Scaredy Cat

It's easy to confuse this short with "Claws for Alarm" like I did.

Although not the more terrifying of the too this one really does not pull punches on its dark humor and the sequence of one life threatening trick after another narrowly avoided is very sinister.

It's a tremendously satisfying narrative of misunderstanding and redemption which is touching and funny.

Scaredy Cat (1948)

*** (out of 4)

Fun Merrie Melodies short has Porky Pig buying a new house but his cat Sylvester is the only one that can see the strange things going on in it. This leads to some misunderstanding as Porky doesn't realize the danger inside the house and Sylvester will have to build up the courage to fight it. This is a pretty good entry in the series as both Porky and Sylvester are at the top of their game. The biggest weakness is that the mice really aren't developed too well so they're only middle ground villains. The best sequence in the movie is when the mice push the bed out the window and Sylvester gets blamed for what follows even though he's just trying to save Porky.

Chuck Jones's 'Scaredy Cat' is the best of the few pairings of Porky Pig and Sylvester. Casting Porky as Sylvester's owner (Sylvester is more cat-like than usual, remaining silent for the whole cartoon), 'Scaredy Cat' finds the pair moving into a spooky mansion which terrifies Sylvester from the outset. Rather than ghosts, however, the mansion is populated by murderous mice who ritually execute their victims. Somehow this makes 'Scaredy Cat' all the more frightening. And it is frightening! There are several morbid sequences including a scene of a cat being carted off to his death by a mousey executioner and a moment in which Sylvester attempts suicide rather than being sent out to face the vicious vermin alone. Most terrifying of all though, is an infamous sequence in which the mice take Sylvester to the basement. We never see what they do to him but he emerges nearly three hours later, a pale white zombie scared rigid by what he has experienced. It's a classic example of the human mind conjuring up far worse scenarios when the details are left to the imagination. All in all, 'Scaredy Cat' is an indelibly creepy and extremely well staged cartoon which relies on horror as much as laughs to achieve its impact.

While not the best of the Looney Tunes canon, it is still enjoyable with a lot to recommend it. The villainous mice could have been developed more, but other than that I had little problem with Scaredy Cat. Porky and Sylvester are both great, especially Sylvester who gets the worst of the scares, particularly the infamous sequence down in the basement, that and the scene after did scare me as a kid. As well as being freaky, there are some funny moments too, slapsticky yes but they were well timed and funny. The animation is excellent, Sylvester is somewhat different-looking, but Porky is drawn very well and the backgrounds and colouring are audacious. The music is both rousing and atmospheric, the dialogue is great, the gags are fine, the story is well-constructed and quite original and Mel Blanc is once again brilliant as both Sylvester and Porky. Overall, not the best but very well done. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of two cartoons I have watched with Porky and Sylvester (the other being "Jumpin' Jupiter"). Personally, I thought this cartoon worked very well, with a new theme of horror (which is both funny and freaky) and the fact that Sylvester never speaks and is a great deal more of a coward than a hunter of Tweety (who is not in this cartoon whatsoever). Porky is an entertaining character here, who is especially heart-warming closer to the end.

In this short, Porky and Sylvester have moved into a big, spooky house and Sylvester is terrified of his new surroundings. He has good reason to be terrified, as the house is populated with horribly murdering mice. Sylvester, as he is a cat who cannot speak, cannot tell Porky of the horrible creatures in the house and just stays close to his owner, hoping that they will not be killed...

I enjoyed this cartoon for the originality of it and for some of the jokes, which, despite being very slapsticky, were quite humorous. I enjoyed the new character of Sylvester, whom I prefer to his character with Tweety, of which he is more famous for.

I recommend this to people who like Sylvester and Porky and who like/don't mind to see cartoon horror. Enjoy "Scaredy Cat"! :-)