Dr. Jerkyl's Hide
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''Dr. Jerkyl's Hide'' is a 1954
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
''
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...
''
monster movie A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally megafauna, large ones. The film may also ...
directed by
Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (; August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons ...
. The short was released on May 8, 1954, and stars
Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...
. It is the first of three cartoons that Friz Freleng made based on
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
's 1886 novella ''
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is an 1886 Gothic horror novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between ...
'', the others are '' Hyde and Hare'' (1955) and ''
Hyde and Go Tweet ''Hyde and Go Tweet'' is a 1960 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' animated short directed by Friz Freleng. All of the voices were performed by Mel Blanc. The short was released on May 14, 1960, and stars Tweety and Sylvester. The short is th ...
'' (1960). This is the final appearance of the antagonistic canine duo Spike the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier (although Spike is named "Alfie" in this short) from the
golden age of American animation The golden age of American animation was a period that began with the popularization of Sound film, sound synchronized cartoons in 1928 and gradually ended in the 1960s when theatrical animated shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medi ...
; speaking with a British accent throughout. This cartoon's plot follows the same formula as '' Tree for Two'' (1952), except that this time it is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde parody, as opposed to a
black panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...
that escaped from the zoo.
Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...
is trying to escape a pair of
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
dogs (Alfie the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier). He accidentally ingests Dr. Jekyll's formula (thinking it is
soda pop A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) carbonated, and typically including added sweetener. Flavors used to be natural, but now can also be artificial. The sweet ...
), causing him to become a monster named Mr. Hyde. He terrorizes Alfie and causes Chester to call Alfie a coward.


Plot

Alfie and
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
are walking down the street as Chester constantly asks Alfie what he wants them to do today. When Chester mentions chasing a cat, Alfie is interested. Then, they come across
Sylvester the Cat Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr. is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic Bicolor cat, cat in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. Most of his appearances have him often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hop ...
until he wakes up to realize he is being confronted by the dogs. Sylvester panics and runs as he is being chased by the dogs until he takes refuge inside a place named after Dr. Jerkyl and Mr. Hyde. Out of breath, Sylvester accidentally ingests Dr. Jerkyl's formula, mistaking it for soda, which causes him to become a large and grotesque “Mr. Hyde” version of himself. Alfie enters the place, only to confront and be terrorized by the Hyde cat. Alfie comes out scared white as a confused Chester comes in to check the place out, only to find Sylvester, having turned back to normal. Chester then encourages Alfie to continue with his pursuit of the cat. Sylvester hides inside a footlocker, only to be spotted by Alfie. Alfie coaxes Sylvester to come out, only to be confronted by him in his Hyde form again, leaving him completely scratched and falling apart into pieces literally once he comes out of the room. As Sylvester makes his way in, Alfie runs in fear while Chester has his back turned, but has no idea that Sylvester suddenly reverts to normal. When Sylvester tries to scare Chester away, he gets beaten and thrown away by Chester. Then, Chester forces Alfie at gunpoint to come back inside and confront the cat again before locking the door. As Alfie panics, begging Chester to let him out, Sylvester escapes through the window. Relieved that the cat is gone, Alfie takes advantage of this by faking a fight to fool Chester, while throwing and smashing glass vessels. Then, Alfie throws the formula-bearing bottle, which breaks, showering drops onto a fly. The formula takes effect almost at once, creating a hideous fly monster who proceeds to thrash Alfie and throw him out of the place. When both dogs see the monster, it slams the door shut in disgust at Alfie's cowardice. Chester slaps Alfie out of shame and calls him "
yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
." The next day, Chester and Alfie are walking down the street with Chester wearing Alfie's former hat as Alfie constantly asks Chester what he wants them to do today, which earns him a slap in the face. Alfie breaks the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
by telling the audience how brave and strong Chester is as his own hero.


Cast

*
Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908 – July 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 come ...
as
Sylvester the Cat Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr. is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic Bicolor cat, cat in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. Most of his appearances have him often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hop ...
/
Mr. Hyde Dr. Henry Jekyll and his alter ego Mr. Edward Hyde are the central character of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. In the story, Dr. Jekyll is a good friend of main protagonist Gabriel John Utterso ...
*
Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, puppeteer, radio personality and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...
as Alfie and Chester


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Jerkyl's Hide Looney Tunes shorts 1950s monster movies 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Short films directed by Friz Freleng Films scored by Carl Stalling Animated films based on Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Sylvester the Cat films 1954 films Animated films about cats Animated films about dogs 1950s English-language films Films produced by Edward Selzer Films with screenplays by Warren Foster English-language science fiction horror films English-language short films 1954 animated short films