King-Size Canary
Encyclopedia
King-Size Canary is an animated cartoon
short that debuted in movie theaters in 1947. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
and directed by Tex Avery
.
searches for food in some garbage cans late at night. Unable to find anything worth his while (the bones he finds are stolen by other alley cats before he can take a bite) he spots a refrigerator
inside a house and heads for it. He sneaks onto the property only to wake a sleeping bulldog
. The bulldog chases the cat up to the side of the house. The cat quickly pulls out some sleeping pills
, putting the dog into a deep sleep.
Once inside the cat searches for food in the kitchen
, but comes up empty. His luck finally changes when he finds a can of cat food. He quickly opens the can and out of the can pops a mouse
who is plopped down onto a dinner plate. The cat is about to dig in with a fork but the mouse puts a quick stop to that. He says that the cat can't eat him because he has already seen the cartoon they are in and that he winds up saving the cat's life later. The feline understands but wants some food as he is starving. The mouse points into the other room and tells him that there is a huge, fat, tasty canary
in there. The cat charges out into the other room and stuffs the unseen canary into a sack heading back to the kitchen.
The bird is emptied from the sack, to be revealed as a scrawny little thing. The bird tells the cat, "Well, I've been sick..." Desperate, the cat gets a (literal) brainstorm when he sees a bottle of Jumbo-Gro plant growth formula on the shelf. Quickly he pours some of the formula into the bird and sure enough, the canary grows rapidly in size. But before the cat can take a bite, the bird is already over 10 feet tall. The canary takes advantage of his new height and beats up on the cat. The cat turns the tables on the bird and drinks the Jumbo-Gro formula himself, doubling in size until he is much bigger than the bird. He tosses the potion out of the window only for it to land in the bulldog's mouth. While the now giant-sized cat chases the slightly smaller canary through the side of the house, the bulldog guzzles down the formula. After a quick run around the block, the cat and canary wind up back outside of the house, where a now gigantic bulldog appears before them. The cat runs away in fear as the bulldog tosses the bottle of plant growth food down the chimney, where it rolls out of the fireplace and straight to the mouse inside the house. The dog leaps over the house and chases the cat into the city.
The mouse in the house takes a few sips of plant food, instantly growing to gigantic size. The dog chases the cat to the city, only for the now huge mouse to show up and scare the bulldog away with a simple "Boo!". The mouse reminds the cat that he told him he would save his life. The cat thanks him as the mouse hands him the bottle back and stomps off. The cat, realizing he still is hungry, sees the huge mouse stomping off and gets another idea. He suddenly drinks more of the formula and grows even bigger than the mouse. The cat chases the smaller mouse through the city and across the country, passing the Grand Canyon
, Hoover Dam
and the mountains.
The giant mouse hides in a railroad tunnel, losing the cat for a moment. The mouse drinks the potion when the cat isn't paying attention and becomes even bigger than the already huge cat. The mouse starts to beat up on the cat only for the cat to take the potion back and drink it, becoming bigger than the mouse. The mouse takes it back and drinks more to become bigger still. This continues until they suddenly both come to a stop at the same exact size. They shake the now empty bottle of Jumbo-Gro and tell the audience at home that they have to end the cartoon, as they've run out of the formula. They wave goodbye to the viewers as the camera pulls back, revealing that they have outgrown the Earth
itself and are standing atop the globe.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
short that debuted in movie theaters in 1947. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
and directed by Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
.
Plot
An unnamed alley catCat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
searches for food in some garbage cans late at night. Unable to find anything worth his while (the bones he finds are stolen by other alley cats before he can take a bite) he spots a refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
inside a house and heads for it. He sneaks onto the property only to wake a sleeping 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...
. The bulldog chases the cat up to the side of the house. The cat quickly pulls out some sleeping pills
Hypnotic
Hypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
, putting the dog into a deep sleep.
Once inside the cat searches for food in the kitchen
Kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...
, but comes up empty. His luck finally changes when he finds a can of cat food. He quickly opens the can and out of the can pops a mouse
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
who is plopped down onto a dinner plate. The cat is about to dig in with a fork but the mouse puts a quick stop to that. He says that the cat can't eat him because he has already seen the cartoon they are in and that he winds up saving the cat's life later. The feline understands but wants some food as he is starving. The mouse points into the other room and tells him that there is a huge, fat, tasty canary
Domestic Canary
The Domestic Canary, often simply known as the canary, is a domesticated form of the wild Canary, a small songbird in the finch family originating from the Macaronesian Islands ....
in there. The cat charges out into the other room and stuffs the unseen canary into a sack heading back to the kitchen.
The bird is emptied from the sack, to be revealed as a scrawny little thing. The bird tells the cat, "Well, I've been sick..." Desperate, the cat gets a (literal) brainstorm when he sees a bottle of Jumbo-Gro plant growth formula on the shelf. Quickly he pours some of the formula into the bird and sure enough, the canary grows rapidly in size. But before the cat can take a bite, the bird is already over 10 feet tall. The canary takes advantage of his new height and beats up on the cat. The cat turns the tables on the bird and drinks the Jumbo-Gro formula himself, doubling in size until he is much bigger than the bird. He tosses the potion out of the window only for it to land in the bulldog's mouth. While the now giant-sized cat chases the slightly smaller canary through the side of the house, the bulldog guzzles down the formula. After a quick run around the block, the cat and canary wind up back outside of the house, where a now gigantic bulldog appears before them. The cat runs away in fear as the bulldog tosses the bottle of plant growth food down the chimney, where it rolls out of the fireplace and straight to the mouse inside the house. The dog leaps over the house and chases the cat into the city.
The mouse in the house takes a few sips of plant food, instantly growing to gigantic size. The dog chases the cat to the city, only for the now huge mouse to show up and scare the bulldog away with a simple "Boo!". The mouse reminds the cat that he told him he would save his life. The cat thanks him as the mouse hands him the bottle back and stomps off. The cat, realizing he still is hungry, sees the huge mouse stomping off and gets another idea. He suddenly drinks more of the formula and grows even bigger than the mouse. The cat chases the smaller mouse through the city and across the country, passing the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
, Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
and the mountains.
The giant mouse hides in a railroad tunnel, losing the cat for a moment. The mouse drinks the potion when the cat isn't paying attention and becomes even bigger than the already huge cat. The mouse starts to beat up on the cat only for the cat to take the potion back and drink it, becoming bigger than the mouse. The mouse takes it back and drinks more to become bigger still. This continues until they suddenly both come to a stop at the same exact size. They shake the now empty bottle of Jumbo-Gro and tell the audience at home that they have to end the cartoon, as they've run out of the formula. They wave goodbye to the viewers as the camera pulls back, revealing that they have outgrown the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
itself and are standing atop the globe.
Legacy
In 1994, it was voted #10 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.External links
- King-Size Canary on Big Cartoon DataBaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....
- King-Size Canary on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....