''The Mouse-Merized Cat'' is a 1946

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 ...

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

in the ''

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 ...

'' series, 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 ...

. It is a sequel to 1945's ''

Tale of Two Mice ''Tale of Two Mice'' is a 1945 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Looney Tunes series, directed by a uncredited Frank Tashlin. It is a sequel to 1942's ''A Tale of Two Kitties'', with the Abbott and Costello characterizations ("Babbit and Catstello") ...

'', with the

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

characterizations ("

Babbit and Catstello Babbit and Catsello are fictional characters, based on the comedic duo Abbott and Costello, that appeared in Warner Bros. animated cartoons. The characters appeared in three cartoons between 1942 and 1946. Overview Although the short, fat charact ...

") cast as mice. A 1942 cartoon, ''

A Tale of Two Kitties ''A Tale of Two Kitties'' is a 1942 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, written by Warren Foster, and features music by Carl W. Stalling. The short was released on November 21, 1942, and features the debut of ...

'', cast Abbott and Costello as cats and introduced

Tweety Bird Tweety is a yellow canary in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being an English onomatopoeia for th ...

. They are voiced by

Tedd Pierce Edward Stacey "Tedd" Pierce III (August 12, 1906 – February 19, 1972) was an American screenwriter and voice actor of animated cartoons, principally from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s. Biography Pierce was the son of a stockbroker, Samue ...

and

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 ...

respectively. This cartoon marks the final appearances for Babbit and Catstello during the

Golden age of American animation The golden age of American animation was a period in the history of U.S. animation that began with the popularization of sound cartoons in 1928 and gradually ended in the late 1960s, where theatrical animated shorts began losing popularity to the ...

Plot

The cartoon opens in outer space, and moves in slowly on the planet Earth, the United States, and a fictional state called "Mouseachewsetts." The camera continues to move closer, to an overhead view of Fluger's Delicatessen, wedged in between two skyscrapers. The camera pans the interior of the deli, finally coming to Catstello waiting patiently at the entrance of a mouse hole. He addresses the camera and audience: "I thought you'd never get here." He alerts Babbit that the people/audience are here, but Babbit is angry. Catstello failed to gather food as directed, because he fears the cat. After much resistance, Babbit hypnotizes Catstello and turns him, in turn, into

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

(voiced by

Richard Bickenbach Richard Frederick Bickenbach (August 9, 1907 – June 28, 1994) was an American animator who worked for Warner Bros. Cartoons and as a layout artist and character designer for MGM and Hanna-Barbera Productions. He worked on animation for many ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

(which is removed from

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

in the United States) and a chicken. Satisfied that his hypnotic powers work, Babbit then hypnotizes Catstello into believing he is a dog. He sends Catstello out to chase the cat away. At first, Catstello's barking frightens the cat, who hides under a trash bin. But Catstello picks up the bin, and the cat is shocked to see Catstello, rather than a dog. Catstello comes out of his trance and flees back into the mouse hole, where Babbit hypnotizes him again. Catstello runs out barking to confront the cat, but the cat, with a hypnosis book, undoes Babbit's spell and Catstello flees back to Babbit. Then a battle begins between Babbit and the cat for control of Catstello. Like a ball in a tennis match, Catstello bounces back and forth several times between the hypnotic powers of Babbit and the cat. Finally, Catstello produces two hand mirrors that reflect the hypnotic beams at Babbit and the cat. Then Catstello, hypnosis book in hand, turns the cat into a

bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

and Babbit into a cowboy. They ride off together out of the deli, leaving Catstello happily eating cheese, reading the book ''Live Alone and Like It'', and remarking "Oh — I'm a baaaaad boy!" (The book was written by

Marjorie Hillis Marjorie Hillis (1889–1971) was an American author of popular nonfiction books for women in the 1930s. Her book ''Live Alone and Like It'' was one of the most popular titles of the decade. Early life Born Margaret Louise Hillis in Peoria ...

, the editor of

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

, around 1936 for unmarried women.)

References

External links

* * 1946 animated films 1946 short films 1946 films Merrie Melodies short films Films directed by Robert McKimson 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films Animation based on real people Cultural depictions of Abbott and Costello Animated films about mice Films about hypnosis Cultural depictions of Bing Crosby Cultural depictions of Frank Sinatra Cultural depictions of Jimmy Durante Animated films about cats {{animated-film-stub

Plot

See also

References

External links