Scent-imental Over You

A small Mexican hairless dog puts on a fur coat, not realizing it's a skunk pelt. This frightens all the dogs she was trying to impress away. But guess who it attracts? That's right, Pepe Le Pew. Pepe pursues the poor little dog who just doesn't understand what's going on. This is an early Pepe short. If you've seen one, in many ways you've seen them all. Pepe is a very one-note character but it can be an amusing note. This one is pretty good but not great. The animation is nice, the writing is good, and Mel Blanc's voicework is terrific. But it lacks a little something. I think it's due to the object of Pepe's affection being a dog instead of a cat. This is the only time that happened, by the way. Often in the shorts I've seen, the hilarious reactions of the cat to Pepe's romantic overtures are the funniest parts. That's missing here.

A small, hairless dog feels left out when she sees all the other dogs in thick coats of fur. She goes inside and borrows a part of her owner's fur coat and goes out. She doesn't notice that the coat makes her look like a skunk and all the other dogs run from her - however this very thing draws Pepé Le Pew like a magnet!

I'm not a big fan of the cartoons involving Pepé, they all seem to be the same gags and Pepé himself is not a flexible enough character to really keep repeating the same stuff over and over again, he is a little too much of a one trick pony. However viewed infrequently his stuff can be good - and it had been a while since I watched one his shorts when I saw this one. The basic plot starts well, the gags where the little dog first comes out in her fur is funny - including a scene where dogs gather round a bookshop because of a poster advertising `A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'! Once Pepé comes in, it still works and he does his usual stuff quite well.

The little dog and Pepé are both interesting and amusing characters in this short, and the ending is actually pretty funny (although does beg the question as to why the little dog didn't take that action at the very start of the cartoon!).

Overall this is an enjoyable cartoon for fans of the character. I'm not a big fan but I still quite enjoyed the mix of sight gags and the odd cleverer joke.

Although the laughs are usually based on a single joke, with Pepe relentlessly seeking a mate and finding that he is quite irresistible, these Pepe Le Pew cartoons were stylish fun from the Chuck Jones factory of cartoons.

There's not much to be said for the plot which had been used in countless other Pepe films, but as usual there are chuckles to be had in how Pepe's love struck antics get him caught up in one silly situation after another.

Animation is standard for this type of cartoon. Recommended only for those who succumb to Pepe's Charles Boyer accent and his rascally ways.

I can't stand Pepe LePew. Every cartoon is a carbon copy of the last; some black female cat gets a white stripe painted on her back, and Pepe tries to sexually assault it. There's never any change in themes, just this stupid skunk trying to sexually harass a black cat. No imagination, no creativity, just the same vile garbage. In this day and age I'm surprised these cartoons haven't been banned. There's a TV station in Chicago that shows Saturday morning cartoons from Warner Brothers. I've complained several times to stop showing them. Their reply was that they're trying to appeal to everyone. They didn't care that kids were watching, They're going to keep showing them. I just wish that changing the channel would somehow get their attention.

At last, Pepe le Pew stops chasing cats! Actually, he'd only chased a cat in a single cartoon prior to this, so that really isn't relevant. I guess he didn't like dogs as much to quit them forever.

The plot is simple: A female Mexican Hairless dog is treated with scorn by the other breeds, in luxurious and thick coats for the winter. So the Hairless gets a coat that fits her nicely, but is unaware that it makes her look like a skunk, driving off her friends and attracting Pepe le Pew the skunk, who has a rather, ah, strong scent.

The starting is funny, and shows a bunch of dogs looking at a poster for a book titled 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'. I didn't get that when I was five, but now, at eleven, I do. As always, you have to look out for Pepe's funny lines. He constantly spouts elaborate and romantic (though the dog doesn't really pay much attention) French stuff, while oblivious to the dog's struggles to free herself from his grasp. Some people think Pepe's cartoons are repetitive, and that if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all, but the fact is that each cartoon does a great job with the same story, and the bulk of one short unfolds in a different way than the other. But I admit that most of the skunk shorts are part of a big whole, which is equal in quality. But some are unique, and stand out in the memory, and this one of them. Why? Because of a great ending. (And I agree with another commenter, why didn't she try that before? Maybe she still thought she looked like a dog, and Pepe was after her for no reason.) Anyway, if you like Pepe le Pew, or if you think he's repetitive and are looking for something different, then I recommend Scent-imental Over You.