Meatless Flyday
Encyclopedia
Meatless Flyday is a Merrie Melodies
cartoon short produced by Warner Bros.
, and released on January 29, 1944. The cartoon was directed by Friz Freleng
, written by Michael Maltese
and animated by Jack Bradbury
. The title is a pun on Meatless Friday, a reference to the traditional Roman Catholic practice of abstinence from meat on Fridays.
(voiced by Cy Kendall
) spots his intended prey, a mute fly, on the ceiling, and indulges in various cat-and-mouse schemes to try to catch him for food, including painting a load of buckshot with "Kandy Kolor" and luring the fly to eat it and drawing him closer with a magnet
, which only succeeds in attracting a set of metal cutlery which the spider has to dodge to save himself. Eventually, the spider catches his prey, and, when he is about to carve him up while singing the song "Would You Like to Take a Walk?", the fly points to a wall calendar giving the day as "Meatless Tuesday", a reference to food rationing during World War II
. The frustrated spider runs to the United States Capitol
and screams, "You can't do this to me! You can't, you can't!"
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,...
cartoon short produced by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, and released on January 29, 1944. The cartoon was directed by Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
, written by Michael Maltese
Michael Maltese
Michael "Mike" Maltese was a long-time storyboard artist and screenwriter for classic animated cartoon shorts.-Career:...
and animated by Jack Bradbury
Jack Bradbury
Jack Bradbury was an American animator and comic book artist.Bradbury began working for Disney at age 20 and was responsible for key scenes in movies like Bambi, Fantasia, and Pinocchio...
. The title is a pun on Meatless Friday, a reference to the traditional Roman Catholic practice of abstinence from meat on Fridays.
Plot
An overconfident and guffawing spiderSpider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
(voiced by Cy Kendall
Cy Kendall
Cy Kendall was an American film actor. He appeared in over 140 films between 1935 and 1950.Kendall's heavy-set, square-jawed appearance and deep voice were perfect for wiseguy roles such as policemen and police chiefs, wardens, military officers, bartenders, reporters, and mobsters.He was born...
) spots his intended prey, a mute fly, on the ceiling, and indulges in various cat-and-mouse schemes to try to catch him for food, including painting a load of buckshot with "Kandy Kolor" and luring the fly to eat it and drawing him closer with a magnet
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
, which only succeeds in attracting a set of metal cutlery which the spider has to dodge to save himself. Eventually, the spider catches his prey, and, when he is about to carve him up while singing the song "Would You Like to Take a Walk?", the fly points to a wall calendar giving the day as "Meatless Tuesday", a reference to food rationing during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The frustrated spider runs to the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
and screams, "You can't do this to me! You can't, you can't!"
External links
- Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
article at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037057/ - Big Cartoon DatabaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....
article at http://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/426-Meatless_Flyday.html.