Kitty Kornered

Kitty Kornered
Directed by	Robert Clampett
Story by	Robert Clampett
Starring	Mel Blanc
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Animation by	Manny Gould Rod Scribner C. Melendez
Layouts by	Thomas McKimson
Backgrounds by	Dorcy Howard
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	June 8, 1946 (1946-06-08)
Running time	7:06
Language	English

Kitty Kornered is a 1946 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Robert Clampett. The short was released on June 8, 1946, and stars Porky Pig and Sylvester.

This is the first cartoon to pair Porky and Sylvester together, and one of the only two times where Sylvester speaks in a Porky Pig cartoon. Porky and Sylvester would later be paired in a trio of shorts directed by Chuck Jones: Scaredy Cat, Claws for Alarm, and Jumpin' Jupiter where they explore spooky settings in which Sylvester is aware of, but Porky takes no notice. Both also co-starred with Daffy Duck, which has a speed-up version of Sylvester's voice, including the lisp, in the Chuck Jones-directed short The Scarlet Pumpernickel as villain roles, the only other time Sylvester spoke in a Porky Pig cartoon, and the only time Sylvester spoke in a Chuck Jones-directed short.

Plot

The scene where the cats smoke, lounge and drink wine was cut from the cartoon when broadcast on the WB and the BBC.

Porky Pig kicks his four cats, including Sylvester, out of the house for the night; outside, it's cold and snowy and the cats aren't having it, so they turn the tables on Porky and throw him out, instead. Porky, extremely angry, returns to the house and frightens the cats away by making a shadow puppet of his dog "Lassie" with his fingers. When Sylvester discovers they've been duped, the cats plot revenge by dressing up as aliens and faking a War of the Worlds type radio bulletin which scares the heck out of Porky. Porky breaks the glass case on the wall containing a blunderbuss ("USE ONLY IN CASE OF INVASION FROM MARS") and aims it at the "martians" who are now advancing up the stairs with swords, all dressed as Teddy Roosevelt ("Charge!!"). Porky jumps through a window and the cats laugh at him. Shivering in the snow in his nightshirt, Porky asks the audience if they know of anyone with a house for rent.

Evolution of Sylvester

This was Sylvester's only appearance in a Bob Clampett cartoon, although the cat character in this short wasn't named "Sylvester" (or even had a name, for that matter), nor did he look like him (he was black and white, but had a black nose instead of a red one, yellow eyes instead of white eyes, and had no white tip on his tail), and was portrayed as a comically brash trickster (rather than neurotic, stubborn, dim-witted, or villainous as he would be under Art Davis, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and Robert McKimson). Arguments can be made that it is still Sylvester because the tuxedo cat color scheme is similar, and Mel Blanc uses Sylvester's voice for that cat character.

Reception

Comics historian Craig Yoe writes, "In this uproariously funny film written by director Robert Clampett himself, everything and everyone is made of rubber. The last half has some of the most exhilirating action ever put on film."

Cultural references

"Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet" was a World War II hit song by Ella Mae Morse, and was sung by Nancy Walker in the film Broadway Rhythm.

The wine that the grey drunken cat was drinking says "Arsenic and Old Grapes" is a parody reference to Arsenic and Old Lace.

On The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, the "Men from Mars" characters made an appearance in "Spaced Out".

The cats charging up the stairs at Porky assume the appearances of Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders cavalry (possibly in reference to the film Arsenic and Old Lace).

External links

• Quotations related to Kitty Kornered at Wikiquote
• Kitty Kornered at IMDb