''Kitty Kornered'' is a 1946

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 ...

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

'' cartoon, directed by

Robert Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, film director, director, film producer, producer and puppeteer best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the te ...

. The short was released on June 8, 1946, and stars

Porky Pig Porky Pig is a cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created man ...

and

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

. Porky and Sylvester would later be paired in a trio of shorts 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 ...

, ''

Scaredy Cat ''Scaredy Cat'' is a 1948 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on December 18, 1948, and stars Porky Pig and Sylvester the Cat. The cartoon is notable in that it marks the first time the name " ...

'', ''

Claws for Alarm ''Claws for Alarm'' is a 1954 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on May 22, 1954 and stars Porky Pig and Sylvester. It is the second of three comedy horror-themed cartoons teaming Porky and ...

'', and ''

Jumpin' Jupiter ''Jumpin' Jupiter'' is a 1955 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on August 6, 1955 and stars Porky Pig and Sylvester the Cat, Sylvester. It is the third and last of a series of comedy horror-t ...

'' where the explorer spooky settings, and also appeared with

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Me ...

(who also has a lisp like Sylvester) in ''

The Scarlet Pumpernickel ''The Scarlet Pumpernickel'' is a 1950 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' theatrical cartoon short, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon was released on March 4, 1950, and stars Daffy Duck along with a number of other ...

'' as

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

roles to him.

Plot

Porky Pig kicks his four cats, including Sylvester, out of the house for the night; outside, it's cold and snowy and the cats aren't having it, so they turn the tables on Porky and throw ''him'' out, instead. Porky, extremely angry, returns to the house and frightens the cats away by making a shadow puppet of his dog "Lassie" with his fingers. When Sylvester discovers they've been duped, the cats plot revenge by dressing up as

martians Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. Trends in the planet's portrayal have largely been influenced by advances in planetary science. It became the most popular celestia ...

and faking a ''

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and '' Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel wa ...

'' type radio bulletin which scares the heck out of Porky. Porky breaks the glass case on the wall containing a

blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a 17th- to mid-19th-century firearm with a short, large caliber Gun barrel, barrel. It is commonly flared at the muzzle (firearms), muzzle to help aid in the loading of Lead shot, shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity ...

("USE ONLY IN CASE OF INVASION FROM MARS") and aims it at the "martians" who are now advancing up the stairs with swords drawn, all dressed as

Teddy Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York politics, including serving as ...

("Charge!!"). Porky retreats, jumps through a window and the cats laugh at him. Shivering in the snow in his nightshirt, Porky asks the audience if they know of anyone with a house for rent.

Reception

Comics historian

Craig Yoe Craig Yoe (; born February 23, 1951) is an American author, editor, art director, graphic designer, cartoonist and comics historian, best known for his Yoe! Studio creations and his line of Yoe Books. Early life Craig Yoe was born in Des Moines, ...

writes, "In this uproariously funny film written by director Robert Clampett himself, everything and everyone is made of rubber. The last half has some of the most exhilirating action ever put on film."

Cultural references

"Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet" was a World War II hit song by

Ella Mae Morse Ella Mae Morse (September 12, 1924 – October 16, 1999) was an American singer of popular music whose 1940s and 1950s recordings mixing jazz, blues, and country styles influenced the development of rock and roll. Her 1942 recording of " Cow-Co ...

, and was sung by

Nancy Walker Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer;Often mistranscribed as "Smoyer" May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to ''Th ...

in the film ''

Broadway Rhythm ''Broadway Rhythm'' (1944) is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor musical film, produced by Jack Cummings and directed by Roy Del Ruth. It was originally announced as ''Broadway Melody of 1944'' to follow MGM's ''Broadway Melody'' films of 1929, ...

''. The wine that the grey drunken cat was drinking says "Arsenic and Old Grapes" is a parody reference to '' Arsenic and Old Lace''. On ''

The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries ''The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries'' is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation which aired from September 9, 1995 to February 5, 2000 on Kids' WB. The final episode, containing the segments "The Ta ...

'', the "Men from Mars" characters made an appearance in "Spaced Out". The cats charging up the stairs at Porky assume the appearances of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and his

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

cavalry (possibly in reference to the film '' Arsenic and Old Lace'').

References

External links

* * {{Sylvester the Cat in animation 1946 films Films directed by Bob Clampett Looney Tunes shorts Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films 1940s science fiction films Porky Pig films Sylvester the Cat films Films about pets Animated films about extraterrestrial life Films scored by Carl Stalling American animated science fiction films 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films Films about alien invasions Cultural depictions of Theodore Roosevelt Films with screenplays by Bob Clampett 1946 animated short films