''An Itch in Time'' is a 1943

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...

'' cartoon, directed by

Bob Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, director, producer and puppeteer. He was best known for his work on the '' Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the television shows '' ...

. The short was released on December 4, 1943 and features

Elmer Fudd Elmer J.''Hare Brush'' (1956) Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes''/'' Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheo ...

, with a dog and cat that look similar to Willoughby and

Claude Cat Claude Cat is an animated cartoon character in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Brothers. Character biography Claude Cat had his origins in several other cat characters used by animator Chuck Jones ...

. The voice of A. Flea is uncredited and was provided by

Sara Berner Sara Berner (born Lillian Ann Herdan; January 12, 1912 – December 19, 1969) was an American actress. Known for her expertise in dialect and characterization, she began her career as a performer in vaudeville before becoming a voice actress for r ...

, except for the character screaming "T-Bone!" which was done by

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

. Blanc also performs the voice of the dog and the cat. As usual, Arthur Q. Bryan is the voice of Elmer. A. Flea would make another appearance in 1947's '' A Horse Fly Fleas'', directed by

Robert McKimson Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DePa ...

, in which the "A" in the flea's name is revealed to stand for "Anthony".

Plot

Elmer Fudd is laughing while lounging in his easy chair and reading his comic book (which is later revealed to have

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

and

Porky Pig Porky Pig is an animated character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created ma ...

on its cover), his dog nearby, sleeping comfortably in front of the fireplace. All is peaceful until a

flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

comes bouncing by, dressed in a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

's-type outfit with a big

straw hat A straw hat is a wide-brimmed hat woven out of straw or straw-like synthetic materials. Straw hats are a type of sun hat designed to shade the head and face from direct sunlight, but are also used in fashion as a decorative element or a un ...

, and carrying a

satchel A satchel is a bag with a strap, traditionally used for carrying books.Satchel
The Cambridge Dictionary. ...

inscribed "A. Flea". Pulling out his telescope and spotting the dog, he whistles and shouts in excitement before beginning to sing "Food Around the Corner", which becomes a recurring theme throughout the cartoon. Having awakened the dog by bouncing off his nose, the flea, hiding by the animal's ear, begins softly crooning so as to lull him back to sleep. This is successful, so the flea finds a suitable portion to begin eating. He takes a bite, which immediately jolts the dog awake, "Yipe! Agony, agony, agony!" He then begins scratching and biting, causing A. Flea to run, though he manages to make it so the dog bites himself. Elmer reacts, after the dog has leapt, whining, into his lap, by employing the use of flea powder. The flea is not phased, he simply skates on the powder as if it is ice. Elmer threatens to give the dog a

bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

if he witnesses him scratching again, which the dog – thinking about how much he hates baths – promises not to do. A. Flea continues searching for and measuring out various selections of the dog's person; he makes use of

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...

jackhammer A jackhammer (pneumatic drill or demolition hammer in British English) is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William Mcreavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady Kin ...

s and even

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

while the dog tries to withstand the itching and the overall pain. At one point, he deliberately angers the cat in order to enjoy the claws scratching his back. An angry-looking Elmer catches them and they both retreat as if they have been scolded. Finally, after A. Flea sets off an explosion in his fur, the dog cannot stand it any longer. Yelping and dragging his posterior across the floor, at one point he stops briefly and says to viewers, "Hey, I better cut this out. I may get to like it." (reportedly an attempt by Clampett to bait the

Hays Office The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

censors, who ultimately left the gag intact). Elmer advances and the dog, realizing a bath is imminent, brakes and slides to a halt. He begs not to be taken for the bath, but Elmer grabs him and begins dragging him toward the inevitable. Suddenly, the flea is on Elmer, who begins to scratch. The dog then proceeds to carry him for a bath. There is a bar of soap on the floor on which the dog slips, landing both of them in the kitchen sink. The flea soon carries the two away on a plate, labelled as a "

Blue Plate special A blue-plate special is a discount-priced meal that usually changes daily: a term used in the United States and Canada by restaurants, especially diners and cafes. The term was very common from the 1920s through the 1950s. , there are still a fe ...

", while singing about no more

Meatless Tuesday ''Meatless Tuesday'' is a 1943 Andy Panda cartoon produced by Walter Lantz Productions. It was directed by James Culhane and was released on October 25, 1943. It is the second and last cartoon to pair Andy with Charlie Chicken. The title is a re ...

s. Upon witnessing A. Flea carrying the dog and Elmer out of the house, Elmer's cat remarks, "Well, now I've seen everything." He then commits suicide by shooting himself in the head with a pistol (the shooting is cut from all modern airings).

Production

Director Bob Clampett wrote the flea's song, "Food Around the Corner".

Reception

Animator

Michael Sporn Michael Sporn (April 23, 1946 – January 19, 2014) was an American animator who founded his New York City-based company, Michael Sporn Animation in 1980, and produced and directed numerous animated TV specials and short spots. Sporn was nominate ...

writes, "In Bob McKimson's animation, the film is as funny as it is artful. McKimson remade the film a few years later in a half-hearted attempt called '' A Horse Fly Fleas'' (1947), adding a now controversial scene with American Indians; his direction wasn't nearly as good as Clampett's in the earlier film."

Cast

as A. Flea *

as Willoughby the Dog / Claude the Cat / A. Flea (screaming) * Arthur Q. Bryan as

References

External links

* * * https://web.archive.org/web/20070509101953/http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/looney-dvd3.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Itch in Time, An 1943 films 1943 short films 1943 comedy films 1943 animated films 1940s animated short films 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films American comedy films Merrie Melodies short films Elmer Fudd films Animated films about cats Animated films about dogs Animated films about insects Films about suicide Films directed by Bob Clampett Films produced by Leon Schlesinger Films scored by Carl Stalling Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films 1940s English-language films