Canned Feud
Encyclopedia
Canned Feud is a 1951 Merrie Melodies
animated short featuring Sylvester
.
, but forgets to put him out. Sylvester abruptly notices this, finding that he is locked inside an empty house devoid of food with no milk being delivered for two weeks. Fortunately, he finds a cupboard full of canned tuna
and cat food
, but discovers that he also needs a can opener
. He seemingly cannot find one, until he sees a mouse with it. He begs the mouse to give it, but the mouse throws it in his hole. Sylvester frantically tries and fails to retrieve it and the mouse casually walks away. Sylvester very angry gives chase and crashes into the mouse's hole while trying to catch him.
Sylvester tries vainly to open the tuna by beating it against the floor and jumping on it. When this doesn't work he tries to chop it with an axe, but when he's about to swing the blade flies off and goes out the mail slot. The mouse appears to be giving the can opener and when he tries to retrieve it the mouse grabs it and runs back into his hole causing Sylvester to crash into it again. Next he tries using an unbent coat hanger to retrieve the can opener, however the mouse hooks it to a live wire and he receives an electric shock when the wire touches another. Sylvester then sets up a piano
to drop on the can, just before the mouse offers the can opener, prompting Sylvester to release his hold on the rope attached to the piano, thereby crushing him. He then attempts to cut a larger hole in the wall to enter the mouse's home, but is foiled (in similar manner to a Bugs and Daffy shotgun routine) by the mouse cutting the floor beneath Sylvester's feet.
His next attempt involves dynamite
, which predictably backfires after the mouse inflates and pops a paper bag making him think the dynamite had already blown. His following attempt, involving a vacuum, results in Sylvester being sucked in, along with hot coals, and clumsily tumbling down into the basement while trying to hit the mouse with a golf club. However, the angrily persistent cat (thinking that that's the last straw
) returns with an armful of dynamite and fireworks
, but they blow prematurely while he's lighting the fuse, resulting in a tremendous explosion and he does finally recover the can opener in the process. Going to the cupboard and yelling "I got it" along the way, he finds it locked, and the mouse now holds the key. Sylvester cries out in anguish while the mouse merely shrugs and twirls the key on his finger.
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
animated short featuring Sylvester
Sylvester (Looney Tunes)
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr., Sylvester the Cat or simply Sylvester, is a fictional character, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic Tuxedo cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper...
.
Plot
Sylvester's family goes on vacation to CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, but forgets to put him out. Sylvester abruptly notices this, finding that he is locked inside an empty house devoid of food with no milk being delivered for two weeks. Fortunately, he finds a cupboard full of canned tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
and cat food
Cat food
Cat food is food intended for consumption by cats.As with all species, cats have requirements for specific dietary nutrients, rather than ingredients. Certain nutrients, including many vitamins and amino acids, are degraded by the temperatures, pressures and chemical treatments used during...
, but discovers that he also needs a can opener
Can opener
A can opener is a device used to open metal cans. Although preservation of food using tin cans had been practiced since at least 1772 in the Netherlands, the first can openers were patented only in 1855 in England and in 1858 in the United States. Those openers were basically variations of a...
. He seemingly cannot find one, until he sees a mouse with it. He begs the mouse to give it, but the mouse throws it in his hole. Sylvester frantically tries and fails to retrieve it and the mouse casually walks away. Sylvester very angry gives chase and crashes into the mouse's hole while trying to catch him.
Sylvester tries vainly to open the tuna by beating it against the floor and jumping on it. When this doesn't work he tries to chop it with an axe, but when he's about to swing the blade flies off and goes out the mail slot. The mouse appears to be giving the can opener and when he tries to retrieve it the mouse grabs it and runs back into his hole causing Sylvester to crash into it again. Next he tries using an unbent coat hanger to retrieve the can opener, however the mouse hooks it to a live wire and he receives an electric shock when the wire touches another. Sylvester then sets up a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
to drop on the can, just before the mouse offers the can opener, prompting Sylvester to release his hold on the rope attached to the piano, thereby crushing him. He then attempts to cut a larger hole in the wall to enter the mouse's home, but is foiled (in similar manner to a Bugs and Daffy shotgun routine) by the mouse cutting the floor beneath Sylvester's feet.
His next attempt involves dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
, which predictably backfires after the mouse inflates and pops a paper bag making him think the dynamite had already blown. His following attempt, involving a vacuum, results in Sylvester being sucked in, along with hot coals, and clumsily tumbling down into the basement while trying to hit the mouse with a golf club. However, the angrily persistent cat (thinking that that's the last straw
Drop (liquid)
A drop or droplet is a small column of liquid, bounded completely or almost completely by free surfaces. A drop may form when liquid accumulates at the lower end of a tube or other surface boundary, producing a hanging drop called a pendant drop...
) returns with an armful of dynamite and fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
, but they blow prematurely while he's lighting the fuse, resulting in a tremendous explosion and he does finally recover the can opener in the process. Going to the cupboard and yelling "I got it" along the way, he finds it locked, and the mouse now holds the key. Sylvester cries out in anguish while the mouse merely shrugs and twirls the key on his finger.
Censorship
- On CBS, the part where Sylvester uses a bent wire hanger to retrieve the can opener (only to get shocked when the hook of the hanger gets snags on two bare electrical wires) was cut to remove Sylvester tugging harder and the predictable result of Sylvester getting shocked http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/c/
- The same scene that was cut on CBS was also removed on Nickelodeon (even though a similar scene in "Yankee Dood ItYankee Dood ItYankee Dood It is a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in 1956 and directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster. The title is a pun on Red Skelton's famous "I Dood It" line from the Mean Widdle Kid routine....
" was left intact). Also cut was a scene where Sylvester uses an axe to open his can of cat food, only to have the blade fly off and go through the mail slot (even though a similar scene in "Moby Duck" was left uncensored on Nickelodeon) http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/c/
- The same scene that was cut on CBS was also removed on Nickelodeon (even though a similar scene in "Yankee Dood It
In popular culture
- A few scenes of "Canned Feud" can be seen in the film Kitten with a WhipKitten with a WhipKitten with a Whip is a 1959 pulp novel by "Wade Miller", a pseudonym used by the writing team Robert Wade and William Miller. The novel was published by Fawcett's Gold Medal imprint...
(1964). (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058267/movieconnections)
External links
- List of cartoons featuring Sylvester
- Sylvester (Looney Tunes)Sylvester (Looney Tunes)Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr., Sylvester the Cat or simply Sylvester, is a fictional character, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic Tuxedo cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper...
- List of Looney Tunes characters