The Hypo-Chondri-Cat

Last updated
The Hypo-Chondri-Cat
The Hypo-Chondri-Cat Title Card.jpg
Title card
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Starring Mel Blanc
Music by Carl Stalling
Animation by Ben Washam
Lloyd Vaughan
Ken Harris
Phil Monroe
Layouts by Robert Gribbroek
Backgrounds byPhil DeGuard
Color process Technicolor
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • April 15, 1950 (1950-04-15)(U.S.)
Running time
7:19
LanguageEnglish

The Hypo-Chondri-Cat is a 1950 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. [1] The cartoon was released on April 15, 1950 and stars Hubie and Bertie and Claude Cat. [2] The title is a play on "hypochondriac".

Contents

Plot

Hubie and Bertie take shelter in a house, but are shortly confronted by Claude Cat. He chases the two, but when he comes to an open window, a draft hits him and he is overtaken by his fear of catching a cold that could develop into pneumonia. He immediately grabs some pills and medicine. The mice see this as an opportunity to dispose of Claude. They trick him into thinking he is very sick, then they pretend to perform surgery on him. Claude faints and has a surreal dream involving illness and surgery. When he comes to, Hubie and Bertie convince him that he is dead and now a Heavenly angel. Then Hubie and Bertie send Claude floating unknowingly on a balloon, in a state of grace, to "cat Heaven", but despite him saying he can't fly, they shove him off the cliff. Claude does fly, but he doesn't realize that they tied a helium balloon to his back. "Farewell, you poor earthly creatures", says Claude to the mischievous rodents as he flies towards the Moon.

Reception

Editor Harry McCracken writes, "Here's one cat and mouse cartoon where most of the violence is psychological — the botched "operation" and faked death that Hubie and Bertie put Claude through are practically Hitchcockian. The stages of grief that Claude goes through as he denies his own passing, gets panicky, and finally comes to accept it feature some of the best acting that Mel Blanc ever did." [3]

Home media

Related Research Articles

Charlie Dog is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes series of cartoons. The character was featured in nine cartoons between 1941 and 1958. He is generally characterized as a friendly wise guy.

Sniffles (<i>Merrie Melodies</i>) Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Sniffles is an animated cartoon and comic-book mouse character in the Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes series of cartoons and comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubie and Bertie</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Hubie and Bertie are animated cartoon rodent characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Hubie and Bertie represent some of animator Chuck Jones' earliest work that was intended to be funny rather than cute. Seven Hubie and Bertie cartoons were produced between 1943 and 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Antony and Pussyfoot</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon characters

Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot are animated characters in four Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. Three cartoons focus on the dog and kitten pair: Feed the Kitty (1952), Kiss Me Cat (1953) and Cat Feud (1958). They also appear in one Claude Cat cartoon, Feline Frame-Up (1954).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Cat</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Claude Cat is an animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Brothers.

<i>Scaredy Cat</i> 1948 film by Chuck Jones

Scaredy Cat is a 1948 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on December 18, 1948, and stars Porky Pig and Sylvester the Cat. The cartoon is notable in that it marks the first time the name "Sylvester" is used for the popular feline character. In previous shorts, the cat is unnamed, except for in the 1947 cartoon Tweetie Pie in which he is referred to as "Thomas".

<i>Life with Feathers</i> 1945 film

Life with Feathers is a 1945 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short film directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on March 24, 1945, and is the first cartoon to feature Sylvester the Cat.

<i>The Night Watchman</i> (1938 film) 1938 film by Chuck Jones

The Night Watchman is a 1938 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on November 19, 1938.

<i>Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1</i> 2003 American DVD box set

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on October 28, 2003. The first release of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD series, it contains 56 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements. The set won the Classic Award at the Parents' Choice Awards.

<i>Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4</i> 2006 American film

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on November 14, 2006.

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

Cheese Chasers is a 1951 Warner Bros. 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>Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5</i> 2007 American film

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5 is a Looney Tunes collection on DVD. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on October 30, 2007.

<i>Baton Bunny</i> 1959 film

Baton Bunny is a 1959 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and Abe Levitow. The short was released on 10 January 1959, and stars Bugs Bunny.

<i>Go Fly a Kit</i> 1957 film

Go Fly a Kit is a 1957 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones released on February 23, 1957. The title is a pun on the phrase "Go fly a kite."

<i>Mouse Wreckers</i> 1949 film

Mouse Wreckers is a 1949 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones, written by Michael Maltese and starring Hubie and Bertie in their first pairing with the redesigned Claude Cat. The cartoon was released on April 23, 1949.

<i>Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3</i> 2005 DVD compilation of Looney Tunes animated short films

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 is a DVD box set from Warner Home Video that was released on October 25, 2005. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical short subject cartoons, nine documentaries, 32 commentary tracks from animators and historians, 11 "vintage treasures from the vault", and 11 music-only or music-and-sound-effects audio tracks.

<i>Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection</i> 2012 American film

Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection is a DVD and Blu-ray set featuring cartoons focusing on Hubie and Bertie and Sniffles and featuring various other mouse characters in Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes shorts. It was released on August 28, 2012.

Trap Happy Porky is a 1945 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on February 24, 1945, and features Porky Pig, along with Hubie and Bertie, an early version of Claude Cat and a prototype of Hector the Bulldog.

<i>The Lyin Mouse</i> 1937 film

The Lyin' Mouse is a 1937 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on October 16, 1937.

The Egg Collector is a 1940 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on July 20, 1940, and stars Sniffles.

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. 209. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 66. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ↑ Beck, Jerry, ed. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. p. 104. ISBN   978-1-64722-137-9.


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.