Katnip Kollege
Encyclopedia
Katnip Kollege is a 1938
Merrie Melodies
animated cartoon
short
produced by Leon Schlesinger
Studios for Warner Brothers. It features the characters of Johnny Cat and Kitty Bright playing college students.
In the "Swingology" classroom at Katnip Kollege, the professor requires each student to sing his lessons to a jazz
rhythm. Johnny Cat just doesn't have it, and his teacher forces him to stay after class wearing a dunce cap
. Kitty Bright returns his fraternity ring
as she leaves the room, telling him to call her when he learns how to swing.
Later that night, as all the other cats jam at an outdoor caterwaul, Johnny is suddenly inspired by the rhythm of a cuckoo clock
. He runs to join the group and shocks everyone with a flawlessly jazzy rendition of "Easy as Rollin' Off a Log" sung (and trumpeted) to Kitty. At the end of the song they fall into each others arms, "rolling" off the log they were using as their stage. Kitty covers his face in lipstick kisses as the action ends.
and Harry Warren
which was written for, but never used in Warner Brothers' 1938 feature film Gold Diggers in Paris
and the Richard A. Whiting
/Johnny Mercer
song "We're Working our Way through College" from Warner Brothers' 1937 feature Varsity Show
. Carl Stalling
supervised the music soundtrack.
., in Volume One of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes laserdisc box set (1991).
It is also available in 1080p High Definition (along with two other Looney Tunes - Robin Hood Daffy
and Rabbit Hood
) as bonus features on Warner Home Video's 2006 HD DVD
release of The Adventures of Robin Hood
, as well as on the same title's 2008 Blu-ray release. The short was also presented independently on Blu-ray, as part of the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1
three-disc box set on November 15, 2011.
1938 in film
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
Merrie Melodies
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 cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
produced by Leon Schlesinger
Leon Schlesinger
Leon Schlesinger was an American film producer, most noted for founding Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the golden age of Hollywood animation.-Early life and career:...
Studios for Warner Brothers. It features the characters of Johnny Cat and Kitty Bright playing college students.
Plot synopsis
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
rhythm. Johnny Cat just doesn't have it, and his teacher forces him to stay after class wearing a dunce cap
Dunce cap
A dunce cap, also variously known as a dunce hat, dunce's cap, or dunce's hat, is a pointed hat. In popular culture, it is typically made of paper and often marked with a D or the word "dunce", and given to schoolchildren to wear as punishment by public humiliation for misbehavior and, as the name...
. Kitty Bright returns his fraternity ring
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
as she leaves the room, telling him to call her when he learns how to swing.
Later that night, as all the other cats jam at an outdoor caterwaul, Johnny is suddenly inspired by the rhythm of a cuckoo clock
Cuckoo clock
A cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum-regulated, that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo's call and typically has a mechanical cuckoo that emerges with each note...
. He runs to join the group and shocks everyone with a flawlessly jazzy rendition of "Easy as Rollin' Off a Log" sung (and trumpeted) to Kitty. At the end of the song they fall into each others arms, "rolling" off the log they were using as their stage. Kitty covers his face in lipstick kisses as the action ends.
Music
The music in the short is pieced together from a number of contemporary Warner Brothers features. The featured song, "Easy as Rollin' Off a Log" by M. K. Jerome and Jack Scholl, is sung by Johnnie "Scat" Davis and Mabel Todd in the film Over the Goal. Other songs used include "You're an Education" by Al DubinAl Dubin
Alexander "Al" Dubin was an American lyricist. He became known through his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren.-Life and works:...
and Harry Warren
Harry Warren
Harry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
which was written for, but never used in Warner Brothers' 1938 feature film Gold Diggers in Paris
Gold Diggers in Paris
Gold Diggers in Paris is a 1938 Warner Bros. movie musical directed by Ray Enright with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Rudy Vallee, Rosemary Lane, Hugh Herbert and Allen Jenkins.-Plot:...
and the Richard A. Whiting
Richard A. Whiting
Richard Armstrong Whiting was a composer of popular songs including the standards, "Hooray for Hollywood", "Ain't We Got Fun?" & "On the Good Ship Lollipop"....
/Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
song "We're Working our Way through College" from Warner Brothers' 1937 feature Varsity Show
Varsity Show (film)
Varsity Show is a 1937 feature film from Warner Brothers about a group of students at "Winfield College" who butt heads with their faculty advisor while producing an annual stage show....
. Carl Stalling
Carl Stalling
Carl W. Stalling was an American composer and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.-Biography:Stalling was born to Ernest and...
supervised the music soundtrack.
Availability
"Katnip Kollege" can be found on the 2004 DVD release Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on November 2, 2004. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements.-Related releases:...
., in Volume One of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes laserdisc box set (1991).
It is also available in 1080p High Definition (along with two other Looney Tunes - Robin Hood Daffy
Robin Hood Daffy
Robin Hood Daffy is a 1958 Warner Brothers theatrical cartoon short, part of the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese...
and Rabbit Hood
Rabbit Hood
Rabbit Hood is a 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon which parodies the Robin Hood story.In the cartoon the Sheriff of Nottingham catches Bugs eating the King's carrots and is about to arrest him, when Little John shows up and tells them that Robin Hood is on his way.The cartoon ends with the appearance of...
) as bonus features on Warner Home Video's 2006 HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
release of The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood is the title of:* The Adventures of Robin Hood , a 1938 film starring Errol Flynn* The Adventures of Robin Hood , a 1950s television series starring Richard Greene...
, as well as on the same title's 2008 Blu-ray release. The short was also presented independently on Blu-ray, as part of the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1 is a Blu-ray box set announced by Warner Home Video. It was released on November 15, 2011. It contains 50 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements.-Disc 1:-Behind the Tunes:...
three-disc box set on November 15, 2011.