Chow Hound

Chuck Jones has been responsible for some of the best cartoons ever made, and among his finest and those best cartoons ever made is Chow Hound. It is animated with fluid detail and with colours that are vibrant but also in keeping with the tone of the writing and story. The music is energetic and has a strong sense of character, while also being orchestrated most beautifully. Chow Hound has some amusing and appropriately witty moments as you'd expect from WB/Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies and Chuck Jones, but it's notable also for having writing that has a dark and cynical tone, shaped and characterised in an adept way and giving Chow Hound some power and depth. The story is one that is very well paced and never short of intriguing, while the characters are likable and written and characterised in a way that makes even the most minor of characters interesting. Mel Blanc, Bea Beanderet and Stan Freberg, three of the finest voice actors of the era(and especially in the case of Blanc of all time too) all give sterling vocal performances, beautifully pitching manic energy and affecting pathos. John T.Smith is also great as Bulldog. In conclusion, one of Chuck Jones' and possibly also animation's masterpieces. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Chow Hound is a brilliant masterpiece. Directed by Chuck Jones this cartoon is a masterpiece. featuring memorable lines. John T. Smith voices the dog, Bea Benaderet voices the women and Mel Blanc does the rest. the cartoon is about a dog who uses a cat for personal game for meat. It is a brilliant masterpiece . then the cat is known as Butch, Harold, and a Sabertooth alley cat. It's not a Chuck Jones brilliance but is still to enjoy. I think the dog should of went further then this cartoon. This cartoon earns an 8 out of ten rating because it is not that of a brilliance and it does not earn recognition. the dog is well voiced but come on the cartoon doesn't earn a fair rating but is an classic to enjoy a cartoon to remember for generations. Thank You for reading my comment.

As a boy, every kid in the neighborhood was repeating the "No Gravy?" line. This Chuck Jones at his edgiest. The ending is truly (and deservedly) sadistic. Amazing, that this cartoon couldn't be made today. Now lets hope Warner Bros. releases it on DVD. This is one of those one-off gems that don't make there own collection. To a child, the dog represented everyone who tells you what to do, orders you about, and generally makes life hell. Interesting that the dog, cat, and mouse, behave much like an abusive Father, repressed Mother, and abused child, but that's probably reading too much into it. When the dog receives his gravy, which he has "hounded" the cat & mouse about for the entire cartoon, it is divine justice in the 1951 sense.

Not only is this a great cartoon, but it represents a change in Chuck Jones' style while at Warners. In the late 30's and early 40's Jones made cartoons in the Disney mode, or rather he tried to. Most of those cartoons were rather dull and humorless. By mid-forties, though, Jones had seen the light and started to make funny cartoons like his contemporaries Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng and Frank Tashlin. But it was when he was teamed up with writer Mike Maltese in the late 40's that Jones' cartoons really started to gel; they became funnier and more polished as well as being stylistically unique, especially when compared to the cartoons Freleng and McKimson were turning out during the same period at Warners.

Maltese's writing was much darker and more cynical than anything Jones had worked with before. (Jones tended to make rather sweet and sentimental cartoons when left to his own devices.) "Chow Hound" shows how well Jones and Maltese complimented one another's styles. It is Jones' strong sense of design, superior draftsmanship, funny expressive characters, and expert timing that keeps the cartoon from getting too dark or grotesque.

The plot involves a bully of a dog (who looks like a beefier version of Charlie Dog) who uses a cat and mouse to run several scams on some unsuspecting pet owners in order to get himself a running supply of meat. However, the dog's own gluttonly and greed drive him to think up the ultimate plan to get a bigger score. The cartoon moves at a brisk pace, and scenes build on top of each other, leading nicely to the next until the final surprise ending. And it is a great ending!

In one scene, featuring a close up of a newspaper want ad, several of the animators' name are printed as an injoke.

A dog is so hungry he can never get enough food. He uses a cat to `belong' to about 10 different homes and bring him the food from all of them to him. He also uses a mouse to play dead and get rewards for the cat for catching him. When this isn't enough he devises a plan to get even more from the cat.

Hoping to see a scheduled Wallace and Gromit short, I was disappointed to have this come on instead. Once over this I settled into this to try and waste a few moments. The cartoon is amusing but the one joke repeats itself until the final two minutes that are clever, and a good ending.

The characters are of the usual animation style and everyone will recognise the structure of the dog, cat and mouse. It's only a shame that the plot has only a few jokes in it, but it is still amusing and worth a few minutes of your time.