Les Mangeurs d'oiseaux anonymes

I do like the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons in general, Tweety I do like when he is active and not nothing more than a plot device, but I love Sylvester who always excels at providing the laughs. Birds Anonymous is a contender for their best cartoon. Tweety is underused and is more a plot device here, but this is one instance where this works, because Sylvester is so good and delightful to watch. The story is reminiscent of a spoof while also stepping away from the usual formula in this set of cartoons, and it is fast-paced and energetic, helped by the witty writing, infectious music and delightful gags, while the animation is of fluid and colourful quality and the opening sequence is wonderful and almost Hitchcockian. Mel Blanc does a brilliant job with the voices and it shows perfectly that it was apparently his favourite WB cartoon. Overall, wonderful and probably the best of this cartoon duo. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Poor old "Tweety" is happily sitting in it's cage, when in comes "Sylvester" who prepares for a small yellow snack! Then a benign orange cat arrives, just in the nick of time, and points out the error of his ways to our hungry antagonist. Then he suggests he visit him and his colleagues at "Birds Anonymous". This first meeting sees him regaled by of all sorts of reformed characters ruing their days of chasing their feather friends! Might "Sylvester" return home a changed cat? If so, can it last? What temptations might lie in his path? I enjoyed this tale of feline cold turkey and the animation of the increasingly frantic eyes and the bird-through-a-straw are really quite funny. Personally, I hated that bird too!

Perhaps, since there are hundreds of these featuring Bosco, Goofy Gophers, H. Hawk, Col. Shuffle, Buddy, Foghorn Leghorn, Gabby Goat, Pete Puma, Nasty Canasta, Sniffles, Speedy Gonzales, Hector the Bulldog, Pepe Le Pew, Melissa Duck, Slowpoke Rodriguez, Hubie & Bertie, Black Jack Shellac, Beaky Buzzard, Angus Mac Roary, Foxy, Granny, Witch Hazel, Rocky & Mugsy, Penelope Cat, Miss Priscilla Hen, Spike the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier. However, it is quite important to remember that though BIRDS ANONYMOUS was far worthier of a gelded statuette award than any of the umpteen Tom & Jerry's so honored, it pales in comparison to hundreds of OTHER Looney Tunes, including the universally acclaimed Best Animated Short of All-Time, Bugs Bunny and Elmer's classic WHAT'S OPERA, DOC?

Friz Freleng's 'Birds Anonymous' is one of the cleverest and best of the Sylvester and Tweety series of cartoons. I'm not a great fan of this series since I feel it is largely repetitive and predictable and I can't stand the cutesy version of Tweety who usurped the wonderful original version of the character invented by Bob Clampett. 'Birds Anonymous' caters to both my requirements for a great Sylvester and Tweety short.

1. It breaks from the usual chase formula which often resorted to simply replaying the same gags in a different setting.

2. It throws the spotlight firmly on Sylvester, with Tweety being merely a device to move the story on.

Add to these elements a very clever concept which satirises the then fairly new institution Alcoholics Anonymous. In a wonderful, Hitchcockian opening sequence, Sylvester is stopped midway through an attempt to catch Tweety by an oddball orange cat who introduces him to a group for cats with bird addictions. From hereon in, the cartoon focuses not on Sylvester's battle with Tweety but with his battle with himself as he tries to fight his fraying will power. The animation of Sylvester's jittery breakdown is great but the most effective moment comes with a highly unusual sequence in which we see Sylvester endure a sleepless night through a series of completely static shots, a hauntingly effective choice. The minimalist, stylised backgrounds and bright colours also heighten the sense of growing hysteria. I'm usually not a great fan of these cheaper looking layouts but often they were used very effectively and 'Birds Anonymous' is one of the key examples of this. A far cry from the tiresome, samey chase films that dominate the Sylvester and Tweety series, 'Birds Anonymous' is a real classic of invention and technique and deservedly won an Academy Award for animated short subject.

"Birds Anonymous" is one of the many classic Looney Tunes cartoons that comes across funnier when you're an adult than when you're a kid, as you understand what it's spoofing. In this case, the target is Alcoholics Anonymous, as Sylvester enters an organization that helps cats break their bird addiction. But it's not that easy for him to think about anything other than Tweety (it's hard to deny that felines really develop dependencies on avians).

They hit it right on the nail with this cartoon. The meeting early on shows cats talking about how their bird addictions were running their lives into the ground until the organization saved them. And when the organization's rep Sam catches Sylvester trying to eat Tweety, Sam goes off on a speech about how this one snack will open Sylvester's addiction back up! I actually think that it's really good that they spoofed Alcholics Anonymous. Once, I was watching Penn & Teller's show, and they said that AA is basically a religion. Aside from the fact that a "12-step program" is a rather dogmatic idea, AA apparently hasn't changed it's modus operandi since its creation in 1935. But if AA helps people break their addiction, then it probably balances everything out.

Anyway, this is a really funny cartoon. Like I said, it becomes funnier once you're old enough to understand it (as do many if not most of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons). It certainly deserved its Oscar.