''Scent-imental Romeo'' 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 ...

'' animated short 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 ...

. The short was released on March 24, 1951, and stars Pepé Le Pew.

Plot

In the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Zoo, Penelope Pussycat is starving and tries to beg the local zookeeper to give her some of the lions' food but he gently, though firmly, refuses. She then deliberately paints a white stripe on her back, disguising herself as a skunk, so as to be fed. The ploy works, but unfortunately for Penelope, she is discovered by Pepé, who immediately mistakes her for "le petite femme skunk" and pursues her affections. Suddenly however, Pepé remembers his plan of a rendezvous. He sets up a makeshift house, serving Penelope champagne. She escapes Pepé, who (of course) pursues, believing her to be playing the "lovers' chase", which he obliges. While looking for Penelope, he (unintentionally) scares off a French

Poodle The Poodle, called the in German () and the in French, is a breed of water dog. The breed is divided into four varieties based on size, the Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle, although the Medium Poodle is no ...

in the process. He later finds Penelope near a corner, and she hits him with a mallet. Pepé recovered from the blow and called her a "Flirt." Pepé follows his "lover" into a tunnel of love, but at the other side, he is smooching and hugging a dumbfounded man, mistaking him for Penelope. Once Pepé realizes he got the wrong person, he angrily declares that the man shall hear from his "second" (in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

), to which the man (mechanically) replies by joining the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

and saluting before fainting. Penelope climbs a wall, running into Pepé once more, who acts like

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor, and entertainer. He is best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank Heaven f ...

, singing "Babyface" in an attempt to woo her. When that didn't quite work, he pursues her across Paris and caught her. Pepé dances with Penelope in a forceful French Apache dance, but she instinctively bashes him over the head with a club. Pepé was seeing multiple Penelopes in a daze, saying that one may remain, while the rest of them, another day. But, just as the chase was about to resume, the zookeeper then finally catches Pepé, who regretfully waves goodbye to Penelope, and is soon put back in his cage. It may turn out to be a headache for Pepé, but he closes the cartoon saying with a simple, "Vive l'amour."

References

External links

* 1951 films Merrie Melodies short films Short films directed by Chuck Jones Animated films about cats Animated films set in Paris Animated films set in zoos Films scored by Carl Stalling Pepé Le Pew films 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese French Foreign Legion in popular culture 1950s English-language films Penelope Pussycat films English-language short films 1951 animated short films {{MerrieMelodies-stub