''The Hypo-Chondri-Cat'' is a 1950

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. D ...

'' Merrie Melodies'' short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon was released on April 15, 1950 and stars

Hubie and Bertie Hubie and Bertie are animated cartoon rodent characters in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. Hubie and Bertie represent some of animator Chuck Jones' earliest work that was intended to be funny rather ...

and Claude Cat. The title is a play on "

hypochondriac Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. An old concept, the meaning of hypochondria has repeatedly changed. It has been claimed that this debilitating cond ...

Plot

take shelter in a house, but are shortly confronted by Claude Cat. He chases the two, but when he comes to an open window, a draft hits him and he is overtaken by his fear of catching a

cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

that could develop into

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. He immediately grabs some pills and medicine. The mice see this as an opportunity to dispose of Claude. They trick him into thinking he is very sick, then they pretend to perform surgery on him. Claude faints and has a surreal dream involving illness and surgery. When he comes to, Hubie and Bertie convince him that he is dead and now a Heavenly angel. Then Hubie and Bertie send Claude floating unknowingly on a balloon, in a state of grace, to "cat Heaven", but despite him saying he can't fly, they shove him off the cliff. Claude does fly, but he doesn't realize that they tied a helium balloon to his back. "Farewell, you poor earthly creatures", says Claude to the mischievous rodents as he flies towards the Moon.

Reception

Editor

Harry McCracken Harry McCracken is technology editor for ''Fast Company'' and the founder of Technologizer, a website about personal technology. He was an editor at large for ''Time'', covering technology, from February 2012 to June 2014. McCracken is also a for ...

writes, "Here's one cat and mouse cartoon where most of the violence is psychological — the botched "operation" and faked death that Hubie and Bertie put Claude through are practically

Hitchcockian Hitchcockian films are those made by various filmmakers, with the styles and themes similar to those of Alfred Hitchcock. Characteristics Elements considered Hitchcockian include: *Climactic plot twist. *The cool platinum blonde. *The presence ...

. The stages of grief that Claude goes through as he denies his own passing, gets panicky, and finally comes to accept it feature some of the best acting that Mel Blanc ever did."

Home media

*DVD - '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1'', Disc 3 *Blu-Ray/DVD - '' Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection'', Disc 2

References

External links

* * Merrie Melodies short films 1950 films 1950 animated films 1950 short films Short films directed by Chuck Jones Films about hypochondriasis Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Animated films about cats Animated films about mice Films scored by Carl Stalling 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese 1950s English-language films Claude Cat films Hubie and Bertie films {{MerrieMelodies-stub