Putty Tat Trouble

Funny Tweety and Sylvester short, directed by Friz Freleng. It's a fairly routine story - Sylvester and another unnamed cat see Tweety in his nest and decide to grab him. Throughout the cartoon the two cats fight each other to get at Tweety, with hilarious results. Tweety is adorable as ever and has several great lines. My favorite part from the whole cartoon is when Tweety talks to a plastic drinking bird that keeps dipping its head into a bowl of water ("May I have a dwink with you?"). Sylvester (who doesn't speak) and the unnamed red/orange cat are both fun. Excellent voice work from Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet. Lively music from Carl Stalling. The animation is colorful and attractive. It's all beautifully-drawn and painted. Tweety shorts aren't for all tastes (as judged by the "must be fun at parties" types contributing some of these reviews), but if you like his cartoons you'll probably enjoy this one a lot.

Oh-me! Oh-my! - Who would've ever thought that being a sweet, little bird like Tweety would also have its fair share of hazards and drawbacks, too?

But - Hey! - When you've got a totally determined and persistent putty-tat like Sylvester continually stalking you for his next meal - How can Tweety's diminutive size not make him a victim who is repeatedly finding himself on the lookout for any dangerous traps that are being cleverly set for his inevitable capture?

Anyway - This pre-CGI animated short from 1951 was (IMO) quite an enjoyable view. It was delightfully directed by Friz Freleng with the added bonus of featuring the always-amusing voice-talents of Mel Blanc.

Putty Tat Trouble (1951)

*** (out of 4)

It's Christmas time and Tweety is out shoveling the snow from his nest when Sylvester and another cat spot him. The two cats go full battle to try and get Tweety but he's much smarter than them. I'm not a huge fan of the Sylvester/Tweety cartoons but this one here is pretty good because for the most part the two cats are fighting each other while the bird stays pretty safe. The cuteness of Tweety is certainly on full display as is his other side, which is perfectly shown during a scene where the two cats are on a frozen pond. There are some nice laughs throughout as well as some good action so fans of the two will certainly be entertained.

I'm not the biggest fan of Friz Freleng's generally quite repetitive Tweety and Sylvester series of cartoons but 'Putty Tat Trouble' is definitely an exception. This is partially due to the fact that this short was regularly shown at Christmas and is therefore linked to some warm and cosy memories of childhood but it's also because 'Putty Tat Trouble' is undoubtedly one of the best Tweety and Sylvester cartoons. It is the presence of a scraggy orange cat as a rival for Sylvester that really gives 'Putty Tat Trouble' a shot in the arm. Rather than just having a bulldog occasionally wander in and clobber him, Sylvester is pitted against an equal force in terms of brains and brawn. This sets in motion a high speed pursuit/tug of war that continues throughout the whole cartoon which makes for a pacier experience than the usual pattern of blackout gags. For the most part, Tweety is little more than a baton being passed from cat to cat, a motive to trigger off a brutal war between the two felines. With its attractive snowy scenery and speedy narrative, 'Putty Tat Trouble' is a lovely cartoon to look at and the furious pace (which only breaks for a cutesy conversation between Tweety and a toy drinking bird) means that any weak or predictable gags aren't so problematic because we move so quickly onto the next one. 'Putty Tat Trouble' improves upon a rapidly wearing formula simply by throwing in an extra antagonist, a decision which results in a fast-moving, exciting and funny cartoon

Tweety is outside, shoveling the snow out of his bird's nest, mumbling that he shouldn't have wished for a white Christmas. In one building, Sylvester cleans off the window and spots Tweety while in an adjacent building, another cat - an unnamed orange feline - does the same. They both pound on the doors to have their respective owners let them out.

They race from opposite directions and arrive at Tweety's nest at the same time. From that point on, it's a battle to see who gets the bird. A short time later, the orange tabby thinks he won, but swallows a mechanical dunking yellow bird by mistake. That scene might have been the funniest.

Tweety looks like a goner a few times but always seems to come out unscathed while the two cats beat the crap out of each other.

In all, nothing super but entertaining and a nice DVD transfer. The colors are bold and the picture sharp.