''Cheese Chasers'' is a 1951

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

'' cartoon directed by

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

and written by

Michael Maltese Michael Maltese (February 6, 1908 – February 22, 1981) was an American screenwriter and storyboard artist for classic animated cartoon shorts. He is best known for working in the 1950s on a series of '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons with director ...

. The cartoon was released on August 25, 1951 and stars Hubie and Bertie, with

Claude Cat Claude Cat is an animated cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Brothers. Character biography Claude Cat had his origins in several other cat characters used by animator Chuck Jones ...

Plot

At the end of a raid on The Hunka Cheese Co. (a cheese factory), Hubie and Bertie have eaten so much cheese, they are sick. They vow never to eat cheese again and, with nothing to live for, leave a suicide note. They walk to the house where Claude Cat lives, and march into his mouth as he sleeps. The cat wakes up, discovers the mice in his mouth, spits them out and, upon hearing them actually ''begging'' for him to eat them, feels something is amiss. Believing he is simply dreaming, Claude attempts to awaken by sticking himself with a pin. However, the mice persist, and Claude, realizing he is ''not'' dreaming, offers the mice some cheese so they will leave him alone. When the mice reject the cheese, Claude questions his sanity, ripping a page out of a mental illness book, folding it into a hat and posing like

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. Realizing they have to get tough with the cat, the mice corner Claude as he is working on a model ship as a hobby to "help him", and hit him in the foot with a hammer. Claude angrily and maniacally stuffs the mice in his mouth but catches himself and spits them out for fear of something dangerous happening. Claude escapes the mice and concludes he can never eat another mouse again; just like the mice, he determines he has nothing left to live for and becomes suicidal. Claude also leaves a note, heads outside and punches a bulldog in the front yard, who runs out of his doghouse barking in anger. He then looks back and sees Claude waiting for him, blindfolded and smoking a cigarette. Confronting Claude, he asks the cat why he doesn't run away as he is going to masscare him. Claude says he actually ''wants'' the dog to massacre him. The bulldog suspects something is "fishy," at which point the mice come running out of the house begging Claude to eat them, which he once more refuses, confusing the canine even more. The bulldog asks Claude if cats eat mice, which he denies, and asks Hubie and Bertie if mice eat cheese, which they also deny. The bulldog, now totally flummoxed, attempts to figure things out by using an

adding machine An adding machine is a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations. Consequently, the earliest adding machines were often designed to read in particular currencies. Adding machines were ubiquitous office ...

. Unfortunately, he realizes that "(i)t just don't add up!" and, having likely been driven crazy himself, chases after a passing dog catcher truck, begging the driver to wait for him to board, followed by Claude demanding the dog massacre him, and then by the mice taunting the cowardly cat to eat them.

Legacy

This is the first appearance of the bulldog that would become

Marc Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

in '' Feed the Kitty'' (1952), '' Kiss Me Cat'' (1953), '' Cat Feud'' (1958), and '' Feline Frame-Up'' (1954). The plot resembles that of the 1945 cartoon, '' Life with Feathers'', directed by

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (; August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons ...

and written by Tedd Pierce, which marked the first appearance of

Sylvester the Cat Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr. is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic Bicolor cat, cat in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. Most of his appearances have him often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hop ...

in his mature form. In that short, a jilted suicidal Lovebird repeatedly tries to get Sylvester to eat him, and a suspicious Sylvester refuses, believing the bird is trying to poison him.

Censorship

When this cartoon aired on

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

, the part where Hubie and Bertie hit Claude's foot with a hammer in an attempt to be eaten by him was cut.

Home media

*'' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2'' (

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

set) *'' Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection'' (

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

set)

References

External links

* {{Chuck Jones 1951 films Merrie Melodies short films Short films directed by Chuck Jones 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Animated films about mice Animated films about cats Animated films about dogs Films scored by Carl Stalling Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Films about suicide Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese 1950s English-language films Claude Cat films Hubie and Bertie films English-language short films 1951 animated short films