Fair and Worm-er

Last updated
Fair and Worm-er
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Tedd Pierce
Starring Mel Blanc
Music by Carl Stalling
Animation by Ben Washam
Ken Harris
Basil Davidovich
Lloyd Vaughan
Backgrounds by Robert Gribbroek
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
September 28, 1946 (U.S.)
Running time
7 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Fair and Worm-er is a 1946 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. [1] The short was released on September 28, 1946. [2]

Contents

The title is a pun on Fair and Warmer .

The premise greatly resembles and builds upon that of the 1942 Tex Avery cartoon, The Early Bird Dood It! , which is about a worm chased by a bird chased by a cat, and has a much darker ending.

Plot

A worm, wielding a knife and fork, rushes to dine on a large apple that has fallen to the ground when he is immediately chased by a hungry black crow. The crow pursues the worm until he is confronted by an equally hungry cat. The cat runs after the crow, only to find itself in the sights of a vicious, equally hungry dog. The dog harasses the cat until he is suddenly set upon by the local dog catcher. He is stopped in his tracks by his wife (armed with a rolling pin), who professes that she is not "scared of man nor beast." A nearby mouse informs her that he is a beast and snarls, setting her off running and screaming as the mouse heads off in pursuit of her. Her husband, in a Jimmy Durante voice, watches the woman tearing away, chased by the mouse, and says, "Everybody wants to get into the act."

From there, the five protagonists continue their pursuit of each other -- all stemming from the worm still attempting to get the apple. The crow makes an intellectual decision that, within this busy group, he must help the dog. He reasons, "Dogs chase cats...Cats chase birds...I'm a bird...Therefore: I gotta help the dog."

A series of scenarios plays out during which each character goes after their prey while being harried by their own nemesis. An encounter with a skunk, who may or may not be Pepé Le Pew [3] , unites them all in self-preservation and escape. Throughout, the dog catcher's wife continues to run away from the mouse.

At the conclusion of the cartoon, after all of the protagonists hide in a hole to get away from the skunk, the worm dispatches all of them by jabbing them with a tack, scaring them all away. Now free and clear, the skunk asks the worm if he must go through this routine every day just to get something to eat. The worm says, "Eat it, nothing. This is the last furnished apartment in town." He then opens a door in the apple, upon which hangs a "Vacancy" sign. As the short fades out, the worm exits his new home wearing a robe and carrying a towel, heading for a nearby second apple with a door, presumably containing shower facilities.

Related Research Articles

The Mouse-Merized Cat is a 1946 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Robert McKimson. It is a sequel to 1945's Tale of Two Mice, with the Abbott and Costello characterizations cast as mice. A 1942 cartoon, A Tale of Two Kitties, cast Abbott and Costello as cats and introduced Tweety Bird. They are voiced by Tedd Pierce and Mel Blanc respectively. This cartoon marks the final appearances for Babbit and Catstello during the Golden age of American animation.

Babbit and Catstello are fictional characters, based on the comedic duo Abbott and Costello, that appeared in Warner Bros. animated cartoons. The characters appeared in three cartoons between 1942 and 1946.

Dog Pounded is a 1954 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated cartoon short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on January 2, 1954, and stars Tweety and Sylvester. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc. The title is a play on the phrase dog pound.

Tweety and the Beanstalk is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies directed by Friz Freleng. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc and June Foray (uncredited). The short was released on July 1, 1957, and stars Tweety and Sylvester.

<i>Snow Business</i> 1953 film

Snow Business is a 1953 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on January 17, 1953, and stars Tweety and Sylvester. The title is a pun on "Show Business".

<i>Cheese Chasers</i> 1951 film by Chuck Jones

Cheese Chasers is a 1951 Warner Bros. Cartoons Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon was released on August 25, 1951 and stars Hubie and Bertie, with Claude Cat.

<i>Gift Wrapped</i> (film) 1952 American film

Gift Wrapped is a 1952 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on February 16, 1952, and stars Tweety and Sylvester.

Touché and Go is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on October 12, 1957, and stars Pepé Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat.

Chow Hound is a 1951 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on June 16, 1951. The voices are performed by Mel Blanc, Bea Benaderet and John T. Smith.

<i>Aint She Tweet</i> 1952 film directed by Friz Freleng

Ain't She Tweet is a 1952 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on June 21, 1952, and stars Sylvester and Tweety Bird.

Tweet Zoo is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Friz Freleng. Originally released on May 29, 1957, this short stars Tweety and Sylvester the Cat.

Muzzle Tough is a 1954 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on June 26, 1954, and stars Tweety, Sylvester and Granny.

The Cat Came Back is a 1936 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on February 8, 1936.

<i>Room and Bird</i> 1951 film

Room and Bird is a 1951 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on June 2, 1951, and stars Tweety and Sylvester.

Sandy Claws is a 1955 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on April 2, 1955, and stars Tweety, Sylvester and Granny. The voices are performed by Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet. This short was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1954, but lost to When Magoo Flew.

<i>Birdy and the Beast</i> 1944 American film

Birdy and the Beast is a 1944 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on August 19, 1944, and stars Tweety.

Here Today, Gone Tamale is a 1959 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short, directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on August 29, 1959, and stars Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

Cats and Bruises is a 1965 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt. The short was released on January 30, 1965, and stars Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

<i>Odor-able Kitty</i> 1945 American film

Odor-able Kitty is a 1945 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on January 6, 1945, and was the first appearance of the romantic skunk Pepé Le Pew.

Cat Feud is a 1958 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short film directed by Chuck Jones. The cartoon was released on December 20, 1958, and features Marc Antony and Pussyfoot.

References

  1. ↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 171. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ↑ That's All Folks! The Art of Warner Bros. Animation by Steve Schneider, Copyright 1988, Henry Holt & Company New York ISBN   0-8050-0889-6
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.