''Fair and Worm-er'' is a 1946

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 1970s to the ...

'' cartoon directed by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, pro ...

. The short was released on September 28, 1946. The title is a pun on '' Fair and Warmer''. The premise greatly resembles and builds upon that of the 1942

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...

cartoon, '' The Early Bird Dood It!'', which is about a worm chased by a bird chased by a cat, and has a much darker ending.

Plot

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always). Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete wor ...

, wielding a knife and fork, rushes to dine on a large

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

that has fallen to the ground when he is immediately chased by a hungry black

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

. The crow pursues the worm until he is confronted by an equally hungry

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

. The cat runs after the crow, only to find itself in the sights of a vicious, equally hungry

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

. The dog harasses the cat until he is suddenly set upon by the local

dog catcher An animal control service or animal control agency is an entity charged with responding to requests for help with animals ranging from wild animals, dangerous animals, or animals in distress. An individual who works for such an entity was once kn ...

. He is stopped in his tracks by his wife (armed with a

rolling pin Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...

), who professes that she is not "scared of man nor beast." A nearby mouse informs her that he is a beast and snarls, setting her off running and screaming as the mouse heads off in pursuit of her. Her husband, in a

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

voice, watches the woman tearing away, chased by the mouse, and says, "Everybody wants to get into the act." From there, the five protagonists continue their pursuit of each other -- all stemming from the worm still attempting to get the apple. The crow makes an intellectual decision that, within this busy group, he must help the dog. He reasons, "Dogs chase cats...Cats chase birds...I'm a bird...Therefore: I gotta help the dog." A series of scenarios plays out during which each character goes after their prey while being harried by their own nemesis. An encounter with a

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gin ...

, who may or may not be

Pepé Le Pew Pepé Le Pew is an animated character from the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons, introduced in 1945. Depicted as a French striped skunk, Pepé is constantly on the quest for love. However, his offensive ...

,''That's All Folks! The Art of Warner Bros. Animation'' by Steve Schneider, Copyright 1988, Henry Holt & Company New York unites them all in self-preservation and escape. Throughout, the dog catcher's wife continues to run away from the mouse. At the conclusion of the cartoon, after all of the protagonists hide in a hole to get away from the skunk, the worm dispatches all of them by jabbing them with a tack, scaring them all away. Now free and clear, the skunk asks the worm if he must go through this routine every day just to get something to eat. The worm says, "Eat it, nothing. This is the last furnished apartment in town." He then opens a door in the apple, upon which hangs a "Vacancy" sign. As the short fades out, the worm exits his new home wearing a robe and carrying a towel, heading for a nearby second apple with a door, presumably containing shower facilities.

References

External links

* 1946 films Merrie Melodies short films 1946 animated films 1946 short films Short films directed by Chuck Jones Animated films about birds Animated films about cats Animated films about dogs Pepé Le Pew films American chase films Films scored by Carl Stalling 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese Films about worms {{MerrieMelodies-stub