''The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries'' is an American

animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation which aired from September 9, 1995 to February 5, 2000 on

Kids' WB Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming block that originally aired on The WB from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006, and later on The CW from September 23, 2006, to May 17, 2008. Initially launched as a co ...

. The final episode, containing the segments "The Tail End?" and "This Is the End", was never shown on Kids' WB, not premiering until December 18, 2002, when the show aired in reruns on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

. 52 episodes were produced.

Premise

The show follows

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 ...

characters

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 ...

and

Tweety Tweety is an animated character, a yellow canary bird in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. His characteristics are based on Red Skelton's famous "Junior the Mean Widdle Kid". He appeared in ...

, along with their owner Granny and bulldog

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

(Sylvester's foil in many 1950s era shorts, here given a redesign similar to

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 ...

), as they solved mysteries around the world. Sylvester, of course, is still trying to eat Tweety in the meantime, with Hector acting as the bird's bodyguard. The first season was dedicated to the memory of

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 ...

, Warner Bros. animator and original creator of the Sylvester and Tweety shorts, who had died at age 88 shortly before the series premiered. The show originally consisted of one case per 23 minute episode, however starting with the second season, the show consisted of two separate 11-minute mysteries. Other ''Looney Tunes'' characters make cameo appearances, including

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 ...

Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( ) is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park in California. His real name is ''Aloysius Bartholamew Sam''. ...

Elmer Fudd Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes''/''Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. Elmer Fudd's aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antag ...

, the

Tasmanian Devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii''; palawa kani: ''purinina'') is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now con ...

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 anthropomorphic striped skunk, Pepé is constantly on the quest for love and pursui ...

Beaky Buzzard Beaky Buzzard (initially known as "Killer") is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is a young turkey vulture (sometimes called a "buzzard" in the United States) with b ...

, Babbit and Catstello,

Hubie and Bertie Hubie and Bertie are animated cartoon mouse characters in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. Hubie and Bertie represent some of animator Chuck Jones' earliest work that was intended to be funny rather th ...

Foghorn Leghorn Foghorn Leghorn is an anthropomorphic rooster who appears in ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons and films from Warner Bros. Animation. He was created by Robert McKimson, and starred in 29 cartoons from 1946 to 1964 in the gol ...

, Witch Hazel, Michigan J. Frog,

Rocky and Mugsy The ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated shorts released by Warner Bros. feature a range of characters which are listed and briefly detailed here. Major characters from the franchise include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fud ...

Marvin the Martian Marvin the Martian is an extraterrestrial character from the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series. He frequently appears as a villain in cartoons and video games, and wears a Roman soldier's helmet and skirt. The character has be ...

Hippety Hopper Hippety Hopper is a young kangaroo character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' series of cartoons. Robert McKimson introduced Hippety Hopper in '' Hop, Look and Listen'' (1948), which established the pattern for future Hippety Hopper cartoons. ...

, Gossamer, Count Blood Count,

Sam Sheepdog Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog are characters in a series of Animation, animated cartoons in the Warner Bros. Cartoons, Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons. The characters were created by Chuck Jones. Ralph Wolf has virtua ...

Cecil Turtle Cecil Turtle is a fictional character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of films. Though he made only three theatrical appearances, Cecil has the unusual distinction that he is one of the very few characters who ...

, Nasty Canasta, the Crusher, Pete Puma, Merlin the Magic Mouse, the

Goofy Gophers The Goofy Gophers are animated cartoon characters in Warner Bros.' ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. The gophers are small and brown with tan bellies and buck teeth. They both have British accents. Unnamed in the thea ...

Hugo the Abominable Snowman Hugo the Abominable Snowman is a character in the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise. Personality Hugo is a large, rather naive, and easily fooled abominable snowman who really likes bunny rabbits. He likes to name his pets "George" and tried on two occ ...

, and the Road Runner. The latter-day Warner Bros. character,

Cool Cat Cool Cat may refer to: * ''Cool Cat'' (album), an album by jazz trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker * ''Cool Cat'' (book), a picture book by Nonny Hogrogian * ''Cool Cat'' (film), a 1967 animated cartoon film * Cool Cat (Looney Tunes), a Warner Bros. cart ...

, also appears in some form of cameo in almost every episode, and his nemesis,

Colonel Rimfire Cool Cat is a fictional cartoon character created by director Alex Lovy for Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation. He was the final star of the original Warner Bros. theatrical cartoons. His first appearance was in an eponymous short in 1967. He w ...

, makes several appearances.

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

, Lola Bunny,

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 ...

Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast ...

, and Wile E. Coyote are the only most prominent characters to not appear in the series. The final episode of the series never aired on Kids' WB, but did air on

on December 18, 2002.

Episodes

Characters

(voiced by

Joe Alaskey Joseph Francis Alaskey III (April 17, 1952 – February 3, 2016) was an American actor and comedian. He was one of Mel Blanc's successors at the Warner Bros. Animation studio until his death. He alternated with Jeff Bergman, Greg Burson, Ji ...

) acts as narrator throughout the episodes, and continually tries to devour Tweety for his supper, though he is always thwarted by Hector or Tweety's craftiness. Despite their never-ending feud, the pair manage to get along for the most part, and Sylvester will defend Tweety when someone else tries to harm the canary. Sylvester also unwittingly discovers many clues, claiming as the narrator to have knowledge of the case (though this is probably bluster). Besides chasing Tweety, Sylvester often explores the surroundings, leading him to sometimes be in awkward situations (i.e. being chased by a male cousin of Pepe Le Pew, Pitu Le Pew or using Granny's umbrella to pierce a villain's blimp). Through these situations, the baritone and tenor singing, lisping tuxedo cat endures all manner of pain and suffering, but comes out none the worse for wear. Sylvester is allergic to wool and is jealous of Tweety. *

(voiced by Joe Alaskey) is a cute but mischievous

yellow canary The yellow canary (''Crithagra flaviventris'') is a small passerine bird in the true finch family. It is a resident breeder in much of the western and central regions of southern Africa and has been introduced to Ascension and St Helena islan ...

. Tweety is often trying to escape Sylvester by foiling him through either his flying, clever timing, or his bodyguard, Hector. Tweety usually stays with Granny and is responsible for some major clues. Despite his feud with Sylvester, the pair will team up if Granny is threatened and can work together very well. Tweety also serves as a source of ironic humor at times, usually in reference to Sylvester's foiled attempts to eat him. The show also harks back to Tweety's earlier shorts by

Bob 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 ...

(in fact, Tweety meets his old self in the episode Seeing Double, depicted as a separate character called Orson, Tweety's prototype) and he is not above malice towards "''dat bad ol' putty tat''". * Granny (voiced by

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American Voice acting, voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animation, animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha F ...

) is a practical old fashioned world-renowned detective. Granny travels the globe with Sylvester and Tweety, attending events such as races or canary contest and is often called upon by the locals to solve a crime. However, there have been attempts to frame Granny, causing some difficulty in finding clues. She is overprotective of Tweety, and will not hesitate to give Sylvester a good whack on the head. She sometimes calls upon the cat to investigate clues or defend the group while they sleep, though, showing signs of obvious trust. Granny is good natured mostly, but can become stern. With Granny as the main detective of the show, she bears similarity to

Miss Marple Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterised as an elderly spinster, she is one ...

. *

(voiced by

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...

) is Granny's pet

bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

and Tweety's bodyguard. Hector (Mr Bees) keeps Sylvester from eating the canary and will often beat him up if he gets in his way. Hector will defend Granny, Tweety or even Sylvester if threatened, but is not above stealing food or trying to please others. *

is the most mysterious character in this cartoon. Appears in most (or even all) episodes in one form or another.

Home media

On September 9, 2008,

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

released The Complete First Season of ''The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries'' on DVD in Region 1. This release comes exactly 13 years since the premiere of the show. No further DVD releases have been announced. Three episodes from season 1 are included as bonus features in the

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

film '' King Tweety''.

Awards and nominations

The series was nominated multiple times for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

in the category Special Class Animated Program. The series won two

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

s in the category of voice acting for

in the role of Granny.

Legacy

On February 17, 2021, it was announced Tweety would have starred in ''Tweety Mysteries'', similar in concept to ''The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries'' except that the series would have been a live-action/animation hybrid and would have aired on

. However, the series was scrapped in December 2022. In May 2023, reruns of the series started airing on the

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Outline of entertainment, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedi ...

Hasbro Entertainment Hasbro Entertainment is a production company, production and distribution (marketing), distribution company owned and operated by American toy and multimedia company Hasbro and launched on August 16, 2023. It succeeds Allspark, previously known ...

-co-owned TV network

Discovery Family Discovery Family (known on-air as Discovery Family Channel and abbreviated as DFC) is an American Specialty channel, cable television channel co-owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. and Hasbro Entertainment, which are divisions of Warner Bros. Di ...

References

External links

Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries
-

(Archive) *
''The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries''
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on January 1, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries 1995 American animated television series debuts 2002 American television series endings 1990s American animated comedy television series 2000s American animated comedy television series 1990s American children's comedy television series 2000s American children's comedy television series 1990s American mystery television series 2000s American mystery television series American English-language television shows Kids' WB original shows Looney Tunes television series Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios American animated television spinoffs Television series by Warner Bros. Animation American detective television series The WB animated television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated mystery television series Animated television series about birds Animated television series about cats Animated television series about dogs Annie Award–winning television shows