Como Pegar Um Passarinho

As the two cats struggle to retrieve Tweety from the nest high in a tree, each ploy is designed by Babbit and carried out by his dupe, Catstello. At one point Tweety says his characteristic "I tawt I taw a puddie tat!" This is possibly the first time he used the legendary line. But in this episode it is not joined by the response, "I did! I taw a puddie tat!"

This is one of the better Warner Bros. cartoons of the era ('42), with two cats patterned after Abbott and Costello (Babbitt and Catstello), with Abbott trying to get Costello to pry a teeny bird (who turns out to be Tweety Bird), out of his nest.

The gimmicks Abbott uses to get Costello launched into space are hilarious, each one more clever than the one before. This leaves little time to devote to Tweety Bird, but this is Tweety's first film and he doesn't look quite like the finished product that he became several cartoons later.

The usual high standard of animation is present, along with the character voices supplied by Mel Blanc (Catstello and Tweety) and Tedd Pierce (Babbit).

This is the cartoon where Clampett first introduced Tweety. He is a funnier and much more aggressive character here. His design is slightly different from the later Tweety everyone remembers. He looks more like a bird that has just been hatched; tiny, featherless and colored a pinkish hue. The actually stars of the cartoon, though, are a couple of cat caricatures of Abbot and Costello. "Babbit" tries to use "Catstello" to catch Tweety for himself. The cats are very appealing as characters, the timing of the gags is crisp and the dialogue is very clever. This cartoon also marks the beginning of Clampett's breaking away from a more literal style of animation to a more expressive, cartoonier one.

A takeoff on Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, famous comedians of the classic era, we have two cats: "Babbit" and "Catstello" just trying to survive and find food, like climbing a very tall tree for a bird snack, if they can get it. That little bird turns out to be "Tweety," the little yellow (later on) canary making his Looney Tunes debut.

Actually, more than half of this cartoon features Tedd Pierce and Mel Blanc imitating the two comedians. They are far more scenes than the little bird but the best scenes are the ones with the little bird high up in his nest. Tweety is naked - no feathers. It's kind of weird, being skin color all over. It's like he's just a tiny baby that has been recently hatched. Anyway, he won't put up with a cat trying to get him - this is one strong little "boid."

"Catstello" can get a little too loud and abrasive (Blan was never subtle with his voices!) but otherwise this was a fun cartoon and interesting Tweety's start in animated films.

I thought the best thing about the cartoon was the direction by Bob Clampett. There are some great "camera" angles in here and it's drawn cleverly in many spots.

Soon after Tweety is hatched he is attacked by two dumb but HILARIOUS cats that are made to resemble Abbot and Costallo.

This short directed by Bob Clampett is an HILARIOUS short packed with the debut of Tweety! The short is filled with great gimmicks and outstanding voice work by Mel Blanc.

4(****)out of 4(****)stars

TURN OFF THOSE LIGHTS!!!!