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?

At last, Pepe le Pew stops chasing cats! Actually, he'd only chased a cat in a single cartoon prior to this, so that really isn't relevant. I guess he didn't like dogs as much to quit them forever.

The plot is simple: A female Mexican Hairless dog is treated with scorn by the other breeds, in luxurious and thick coats for the winter. So the Hairless gets a coat that fits her nicely, but is unaware that it makes her look like a skunk, driving off her friends and attracting Pepe le Pew the skunk, who has a rather, ah, strong scent.

The starting is funny, and shows a bunch of dogs looking at a poster for a book titled 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'. I didn't get that when I was five, but now, at eleven, I do. As always, you have to look out for Pepe's funny lines. He constantly spouts elaborate and romantic (though the dog doesn't really pay much attention) French stuff, while oblivious to the dog's struggles to free herself from his grasp. Some people think Pepe's cartoons are repetitive, and that if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all, but the fact is that each cartoon does a great job with the same story, and the bulk of one short unfolds in a different way than the other. But I admit that most of the skunk shorts are part of a big whole, which is equal in quality. But some are unique, and stand out in the memory, and this one of them. Why? Because of a great ending. (And I agree with another commenter, why didn't she try that before? Maybe she still thought she looked like a dog, and Pepe was after her for no reason.) Anyway, if you like Pepe le Pew, or if you think he's repetitive and are looking for something different, then I recommend Scent-imental Over You.

. . . to use when trying to describe the main feeling evoked by SCENT-IMENTAL OVER YOU. This brief film is not for squeamish consumers. It is bad enough to watch a wayward, misguided and clueless skunk badger, harass, intimidate and befuddle a series of feckless felines. However, normal people can reassure themselves that the victims of such abuse are only cats. But when it comes to this 1947 offering, the outrageous stinker sets his sights on a critter of the canine persuasion! Oh, the horror! This fiasco is akin to a Crime Against Humanity. It's enough to give skunks a bad name.

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.