All a Bir-r-r-rd
Encyclopedia
All A Bir-r-r-d! is a Warner Bros.
Looney Tunes
cartoon featuring Tweety
, Sylvester
and an unnamed bulldog, who would later became known as Hector the Bulldog. Produced in 1949 and first presented in 1950, it was written by Tedd Pierce and directed by Isadore "Friz" Freleng
, with most voice characterizations courtesy of Mel Blanc
(Bea Benaderet
does a brief voice-over of Tweety's owner). The title is an adaptation of the familiar train conductor's call, "All aboard!" The instrumental theme used to underscore the motion of the train is "On the 5:15
".
This cartoon was Tweety's first appearance in the Looney Tunes series, after 8 years of being exclusive to the Merrie Melodies
series.
train
pulls into the station in a town called Gower Gulch
, where Tweety's owner says goodbye to him and entrusts him to the care of a conductor (whose face is never seen
) in the baggage car
.
After the train pulls out of the station, Tweety sings his signature song:
Tweety then notices Sylvester in the cage
next to his and gives his catchline, "I tawt I taw a puddytat!" He looks again to make sure: "I did! I did! I did taw a puddytat!" Sylvester then opens the small door of his carrier
and extends his paw to tap on the door of Tweety's cage. Tweety answers, and as Sylvester tries to grab him, the vigilant conductor
swats his paw with a cane. The conductor hangs Tweety's cage on a hook in the ceiling to keep him safe and sound and warns Sylvester to behave.
As soon as the conductor leaves the car, Sylvester proceeds to stack various articles of baggage to reach Tweety's cage. When Sylvester tries to grab Tweety again, Tweety finds the emergency cord and pulls it, causing the train to screech to an instant halt and sending Sylvester sailing through the air across two passenger cars and into the engine's furnace. Sylvester quickly leaps out and runs back to the baggage car, and as he angrily stalks Tweety, Tweety pulls the cord again, restarting the train and sending Sylvester through the air into a garbage can lid that Tweety has found. Sylvester then starts chasing Tweety, but the conductor interrupts the chase and orders Sylvester back into his cage.
In the next scene, Sylvester is in his cage next to a bulldog
, who starts growling at him. Annoyed, Sylvester shouts "Aaaaaaah, shut up!" and whacks the bulldog with an umbrella
, but Hector keeps growling. At that moment, the train is approaching an incline and as it ascends, Sylvester slides into the bulldog, who punches him and sends him into the wall. Sylvester slides back down as the train continues to climb, and the bulldog punches him again. As Sylvester starts sliding down yet again, the train starts moving down the incline, sending Sylvester sliding back to the wall and making him think he is safe, until he sees the bulldog sliding down toward him with fist extended to punch him again, prompting Tweety to say, "Poor puddytat!"
Sylvester makes another attempt at stacking the baggage to reach Tweety. Tweety reaches for the emergency cord again, only to see that it has been cut and that Sylvester is holding it. But Tweety pulls it anyway, and again sends Sylvester flying. Sylvester comes back and snatches Tweety, but when he hears the conductor's footsteps, he stuffs Tweety into a mailbag and leaves it on a hook alongside the track. Sylvester smiles sheepishly as the conductor walks by, then dashes to the observation car
to grab the mailbag. He reaches inside and instead of Tweety finds the bulldog, who immediately chases him away.
As Tweety is swinging inside his cage, Sylvester saws a hole in the roof and again finds the bulldog, instead of Tweety, who starts pursuing Sylvester atop the train. Sylvester momentarily eludes the bulldog by ducking into a space between two cars, then both start running in the opposite direction. As Sylvester prepares to knock the bulldog out with a club
, the train heads into a tunnel
, slamming Sylvester in the face into the bridge above it.
The train finally returns to Gower Gulch station, where Sylvester, disguised as Tweety's "mommy", gets out of a taxi
and rushes to the baggage car to claim him. The conductor hands him the cage, which is covered, and Sylvester hurries back to the taxi with the cage. As the taxi drives away, Sylvester uncovers the cage, it was revealed that the bulldog is inside the cage instead of Tweety! The taxi pauses at a mile marker
post, and the bulldog rips it out and pummels Sylvester with it as the taxi speeds along the road. As Tweety (everyone forgot it) is observing this from the observation car, he sadly says, "Uh-oh, da puddytat's dot anudda pwaymate! It's donna be awfwy wonesome fwom here to Pasadena
."
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
cartoon featuring Tweety
Tweety
Tweety Bird is a fictional Yellow Canary in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being a typical English onomatopoeia for the sounds of birds...
, Sylvester
Sylvester (Looney Tunes)
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr., Sylvester the Cat or simply Sylvester, is a fictional character, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic Tuxedo cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper...
and an unnamed bulldog, who would later became known as Hector the Bulldog. Produced in 1949 and first presented in 1950, it was written by Tedd Pierce and directed by Isadore "Friz" Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
, with most voice characterizations courtesy of Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
(Bea Benaderet
Bea Benaderet
Bea Benaderet was an American actress born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, California. She is best remembered for her wide variety of television work, which included a starring role in the 1960s television series Petticoat Junction and Green Acres as Shady Rest Hotel owner Kate...
does a brief voice-over of Tweety's owner). The title is an adaptation of the familiar train conductor's call, "All aboard!" The instrumental theme used to underscore the motion of the train is "On the 5:15
On the 5:15
"On the 5:15" is a song written in 1915 and recorded by Billy Murray, along with the American Quartet, which featured a bass counterpoint to Murray's Irish tenor voice, probably William F...
".
This cartoon was Tweety's first appearance in the Looney Tunes series, after 8 years of being exclusive to the Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
series.
Synopsis
In the opening scene, a 4-4-44-4-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles. In the United States, this arrangement was named the...
train
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
pulls into the station in a town called Gower Gulch
Gower Gulch
Gower Gulch is a nickname for the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, California. Since the days of silent film, the surrounding area had contained several movie studios, including the Christie Studios during the 1920s, then later, Columbia and Republic Studios to the...
, where Tweety's owner says goodbye to him and entrusts him to the care of a conductor (whose face is never seen
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...
) in the baggage car
Baggage car
A baggage car or luggage van is a type of railway vehicle often forming part of the composition of passenger trains and used to carry passengers' checked baggage, as well as parcels . Being typically coupled at the front of the train behind the locomotive, this type of car is sometimes described...
.
After the train pulls out of the station, Tweety sings his signature song:
- I'm a tweet wittle bird in a diwded tage,
- Tweety's my name, but I don't know my age.
- I don't have to wowwy and dat is dat,
- I'm tafe in here fwom dat ol' puddytat.
Tweety then notices Sylvester in the cage
Birdcage
A birdcage is a cage designed to house birds as pets.Antique birdcages are often popular as collectors' items or as household decor but most are not suitable for housing live birds, being too small, or of unsafe materials or construction...
next to his and gives his catchline, "I tawt I taw a puddytat!" He looks again to make sure: "I did! I did! I did taw a puddytat!" Sylvester then opens the small door of his carrier
Pet carrier
Pet carriers are small portable boxes/cages used to transport small animals such as cats, lap dogs, guinea pigs from one location to another....
and extends his paw to tap on the door of Tweety's cage. Tweety answers, and as Sylvester tries to grab him, the vigilant conductor
Conductor (transportation)
A conductor is a member of a railway train's crew that is responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve the actual operation of the train. The title of conductor is most associated with railway operations in North America, but the role of conductor is common to railways...
swats his paw with a cane. The conductor hangs Tweety's cage on a hook in the ceiling to keep him safe and sound and warns Sylvester to behave.
As soon as the conductor leaves the car, Sylvester proceeds to stack various articles of baggage to reach Tweety's cage. When Sylvester tries to grab Tweety again, Tweety finds the emergency cord and pulls it, causing the train to screech to an instant halt and sending Sylvester sailing through the air across two passenger cars and into the engine's furnace. Sylvester quickly leaps out and runs back to the baggage car, and as he angrily stalks Tweety, Tweety pulls the cord again, restarting the train and sending Sylvester through the air into a garbage can lid that Tweety has found. Sylvester then starts chasing Tweety, but the conductor interrupts the chase and orders Sylvester back into his cage.
In the next scene, Sylvester is in his cage next to a bulldog
Bulldog
Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
, who starts growling at him. Annoyed, Sylvester shouts "Aaaaaaah, shut up!" and whacks the bulldog with an umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
, but Hector keeps growling. At that moment, the train is approaching an incline and as it ascends, Sylvester slides into the bulldog, who punches him and sends him into the wall. Sylvester slides back down as the train continues to climb, and the bulldog punches him again. As Sylvester starts sliding down yet again, the train starts moving down the incline, sending Sylvester sliding back to the wall and making him think he is safe, until he sees the bulldog sliding down toward him with fist extended to punch him again, prompting Tweety to say, "Poor puddytat!"
Sylvester makes another attempt at stacking the baggage to reach Tweety. Tweety reaches for the emergency cord again, only to see that it has been cut and that Sylvester is holding it. But Tweety pulls it anyway, and again sends Sylvester flying. Sylvester comes back and snatches Tweety, but when he hears the conductor's footsteps, he stuffs Tweety into a mailbag and leaves it on a hook alongside the track. Sylvester smiles sheepishly as the conductor walks by, then dashes to the observation car
Observation car
An observation car/carriage/coach is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the last carriage, with windows on the rear of the car for passengers' viewing pleasure...
to grab the mailbag. He reaches inside and instead of Tweety finds the bulldog, who immediately chases him away.
As Tweety is swinging inside his cage, Sylvester saws a hole in the roof and again finds the bulldog, instead of Tweety, who starts pursuing Sylvester atop the train. Sylvester momentarily eludes the bulldog by ducking into a space between two cars, then both start running in the opposite direction. As Sylvester prepares to knock the bulldog out with a club
Club (weapon)
A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....
, the train heads into a tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
, slamming Sylvester in the face into the bridge above it.
The train finally returns to Gower Gulch station, where Sylvester, disguised as Tweety's "mommy", gets out of a taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
and rushes to the baggage car to claim him. The conductor hands him the cage, which is covered, and Sylvester hurries back to the taxi with the cage. As the taxi drives away, Sylvester uncovers the cage, it was revealed that the bulldog is inside the cage instead of Tweety! The taxi pauses at a mile marker
Milestone
A milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. They are typically located at the side of the road or in a median. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts...
post, and the bulldog rips it out and pummels Sylvester with it as the taxi speeds along the road. As Tweety (everyone forgot it) is observing this from the observation car, he sadly says, "Uh-oh, da puddytat's dot anudda pwaymate! It's donna be awfwy wonesome fwom here to Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
."
Censorship
- The version of this cartoon that aired on ABC as part of the Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show cut the part where Sylvester is thrown into the locomotive's furnace and jumps out with his tail on fire starting in 1994 up until the show's end in 2000.