Gift Wrapped

OK, since "Gift Wrapped" is set around Christmas, we can safely assume that Granny and Tweety are being good, while Sylvester and the dog - presumably named Hector - are being naughty. The main humor here is seeing how Sylvester uses the presents to go after Tweety...and when the dog appears unexpectedly (come to think of it, I could occasionally guess when he was going to appear). Everyone likes to use Christmas as the setting for something unusual (or would all this count as usual?); "Gremlins" did a really neat job with that.

I figure that the cartoon mainly functions as a place holder in between the really great cartoons (1952 also saw "Operation: Rabbit"). So this is an OK, not great addition to the pantheon of Sylvester/Tweety cartoons. Passable.

This is another winner from the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Two, with fantastic artwork that captures the colorful Christmas setting magnificently.

We open with a beautiful depiction of an old house under a snowfall. It's "the night before Christmas and all through the night...."

Sylvester interrupts the calm narrative voice and spits out "oh, goody, Santy Clause has been here and I've been a good pussycat" as he admires all the gifts under the tree. He opens one of them and discovers a rubber mouse, which doesn't exactly thrill him. In seconds, he hears a bird singing "Jingle Bells." It's Tweety in his cage, gift-wrapped "to Granny." Sylvester switches tags and puts "to kitty" on the birdcage instead.

Suffice to say, without spoiling anything, Sylvester is not in Christmas spirit, only wanting to eat Tweety, and when a big bulldog jumps out of another present and eats Sylvester, Granny has to keep on top of things or there will be nothing left of either Tweety or Sylvester.

Granny sums it up best: "Land sakes alive: what a house!"

. . . Livingston is not given enough credit here in GIFT WRAPPED and by those pontificating on this lengthy animation. This Sylvester Cat and Tweeting Bird cartoon begins with a voiceover of Captain Livingston's most revered poem, commonly referred to by its opening words, "Twas the Night before Christmas." Space does not permit a full recap of how a senile Tory traitor was spoofed by devious "friends" and relatives into stealing credit for "A Visit from Saint Nick" after the rightful author had passed away. Nor is there room to expound upon the cartoon writers continual stereotypical demeaning of Native American luminaries Geronimo and Pocahontas. Suffice it to say that this film deserves an "R" rating for wallowing in questionable material.

. . . being swallowed by a slightly larger finned friend, which in turn is gobbled up by a yet more formidable sea creature, and so forth. GIFT WRAPPED trots out this tried and true formula, switching the interminable sequence of fish to multiple montages of a feathered being getting et up by a feline who is then consumed by a bulldog. This whole sequence of events may give young tater tots misconceptions about the basics of food consumption. On the other hand, GIFT WRAPPED is more likely than not to push an impressionable urchin into the Vegetarian Camp just in time to refuse their helpings of Christmas goose and mincemeat pie.

It's Christmas at Granny's house and everything is kind of crazy. Sylvester is trying to eat Tweety, Hector the bulldog is trying to eat Sylvester, and Granny is trying to keep the peace. One of the best Sylvester & Tweety shorts, brought to us by Friz Freleng. The animation is beautiful with really lush colors. The music is lively and fun. The always great voicework from Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet is a treat. Wonderful characters alternate between being adorable and being hilarious. It's such a good cartoon. Plus it's Christmas-themed so it has that added bonus and even ends with everybody singing a Christmas carol (badly).