Reviews

In these PC times, this cartoon (along with other WW-II cartoons) is more than likely locked up forever in a vault and/or passed around on the public domain video circuit and on the Web. I've seen this cartoon on several websites about rare and un-PC cartoons and it's not as bad as people say it is. This (and the WW-II allegory "The Ducktators") is/was a nice way for Norm McCabe (a very underrated animator at Warner Bros) to end his career.

Sure, it may be "different" from any other WW-II cartoon and, yes, it is insulting to anyone of Japanese descent (and German because of one gag involving Hitler and Italian because of a Mussolini gag), but people should look at it from a historical POV and learn from it.

I've seen a lot of weird cartoons in my time. Most of them were the un-PC ones that TV is afraid to air; others were super-rare pieces of work that not even real cartoon fans would known had existed. This one I can't even explain. I'm guessing this cartoon was probably the predecessor to the Pepe Le Pew cartoons since it was made a year before, but even the PLP cartoons had some limits to it. And the less said about the ending, the better.

What I don't understand is why it hardly aired when I was younger. There's no racial stereotyping and the only WWII reference is one about meat shortages (no Hitler refs, no Japanese-bashing, you get the idea).

However, Cartoon Network does have a late-night show called, "The ACME Hour" that shows really rare cartoons and it does run through there.

This cartoon is probably the only Pepe Le Pew cartoon that I try to avoid watching. To me, it didn't seem to have the same delicious sexual innuendo and colorful scenery that made the cartoons stand out (and draw people away from the fact that Jones used the same love chase gag for each cartoon short). It did have one good risque scene: the one where the painted cat is up in the air and is headed towards Pepe. Pepe backs up and pretends to catch her like a baseball until the cat falls into his arms, having her lips pressed against his. Pepe sees this and asides to the audience, "How impetuous can you get?" That was the only good laugh I got from this lackluster end of an otherwise verbally humorous series.

Before I start this review, I would like to point out two things:

1) There are/could be spoilers in this review.

2) This review is dedicated to the men behind Pepe Le Pew, Michael Maltese (who created Pepe's fractured French and died in 1981), Mel Blanc (who lent a very realistic Charles Boyer impression to Pepe and died in 1989), and the last of the great WB animators, Chuck Jones (who created the character and died this year). May God rest both of your souls, you oh-so-talented men. Okay, on to the review...

To the eye of someone who still thinks that Looney Tunes are children's fare, this cartoon is nothing more than your typical Pepe cartoon (cat gets painted, Pepe mistakes the cat for a skunk, Pepe seduces cat, cat runs off, hilarity ensues until the end). To the eye of someone who knows that Looney Tunes cartoons are not kid-friendly, this cartoon has a twist from the usual Pepe routine. Instead of the cat running off, the cat (here shown as a wildcat from a French zoo) claws Pepe half to death whenever he's near her.

This unabashed cartoon made my side hurt the first time I watched it (and proved that Looney Tunes is not for children). I was never this overcome with laughter since "Cow and Chicken" (and believe me, their innuendo could make a Le Pew cartoon AND a Simpsons episode blush). Cartoon Network does air this somewhat frequently. GRADE: A+

Here's some trivia: Of the 17 Pepe Le Pew cartoons done by Warner Brothers, only 14 were directed by Chuck Jones. One Pepe appearance was a cameo in a Freleng cartoon, another Pepe cartoon was directed by one of Jones's animators, Abe Levitow, and Arthur Davis directed this one that seemed to have stripped Pepe of his legendary libido and make him more of a comedy actor, which is very much out of character for him. I really don't know what to make of this. I only recommend this if you don't like the monotony of Jones' Pepe Le Pew cartoons.

Among the many rarely-seen cartoons buried deep in the film vaults because of their depictions of racial stereotyping, risque content, animal abuse, and WWII propaganda, "Blitz Wolf" stands out as one cartoon that should at least air late at night when the kids are asleep and the adult cartoon fans can watch (or tape) it. With its adult-oriented gags and the Wolf as the most heartless, murderous dictator ever to come out of the 1940's (you know who I'm talking about), is it any wonder that it's rotting away in a film vault instead of being shown for historical content? Oh, well...

**Spoilers are more than likely to be in here. Fair warning.

When I was a kid, I remember seeing this cartoon. Of course, it was an edited version where many scenes of violence and sexual innuendo (and a short scene where Granny sees Yosemite Sam staggering and thinks he's drunk) were cut by the PC Gestapo that is the censors of the now-Disney owned channel, ABC. I went through life not knowing it was edited until I looked on a website about Looney Tunes cartoons being censored on TV, cable, and in syndication. That's when I found out that this very stylish, very comically sharp cartoon was ripped to shreds by those who are devoid of a sense of humor.

When Cartoon Network started airing this as part of last year's "June Bugs" special, I was overjoyed, especially since CN did the smart thing and aired the "offensive" scenes.

What really intrigues me about this cartoon is that it has the formula of a Pepe Le Pew cartoon, except it's done by Freleng, Sam and Bugs are more interested in Granny's money than her affections, and it doesn't seem like it's a Pepe cartoon at all (with the exception of Sam's so-called playful "I can see you through the keyhole!" which can be associated to the many innuendos that roll off the tongue of Pepe Le Pew). What disturbs me is the ending involving Bugs and Sam walking down the aisle.

I would tell you more, but I don't wanna spoil it completely. Besides, Cartoon Network airs this a lot, so go see it if you haven't already.

I mean it. This cartoon has the shock value of any cartoon (past or present--and by present, I mean the animated sitcoms such as "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy", which have done refs to Hitler, both caricatured and spoken) that isn't afraid to rip a new one into Hitler (which he deserves BTW) and the wackiness that can only come out of the twisted imagination of a Warner Bros. animator of yore (i.e., Bob Clampett). Everything about this cartoon freaks me out and makes me laugh, from the head-splitting rantings of Hitler (who makes references to Friz Freleng and "What's Cooking Doc") to the electrocution scene and the plane crash ending.

Aside from the tripped-out Clampett-esque effects, I also like the "Gremlins From The Kremlin" song. Cartoon Network does air this one on occasion (but unfortunately, the print is one that cuts from Hitler screaming after being scared by a Joseph Stalin mask to a scene where he's semi-conscious and about to be dropped from the plane. I'm guessing that the original version will never see the light of day) and it's worth your time and money to get cable, a VCR, a video, and try to track this cartoon down.

Warning: May contain spoilers that may shock or disturb younger or more sensitive viewers. Please don't sue if your kid reads this and cries.

Though "The Cats Bah" took first place for Most Stylishly Done PLP (Pepe Le Pew) Cartoon, I have to give this one honorary mention, because of the styling of the Sahara Desert, the oasis, and the tent with the many purple and pink throw pillows and lace curtains (I can still see it when I shut my eyes!)

Anyway...

Like I said about "Scent Of The Matterhorn", "Two Scents Worth"...well, pretty much all 17 of the Jones-directed Pepe Le Pew cartoons (except for "Dog Pounded, which was directed by Freleng, and "Odor of the Day", directed by Arthur Davis--and including the 1959 one directed by Jones' animator, Abe Levitow), this one just oozes a subtle (sometimes overt) sense of sex appeal that only WW-II era cartoons and "Three's Company" could measure up to, but never beat. The entire last part where Pepe carries his unconscious object of desire to a tent all the way out in an oasis decorated with what I had mentioned earlier and makes an aphrodisiac out of really strong perfumes that work too well, which sends Pepe racing across the desert while his aphrodisiac-affected Penelope pursues him (reminiscent of "For Scent-imental Reasons, BTW) unsettled me (at first) and Pepe's ending remark, "Why is it that whenever a man is captured by a woman, all he wish to do is get away?" was a little sexist, but true to life.

9 stars out of ten.

I've questioned the extent of the late, great, Mel Blanc's crazy character voices, and surely, this...well, I can't describe it--it's too incredible. Mel's voice for Pepe is reminiscent of Maurice Chevalier, for its boyish charm, or, to a lesser extent, Charles Boyer (though it SHOULD be noted that Pepe is only compared to Boyer because of personality, the unctuousness tone of voice, the heavily-lidded eyes, and the character name, Pepe Le Moko, from "Algiers"), which I think is a (if nothing else) perfect imitation.

God, I have too much free time. I'm gonna stop now, since I have nothing to comment on this cartoon--**SPOILER**--except my favorite part was the ending where Pepe is actually a skunk named Henry with a horrible mid-Western(?) accent, a p***ed-off wife, and two smiling kids looking on as their soon-to-be bachelor father gets beaten by his wife with an umbrella.

To skunkfanatic, I can easily say, truer words were never spoken. I was/am a closet Pepe Le Pew fan ever since I was 14 and I sometimes question why I like the character, and you (basically) answered my question. This is one of my favorite PLP (Pepe Le Pew) cartoons and most likely, the most (and only) stylish one ever done.

BTW: It may be uncomforting to know that when this cartoon was on ABC as part of the "Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show" (which is now cancelled), the entire beginning, where Pepe greets the viewer with a cigarette and champagne was cut out because of its references to alcohol and tobacco. Another cut was on Nickelodeon a couple of years ago (this is the spoiler I mentioned above), in the end scene where Pepe explains that Penelope was shy and the camera shows them shackled together and Penelope tries to escape with a hacksaw (or was it a nail file?). Anyway Nick's edit to it was because the censors saw it as sexually perverted (who wouldn't?) because of the bondage. Thank God Cartoon Network airs this uncut.