All a Bir-r-r-d

Tweety run... Tweety hide... Tweety fly away - 'Cause that bad, ol' putty-tat is out to get you and you've gotta have a good escape plan in order to avoid being caught in his clawing clutches.

For the most part - I found "All a Bir-r-r-d" to be a fairly enjoyable "Merrie Melodie" where that conniving feline, Sylvester gets a whole lot more than he bargained for after he defiantly mouths off at the snarling bulldog in the cage next to him.

Yep. You can be sure that Sylvester is now in big-big trouble (much to the relief of the harassed little Tweety, who's now gonna be awfully lonesome from here to Pasadena).

Sylvester cat, Tweety bird, and a bulldog are all on a train. Obviosly Sylvester wants to eat Tweety, but is hampered greatly by the vicious dog, and to a very lesser degree the conductor. This cartoon was not good nor bad it was simply there. It didn't help my theory I formed while watching the previous short on disc 3 "Bad Ol' Putty Tat", because the bird's presence was incidental at best, and it just seemed to me to be a Sylvester versus some random dog cartoon. Basically consisting of said dog beating the snot out of the cat. This animated short can be seen on Disc 3 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

My Grade: C

Friz Freleng's 'All Abir-r-r-d' is one of the best Sylvester and Tweety cartoons. Unlike the many repetitive cartoons in the series which simply transplant the same tired gags to a new setting, 'All Abir-r-r-d' makes the most of its concept. Tweety and Sylvester are domestic pets who are being sent unattended across country by train. With both a watchful official and a vicious bulldog to deal with, Sylvester has his work cut out. The Sylvester and Tweety cartoons always benefited from some extra participants and 'All Abir-r-r-d' is a good example of how much these additional characters help. Although they are not especially memorable creations, they throw some more obstacles in Sylvester's path and make for a more interesting battle. This early Sylvester and Tweety short presses many of the right buttons and, while Tweety is often particularly irritating with his forced cuteness, there's some deliciously violent antics between Sylvester and the dog, culminating in a surprisingly brutal climax which is unfortunately marred by a final unfunny non-quip by Tweety.

OK, so I admit that it often seems like most of the Sylvester/Tweety pairings have exactly the same plot: Sylvester tries to get Tweety, but repeatedly fails and always gets maimed in the process, often with the help of a bulldog. I guess that it's sort of like Wile E. Coyote chasing Road Runner (in other words, mammals should never go after birds). "All a Bir-r-r-rd" has the same plot and sets it on a train. In a way, the best part of these cartoons is seeing what sorts of schemes Sylvester comes up with to try and go after Tweety. We know that he's going to fail miserably, but it's also funny to watch Tweety turn into a bad-ass (if you've seen his really early cartoons, you'll see that he was not "cute" at all, but in fact had a cruel streak). This one mainly works as a way to pass time.

By the way, I thought that I saw - I mean, I taut I taw - Sylvester pass a piece of baggage with the name Friz Freleng on it.

Tweety is sent in his cage on a train by his old-lady owner. In the same baggage car, also in a cage, is Sylvester.

In no time, Sylvester has grabbed Tweety but a trainman comes back and slaps the "sneakin' feline," as he calls him, back in his cage. He puts Tweety "in a safer place," up high and tells the cat, "Now, remember: no tricks!" Sylvester puts his halo on and looks innocent. Yeah, right.

I found the funniest stuff, however, didn't involve Sylvester versus Tweety but the "viscious dog" that is in another cage next to Sylvester. The cat gets mouthy with him, and pays a big price in an extremely funny manner. Sylvester just doesn't learn, but that's one reason we love him! (I know a number of IMDb reviewers don't like Tweety but I like both main characters - they both crack me up!)

Also, the train, and the passing scenery, is beautifully illustrated in here - really nice visuals.