Before I review TWEETIE PIE, I am going to rant a bit. So, hold on tight and I'll get this over with as quickly as I can. In the history of animated shorts, few would argue that there were any better than those of Warner Brothers in the 1940s and 50s. While some of the MGM and Disney cartoons may have looked better (though all three had wonderful animation), none were as consistently funny and entertaining as the Looney Tunes shorts from Warner. However, oddly, this group of amazing artists won very few Oscars. Tom and Jerry (which I love), although highly repetitive, did great at the Oscars. And, amazingly, crap like the UPA shorts (with characters like Gerald McBoing-Boing and Mr. Magoo) cleaned up at the Oscars in the 1950s even though the animation quality was light-years behind Warners. Somehow, the Oscar folks did Looney Tunes dirty again and again...and I have no idea why. Perhaps they just thought that their cartoons weren't artsy enough or hated that they were intended for the common person out there.
Now, despite my rant, on occasion the Academy got it right--such as in the case of TWEETIE PIE. This is exactly the type of short that usually didn't win, as it was funny and extremely sadistic--two things necessary for a great short!! While some even better shorts by Looney Tunes have been ignored (such as the amazing FEED THE KITTY and CANNED FEUD), at least here they got it right.
This is the first pairing of Sylvester and Tweetie, though the cat is called 'Thomas' in this short. Still, it worked well and the combination seemed like a natural--with this first pairing actually being one of their best, if not the best. Great animation, great humor and a generous sprinkling of violence--this is one wonderful Oscar-winning cartoon.
