Putty Tat Trouble

Putty Tat Trouble (1951)

*** (out of 4)

It's Christmas time and Tweety is out shoveling the snow from his nest when Sylvester and another cat spot him. The two cats go full battle to try and get Tweety but he's much smarter than them. I'm not a huge fan of the Sylvester/Tweety cartoons but this one here is pretty good because for the most part the two cats are fighting each other while the bird stays pretty safe. The cuteness of Tweety is certainly on full display as is his other side, which is perfectly shown during a scene where the two cats are on a frozen pond. There are some nice laughs throughout as well as some good action so fans of the two will certainly be entertained.

Funny Tweety and Sylvester short, directed by Friz Freleng. It's a fairly routine story - Sylvester and another unnamed cat see Tweety in his nest and decide to grab him. Throughout the cartoon the two cats fight each other to get at Tweety, with hilarious results. Tweety is adorable as ever and has several great lines. My favorite part from the whole cartoon is when Tweety talks to a plastic drinking bird that keeps dipping its head into a bowl of water ("May I have a dwink with you?"). Sylvester (who doesn't speak) and the unnamed red/orange cat are both fun. Excellent voice work from Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet. Lively music from Carl Stalling. The animation is colorful and attractive. It's all beautifully-drawn and painted. Tweety shorts aren't for all tastes (as judged by the "must be fun at parties" types contributing some of these reviews), but if you like his cartoons you'll probably enjoy this one a lot.

I wonder why Sylvester doesn't just give up on trying to get Tweety. Clearly that bird has a bad-ass streak. But Sylvester keeps going after him, and in "Putty Tat Trouble" has to vie with an unidentified orange tabby around Christmas. Needless to say, their attempts have rather detrimental results (to them, that is).

I agree with a previous reviewer that Sylvester and the other cat could have just made a deal to divide up Tweety equally. But it appears that they're both really greedy (these toons have a real problem with that, don't they?). And anyway, their misfortunes are their own fault for trying to harm someone else.

So, it's not the best Sylvester-Tweety cartoon, but still worth seeing.

Putty Tat Trouble may have a formulaic story with an ending that doesn't come too much of a surprise, if you are familiar with the formula of the Sylvester/Tweety series there's not much new here. But in all honesty most of their cartoons are on the formulaic side anyway. That said, Putty Tat Trouble is great stuff and among their better cartoons. The bold and colourful animation with fluid detail aplenty is a definite thing to like as well as Carl Stalling's characterful and lively music score that not only is orchestrated so lushly but accentuates the action so well. Putty Tat Trouble has dialogue that will make you laugh and put you in a good line, Tweety's rather cutesy conversation with the mechanical bird being the only lull, the action is violent without being sadistic and exciting and the gags, especially the orange cat mistaking the mechanical yellow bird for Tweety and Sylvester and the orange cat literally bashing each other over the heads fighting over Tweety(doing so repeatedly but in different ways that are inventive and funny, no repetition whatsoever). The story is relentlessly energetic and for there is a festive feel and a real sense of the holiday season even amid the humour and manic mayhem. Tweety shows both his cute and anarchic sides and is not annoying at all(unlike some people I never had a problem with him) but the best moments are between the two cats, who are more interesting characters and have meatier material(that is true generally with Sylvester in his cartoons with Tweety), at the end you do feel sympathy for them. Mel Blanc as ever provides stellar vocals. All in all, lots of fun and among the better entries of a mostly entertaining if routine series of cartoons. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I'm not the biggest fan of Friz Freleng's generally quite repetitive Tweety and Sylvester series of cartoons but 'Putty Tat Trouble' is definitely an exception. This is partially due to the fact that this short was regularly shown at Christmas and is therefore linked to some warm and cosy memories of childhood but it's also because 'Putty Tat Trouble' is undoubtedly one of the best Tweety and Sylvester cartoons. It is the presence of a scraggy orange cat as a rival for Sylvester that really gives 'Putty Tat Trouble' a shot in the arm. Rather than just having a bulldog occasionally wander in and clobber him, Sylvester is pitted against an equal force in terms of brains and brawn. This sets in motion a high speed pursuit/tug of war that continues throughout the whole cartoon which makes for a pacier experience than the usual pattern of blackout gags. For the most part, Tweety is little more than a baton being passed from cat to cat, a motive to trigger off a brutal war between the two felines. With its attractive snowy scenery and speedy narrative, 'Putty Tat Trouble' is a lovely cartoon to look at and the furious pace (which only breaks for a cutesy conversation between Tweety and a toy drinking bird) means that any weak or predictable gags aren't so problematic because we move so quickly onto the next one. 'Putty Tat Trouble' improves upon a rapidly wearing formula simply by throwing in an extra antagonist, a decision which results in a fast-moving, exciting and funny cartoon