Ventriloquist Cat

Tex Avery's MGM cartoons are among the very best ever made--and if you haven't seen them, you are in for a treat if you see one. While "Ventriloquist Cat" may not be his very best, it's sure close. And, if after seeing it you STILL don't like his films, then there is no hope for you!

The cartoon begins with a nasty cat doing 'I hate dogs' graffiti everywhere...including on a dog's stomach! The dog is not amused and spends the rest of the film chasing the cat. But the cat is VERY resourceful and uses a trick device to throw his voice--sending the dog on a wild chase all over town trying to find that darned cat. This isn't all, but I won't say more--it would spoil the crazy fun.

While the animation is great, the film is wonderful because it's funny...very funny. And, wildly creative--a characteristic of Avery's fine MGM films. By the way, I mention his MGM films because, oddly, Avery's films he did prior to this were for Looney Tunes--and they were much, much more conventional. Not terrible, but not nearly as much fun as his later films, that's for sure.

Ventriloquist Cat (1950)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Classic Avery cartoon about a cat who becomes a ventriloquist so that he can play a bunch of tricks on a rather dumb bulldog. The premise to this short is a very, very simple one but it works perfectly as it gets one incredibly big laugh after another. One could argue that the same thing keeps happening over and over but that doesn't really matter when you're getting a laugh with the joke. There are countless highlights here including a terrific sequence where the cat makes the bulldog think he's hiding in some clothes, which the dog starts to rip up and he finally makes it to a real police officer and rips his clothes off. Another great scene is the end when the cat thinks it's safe to take the special piece he's been using out of his mouth but the final shot is pure classic. The majority of the jokes come from various explosions where the bulldog is the victim but they're all funny.

Alley Cat is writing "I hate Dogs!" on the fences. Spike spots him and chases him away. He finds a box labeled "be a Ventriloquist!!". He uses the device to throw his voice and prank Spike. This is a classic Tex Avery MGM Cartoon. Beside all the fun pranks, there is a weird comedic rhythm with the "Meow, Meow". It's a great Spike cartoon. The concept is so simple and so effective. As a kid, I actually thought that that's how real ventriloquists do their voices. It's an invented interesting writing device coming from Tex which fixes so many issues. All in all, it doesn't get much better than this.

When I began watching this cartoon, I was prepared for the worst, but it really seemed to be a good cartoon. But after a while, it has multiple faults. The basic theme is original, but after a while it was obvious the cartoonists only tried to form a new couple of natural born sadists like Tom and Jerry. Off course they failed doing so. Tom and Jerry are cult, this stupid dog and cat couldn't be as funny as worlds most loved cat and mouse team. In less than one minute, I believe I saw five explosions. Imagine if the kids of today would think killing somebody is funny! No, I really dislike this demonic cartoon. But I can't stop human evolution, so I guess it's too late to stop it now.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best he ever did. 'Ventriloquist Cat' is another example of an animated masterpiece and one of his all time best. Like the best of Tex Avery, 'Ventriloquist Cat' is a cartoon of amazing quality, is very creative and hilarious as one would expect from Avery on top form like he is here. Even when he wasn't at his best, he still delivered, have yet to see a "bad" effort from him.

Both the cat and dog characters have terrific comic timing and are interesting, likable characters. The cat is crafty and the bulldog getting the worst of the violence. The voice work can't be faulted.

Avery does a wonderful job directing, with his unique, unlike-any-other visual and characteristic and incredibly distinctive wacky humour style all over it as can be expected.

Once again there is nothing sadistic or repetitious, instead it's imaginative, wonderfully wild and hilarious throughout from start to finish. The sight gags throughout are an absolute joy and are immaculate in timing, the ending is both surprising and hysterical.

It is no surprise either that the animation is superb, being rich in colour and detail. The character designs are unique, Avery always did have creative character designs, and suitably fluid. The music, courtesy of Scott Bradley, is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms and fits very well indeed.

Summing up, another Avery masterpiece. 10/10 Bethany Cox