Scent-imental Over You

. . . to hyphenate the title of a film? Isn't such a practice likely to lessen the percentage of people who understand what a motion picture is promising to convey, therefore decreasing the potential audience? This particular title engages in such a questionable practice. It's as if the MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY folks put MU-TINY ON THE BOUNTY across the top of their movie posters. I believe that such a misstep would have prevented that earlier picture from being named "The Best" in 1935. GONE WITH THE WIND-Y may imply a gray victory to some, but others could interpret this modified heading as an inexplicable reference to intestinal flatulence. Furthermore, what about those who do not speak American? Do the French even have hyphens, let alone fully comprehend them?

A small, hairless dog feels left out when she sees all the other dogs in thick coats of fur. She goes inside and borrows a part of her owner's fur coat and goes out. She doesn't notice that the coat makes her look like a skunk and all the other dogs run from her - however this very thing draws Pepé Le Pew like a magnet!

I'm not a big fan of the cartoons involving Pepé, they all seem to be the same gags and Pepé himself is not a flexible enough character to really keep repeating the same stuff over and over again, he is a little too much of a one trick pony. However viewed infrequently his stuff can be good - and it had been a while since I watched one his shorts when I saw this one. The basic plot starts well, the gags where the little dog first comes out in her fur is funny - including a scene where dogs gather round a bookshop because of a poster advertising `A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'! Once Pepé comes in, it still works and he does his usual stuff quite well.

The little dog and Pepé are both interesting and amusing characters in this short, and the ending is actually pretty funny (although does beg the question as to why the little dog didn't take that action at the very start of the cartoon!).

Overall this is an enjoyable cartoon for fans of the character. I'm not a big fan but I still quite enjoyed the mix of sight gags and the odd cleverer joke.

I have always been a fan of Looney Tunes. Pepe LePew is not one of the best characters in my estimations, but he is amusing and endearing enough. Likewise, I do think there are better Pepe cartoons out there, in terms of gags and story there is not much that could be classified as ground-breaking and while the last 2 minutes or so are great Scent-i-mental Over You for me is only mildly amusing. However, the animation is of elegant simplicity, ideal for the type of cartoon and the setting. The music has a lot of lush charm, and there are some really cute moments throughout. Pepe handles himself very well, and it was refreshing to have a character different to Penelope yet with similar character qualities to her and almost as likable. Mel Blanc excels as usual. All in all, unexceptional but cute and worth the watch. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Scent-imental Over You (1947)

*** (out of 4)

There weren't too many Pepe Le Pew shorts, perhaps because they're all based around a single joke, but that one joke was usually good enough to get some laughs and smiles. This time out a hairless dog puts on some fur, which makes it look like a skunk so needless to say the other dogs stay away from her. She finally gets some unwanted attention when Pepe sets his eyes on her and won't let go. It would be hard for me to watch the Pepe shorts all together since they are one-joke-films but when viewed on their own they aren't too bad. There's nothing ground breaking here, be it animation wise or even comedy wise, but there's still several cute scenes that will put a smile on your face. One of the highlights comes towards the end when Pepe gets the dog trapped inside his apartment where a little twist happens.

A small Mexican hairless dog puts on a fur coat, not realizing it's a skunk pelt. This frightens all the dogs she was trying to impress away. But guess who it attracts? That's right, Pepe Le Pew. Pepe pursues the poor little dog who just doesn't understand what's going on. This is an early Pepe short. If you've seen one, in many ways you've seen them all. Pepe is a very one-note character but it can be an amusing note. This one is pretty good but not great. The animation is nice, the writing is good, and Mel Blanc's voicework is terrific. But it lacks a little something. I think it's due to the object of Pepe's affection being a dog instead of a cat. This is the only time that happened, by the way. Often in the shorts I've seen, the hilarious reactions of the cat to Pepe's romantic overtures are the funniest parts. That's missing here.