Gay Purr-ee
Encyclopedia
Gay Purr-ee is an animated film musical
produced by United Productions of America
and released by Warner Bros.
in 1962. It features the voice talent of Judy Garland
in her only animated-film role.
and takes place predominantly in Paris
. However, it begins on a farm in Provence
, where the lovely cat Mewsette is frustrated with her beau
(Jaune Tom, an accomplished but shy mouser) after calling him a "clumsy country Claude
". Inspired by the human Jeanette's stories of the glamour and sophistication of Paris ("Take my Hand, Paree"), Mewsette runs away by taking a train to the big city, where she encounters the slick con-cat Meowrice ("The Money Cat"). Taking advantage of the country kitty's naivete, he puts her in the care of the sultry Madame Henretta Reubens-Chatte, who promises to turn Mewsette into a dainty debutante
known as "The Belle of all Paris". Unbeknownst to Mewsette, Meowrice is grooming her to be the mail-order bride
of a rich American
cat in Pittsburgh known as "Mr. Henry Phtt" . Meanwhile, Jaune Tom and his sidekick Robespierre arrive in Paris, searching for Mewsette.
Training does not go well. Just as Mewsette is about to give up and return to the farm, Meowrice takes her out to see the cat side of Paris, the Eiffel Tower
, the Champs-Élysées
and the Moulin Rouge
. Reinvigorated, she returns to her studies. Jaune Tom and Robespierre arrive just at that moment but are waylaid by one of Meowrice's shadowy cat henchmen and barely escape drowning in Paris's famous labyrinthine sewer
s. By coincidence, Jaune Tom displays his incredible mouse-hunting skills in front of Meowrice (known as "Virtue-Mousety"), who sees a money-making opportunity, gets them drunk ("Bubbles"), and sells them as mousers to a ship bound for Alaska
. On the ship, Robespierre consoles a depressed Jaune Tom, telling him that any problem, regardless of size, can be broken up into manageable pieces ("Little Drops of Rain").
Mewsette finishes her training and is now lovely enough to impress even Meowrice, who commissions a series of painting
s of her by such famous artists as Claude Monet
, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
, Georges Seurat, Henri Rousseau
, Amedeo Modigliani
, Vincent van Gogh
, Edgar Degas
, Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne
, Paul Gauguin
and Pablo Picasso
(an opportunity for the animators to indulge in some artistic parodies
), so that he can send them to Mr. Phtt. Meowrice quietly writes a check to pay his "sister", Mme. Reubens-Chatte (using disappearing ink, so that the check is worthless), and takes Mewsette to Notre Dame
. There, he reveals his plan to ship her to America and tries to coerce her to enter a luggage crate, but after describing Mr. Phtt as fat and old, she manages to escape him. In the resulting chase scene, she leads Meowrice and his henchmen onto a bulldog
, who injures him badly enough to put him out of action for six weeks. Meanwhile, his sycophants (who are nowhere near as intelligent as he is) comb the city without success, searching for Mewsette.
Meanwhile, not long after they reach Alaska (a howling wilderness of snow), Jaune Tom and Robespierre strike gold
. Now wealthy, the two cats hurry back to Paris.
Disillusioned and homeless, Mewsette walks the city of Paris ("Paris is a Lonely Town"). Just as she is about to commit suicide
by hurling herself into the Seine River
from the Pont Alexandre III
, Meowrice appears with his cats and captures her. She is taken to the Gare du Nord
train station
, en route to a boat to America, and all hope seems lost, when Jaune Tom and Robespierre arrive. They have been aided by Mme. Ruebens-Chatte, who is irritated that her own brother double-crossed her and tears up the worthless check. In a humorously over-the-top fight scene inside the boxcar of a moving train, Jaune Tom defeats Meowrice and packs him into the crate intended for Mewsette, doubtless that this will be a nasty surprise for Mr. Phtt. The film concludes with Mewsette, Jaune Tom and Robespierre enjoying the high life in Paris that Mewsette was seeking when she left home ("Mewsette Finale").
helped write the movie's story, and ultimately produced the project, moonlighting for UPA in violation of his exclusive contract with Warner Bros. Cartoons
. One of his animators, Abe Levitow
, directed the film.
According to the production notes on the DVD
edition, it was Garland who suggested that her Wizard of Oz
songwriters, Harold Arlen
and E.Y. Harburg, should write and compose the songs for Gay Purr-ee.
When Warner Bros. picked up the film for distribution, they discovered that it was Jones' work. After a long debate with management over the details of Jones' exclusivity agreement, Warner fired Jones in July 1962 and laid his staff off after they'd finished their next cartoon. Jones later hired his old unit after Warner Bros. Cartoons was closed at his first independent studio, Sib Tower 12 Productions
.
On November 4, 2003, Rhino Handmade
, a division of the Warner Music Group
, released the soundtrack
on CD. This was identical to the 1962 LP version but contained 5 additional demo
tracks. The demo tracks are performed by Harold Arlen
and E. Y. "Yip" Harburg the composers of the songs for the movie. They were also the primary song writers for the music of "The Wizard of Oz
", the 1939 Garland feature. Garland has stated that the song "Little Drops of Rain" was one of her favorite songs. The CD tracklisting is as follows:
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
produced by United Productions of America
United Productions of America
United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio of the 1940s through present day, beginning with industrial films and World War II training films. In the late 1940s, UPA produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures, most notably the Mr. Magoo series. In...
and released by Warner Bros.
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,...
in 1962. It features the voice talent of Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
in her only animated-film role.
Plot
The story is set in 1895 FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and takes place predominantly in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. However, it begins on a farm in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, where the lovely cat Mewsette is frustrated with her beau
Beau
Beau is a specialist twelve-string guitar player who first became known in the late 1960s through his recordings for John Peel's Dandelion Records label...
(Jaune Tom, an accomplished but shy mouser) after calling him a "clumsy country Claude
Claude
Claude is a relatively common French given name for males. It can also be an uncommon given name for females or a family name...
". Inspired by the human Jeanette's stories of the glamour and sophistication of Paris ("Take my Hand, Paree"), Mewsette runs away by taking a train to the big city, where she encounters the slick con-cat Meowrice ("The Money Cat"). Taking advantage of the country kitty's naivete, he puts her in the care of the sultry Madame Henretta Reubens-Chatte, who promises to turn Mewsette into a dainty debutante
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
known as "The Belle of all Paris". Unbeknownst to Mewsette, Meowrice is grooming her to be the mail-order bride
Mail-order bride
Mail-order bride is a label applied to a woman who publishes her intent to marry someone from another country. This term is considered offensive by some people. The mail-order bride industry is the economic trade of contracted domestic partnerships, often between citizens of different countries or...
of a rich American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cat in Pittsburgh known as "Mr. Henry Phtt" . Meanwhile, Jaune Tom and his sidekick Robespierre arrive in Paris, searching for Mewsette.
Training does not go well. Just as Mewsette is about to give up and return to the farm, Meowrice takes her out to see the cat side of Paris, the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
, the Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...
and the Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge is a cabaret built in 1889 by Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia. Close to Montmartre in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, it is marked by the red windmill on its roof. The closest métro station is Blanche.The Moulin Rouge is...
. Reinvigorated, she returns to her studies. Jaune Tom and Robespierre arrive just at that moment but are waylaid by one of Meowrice's shadowy cat henchmen and barely escape drowning in Paris's famous labyrinthine sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
s. By coincidence, Jaune Tom displays his incredible mouse-hunting skills in front of Meowrice (known as "Virtue-Mousety"), who sees a money-making opportunity, gets them drunk ("Bubbles"), and sells them as mousers to a ship bound for Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. On the ship, Robespierre consoles a depressed Jaune Tom, telling him that any problem, regardless of size, can be broken up into manageable pieces ("Little Drops of Rain").
Mewsette finishes her training and is now lovely enough to impress even Meowrice, who commissions a series of painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s of her by such famous artists as Claude Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
, Georges Seurat, Henri Rousseau
Henri Rousseau
Henri Julien Félix Rousseau was a French Post-Impressionist painter in the Naïve or Primitive manner. He was also known as Le Douanier , a humorous description of his occupation as a toll collector...
, Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form...
, Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
, Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
, Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
, Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
and Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
(an opportunity for the animators to indulge in some artistic parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
), so that he can send them to Mr. Phtt. Meowrice quietly writes a check to pay his "sister", Mme. Reubens-Chatte (using disappearing ink, so that the check is worthless), and takes Mewsette to Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. There, he reveals his plan to ship her to America and tries to coerce her to enter a luggage crate, but after describing Mr. Phtt as fat and old, she manages to escape him. In the resulting chase scene, she leads Meowrice and his henchmen onto 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 injures him badly enough to put him out of action for six weeks. Meanwhile, his sycophants (who are nowhere near as intelligent as he is) comb the city without success, searching for Mewsette.
Meanwhile, not long after they reach Alaska (a howling wilderness of snow), Jaune Tom and Robespierre strike gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. Now wealthy, the two cats hurry back to Paris.
Disillusioned and homeless, Mewsette walks the city of Paris ("Paris is a Lonely Town"). Just as she is about to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by hurling herself into the Seine River
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
from the Pont Alexandre III
Pont Alexandre III
The Pont Alexandre III is an arch bridge that spans the Seine, connecting the Champs-Élysées quarter and the Invalides and Eiffel Tower quarter, widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in Paris...
, Meowrice appears with his cats and captures her. She is taken to the Gare du Nord
Gare du Nord
Paris Nord is one of the six large terminus railway stations of the SNCF mainline network for Paris, France. It offers connections with several urban transportation lines, including Paris Métro and RER...
train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
, en route to a boat to America, and all hope seems lost, when Jaune Tom and Robespierre arrive. They have been aided by Mme. Ruebens-Chatte, who is irritated that her own brother double-crossed her and tears up the worthless check. In a humorously over-the-top fight scene inside the boxcar of a moving train, Jaune Tom defeats Meowrice and packs him into the crate intended for Mewsette, doubtless that this will be a nasty surprise for Mr. Phtt. The film concludes with Mewsette, Jaune Tom and Robespierre enjoying the high life in Paris that Mewsette was seeking when she left home ("Mewsette Finale").
Cast
Source:- Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
as Mewsette (voice) - Robert GouletRobert GouletRobert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...
as Jaune Tom (voice) - Red Buttons as Robespierre (voice)
- Paul FreesPaul FreesPaul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
as Meowrice (voice) - Hermione GingoldHermione GingoldHermione Gingold was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother reportedly encouraged her not to remove. She starred on stage, on radio, in films, on...
as Mme. Rubens-Chatte (voice) - Morey AmsterdamMorey AmsterdamMorey Amsterdam was an American television actor and comedian, best known for the role of Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the early 1960s.-Early life:...
(voice) - Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin 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...
as Bulldog and additional voices (voice) - The MellomenThe MellomenThe Mellomen were a popular singing quartet active from the late 1940s through the mid-1970s. The group was founded by Thurl Ravenscroft and Max Smith in 1948. The Mellomen recorded under a variety of names, including Big John & The Buzzards, The Crackerjacks, The Lee Brothers, and The Ravenscroft...
as Meowrice's businessBusinessA business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
associateAssociateAssociate may refer to:* A business valuation concept.* A title used by some companies instead of employee.* A title used to signify an independent person working as if directly employed by the company of which they are an associate...
s (singing voices)
Production
Chuck JonesChuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
helped write the movie's story, and ultimately produced the project, moonlighting for UPA in violation of his exclusive contract with Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
. One of his animators, Abe Levitow
Abe Levitow
Abraham "Abe" Levitow was an American animator who worked at Warner Bros. Cartoons, UPA and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ....
, directed the film.
According to the production notes on the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
edition, it was Garland who suggested that her Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
songwriters, Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
and E.Y. Harburg, should write and compose the songs for Gay Purr-ee.
When Warner Bros. picked up the film for distribution, they discovered that it was Jones' work. After a long debate with management over the details of Jones' exclusivity agreement, Warner fired Jones in July 1962 and laid his staff off after they'd finished their next cartoon. Jones later hired his old unit after Warner Bros. Cartoons was closed at his first independent studio, Sib Tower 12 Productions
MGM Animation/Visual Arts
MGM Animation/Visual Arts was an animation studio established in 1962 by animation director/producer Chuck Jones and producer Les Goldman as Sib Tower 12 Productions...
.
Soundtrack
Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
, a division of the Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, released the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
on CD. This was identical to the 1962 LP version but contained 5 additional demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
tracks. The demo tracks are performed by Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
and E. Y. "Yip" Harburg the composers of the songs for the movie. They were also the primary song writers for the music of "The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
", the 1939 Garland feature. Garland has stated that the song "Little Drops of Rain" was one of her favorite songs. The CD tracklisting is as follows:
- Overture - Judy Garland and Chorus (3:59)
- Mewsette - Robert Goulet (3:09)
- Little Drops of Rain - Judy Garland (3:29)
- The Money Cat - Paul Frees and the Mellow Men (2:17)
- Portrait of Mewsette - Orchestra (3:30)
- Take My Hand, Paree - Judy Garland (2:58)
- Paris is a Lonely Town - Judy Garland (4:15)
- Bubbles - Robert Goulet, Red Buttons, and the Mellow Men (2:48)
- Roses Red, Violets Blue - Judy Garland (2:02)
- Little Drops of Rain - Robert Goulet (1:30)
- Paris is a Lonely Town (variation) - Orchestra (1:58)
- The Horse Won't Talk - Paul Frees (1:45)
- Mewsette Finale - Judy Garland, Robert Goulet, and Chorus (2:38)
- Little Drops of Rain (demo) - Harold Arlen (2:39)
- Roses Red, Violets Blue (demo) - Harold Arlen and E. Y. "Yip" Harburg (1:43)
- The Horse Won't Talk (demo) - Harold Arlen (3:46)
- The Money Cat (demo) - Harold Arlen and E. Y. "Yip" Harburg (2:10)
- Paris is a Lonely Town (demo) - Harold Arlen (2:46)