Tom & Jerry's so honored, it pales in comparison to hundreds of OTHER Looney Tunes, including the universally acclaimed Best Animated Short of All-Time, Bugs Bunny and Elmer's classic WHAT'S OPERA, DOC?

"Birds Anonymous" is one of the many classic Looney Tunes cartoons that comes across funnier when you're an adult than when you're a kid, as you understand what it's spoofing. In this case, the target is Alcoholics Anonymous, as Sylvester enters an organization that helps cats break their bird addiction. But it's not that easy for him to think about anything other than Tweety (it's hard to deny that felines really develop dependencies on avians).

They hit it right on the nail with this cartoon. The meeting early on shows cats talking about how their bird addictions were running their lives into the ground until the organization saved them. And when the organization's rep Sam catches Sylvester trying to eat Tweety, Sam goes off on a speech about how this one snack will open Sylvester's addiction back up! I actually think that it's really good that they spoofed Alcholics Anonymous. Once, I was watching Penn & Teller's show, and they said that AA is basically a religion. Aside from the fact that a "12-step program" is a rather dogmatic idea, AA apparently hasn't changed it's modus operandi since its creation in 1935. But if AA helps people break their addiction, then it probably balances everything out.

Anyway, this is a really funny cartoon. Like I said, it becomes funnier once you're old enough to understand it (as do many if not most of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons). It certainly deserved its Oscar.

This is a delightful cartoon and one of the most effective and entertaining Sylvester and Tweety cartoons Warner Brothers did. The B. A. meeting is inspired parody and Sylvester's attempts to kick the "bird habit" are exceptionally funny. Tweety's closing line is the perfect capper to a wonderful ending. Won a well-earned Oscar. Shows frequently on Cartoon Network. Highly recommended.

Never quite able to get the better of Tweety, Sylvester is starting to get increasingly desperate - a fact spotted by his friend Sam who helps him by taking him to a BA (Birds Anonymous) meeting where cats try to kick their addictions and live side by side with birds. However, when he tries to go cold turkey (or cold Tweety) he finds that his temptations are almost too much to bare.

Generally I find the short films involving Sylvester and Tweety to be rather difficult to totally enjoy. Part of the problem is that I find Tweety quite annoying and, on top of that, often too much time is spent on him and not enough on the physical work of Sylvester. However the better cartoons of theirs are the ones where they have a twist to them that makes them stand out. Such is the case here where the twist is the framework of Sylvester's addiction and his attempts to kick it. The material uses this really well and includes a clever spoof of AA meetings and several other nice touches as well as a bit of the usual stuff between Tweety and Sylvester. The punchline is funny and a good close to a good short.

Winning an Oscar for the pair, this is one of the most fun Tweety cartoons I've seen and the characters play their part really well. Sylvester is great fun and delivers a really good performance where he hams it up as a junkie undergoing withdrawal symptoms. Tweety is mercifully underused and lets Sylvester do all the work - a wise decision considering just how good he is here. The addition of Sam is funny and contributes to the big finish.

Overall a worthy Oscar winner for the pair as it is better than most of their other shorts and, as with all their best stuff, has less Tweety, good material and a strong performance from Sylvester. Great fun!