''Weasel While You Work'' is a 1958

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

Robert McKimson Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DePa ...

. The cartoon was released on September 6, 1958, and features

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 ...

and the

Barnyard Dawg Barnyard Dawg is a ''Looney Tunes'' character. A feisty anthropomorphic basset hound, he is a friend and the archenemy of Foghorn Leghorn. He was created by Robert McKimson, who also created Foghorn, and was voiced by Mel Blanc. Dawg also feud ...

. The weasel seen in this short previously appeared in '' Plop Goes the Weasel'' (1953) and '' Weasel Stop'' (1956). Unlike many Foghorn shorts, this one takes place during the winter. The title is a pun on the phrase and song "

Whistle While You Work "Whistle While You Work" is a song with music written by Frank Churchill and lyrics written by Larry Morey for the 1937 animated Disney film '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''. It was performed in the film by voice actress Adriana Caselott ...

Plot

During winter, Foghorn drags

from his doghouse, coats him in snow, and puts snowman decorations on him. Dawg emerges from the snowman and says he will "murder the bum". He sharpens one of Foghorn's ice skates, which causes Foghorn to fall through the ice when he skates a circle. In revenge, Foghorn rolls a snowball down the hill toward Dawg, who moves out of the way, before the giant snowball hits a curve and flies back at Foghorn, burying him. Suddenly, Foghorn is attacked by a ravenously hungry

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...

who gnaws his leg. Foghorn grabs the weasel and asks him if he would prefer some "venison". Foghorn slips antlers onto Dawg's head and directs the weasel to him. The weasel attacks Dawg's leg. Dawg notices the antlers and removes them and asks the weasel if he would prefer some "frozen chicken". Foghorn's sled crashes into a fallen tree that Dawg had placed in his path. While Foghorn is down, Dawg throws a bucket of water over him, freezing him in a block of ice. Dawg presents the ice block to the weasel, who splits it in half with an axe. Foghorn says he has a "splittin' headache" before he too splits in half. As revenge, Foghorn traps Dawg in a corset, making him resemble a seal, and gives him to the weasel to cook. While being peppered, Dawg sneezes, which buries him in an avalanche. A furious Dawg tells the weasel that he is a dog and that he should get a chicken instead. Later, the skiing Foghorn hits a tall pole and slides into a cooking pot where the weasel is hungrily waiting. Foghorn bolts, but Dawg hands a club to the weasel, who chases Foghorn until he is distracted by a huge Foghorn ice statue, which he proceeds to gnaw on. The real Foghorn, watching from behind a tree, thinks his troubles are over until at least the Fourth of July. In the final set piece, Foghorn pulls on what he thinks is Barnyard Dawg's tail from his doghouse, but it is actually a lit rocket, which shoots Foghorn into the sky. As the cartoon ends, Dawg remarks that "the Fourth of July came a little early this year".

Production

This is one of six cartoons scored by using stock music by John Seely of

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

from the Hi-Q library because of a musicians' strike in 1958. The others are '' A Bird in a Bonnet'', '' Hook, Line and Stinker'', ''

Pre-Hysterical Hare ''Pre-Hysterical Hare'' is a 1958 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Robert McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on November 1, 1958, and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. The two are in their usual hunter- ...

'', '' Gopher Broke'', and ''

Hip Hip-Hurry! ''Hip Hip-Hurry!'' is a 1958 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on December 6, 1958, and stars Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The title is a pun on the phrase "Hip Hip Hooray!!" Plot Th ...

''. Mel Blanc supplied the voices of Foghorn Leghorn, Barnyard Dawg, and the weasel.

Cartoon Network region error

In 2016,

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 ...

USA accidentally used the Russian dubbed version of the short instead of the English version and ran it several times.

Critical response

According to Michael Samerdyke, ''Weasel While You Work'' is "a very strong late Foghorn Leghorn cartoon .... The only jarring note, as several writers have noted, is the music by John Seely", which Samerdyke says is "ill-suited" to the Warner Bros. style.Samerdyke, Michael (2014)
''Cartoon Carnival: A Critical Guide to the Best Cartoons from Warner Brothers, MGM, Walter Lantz and DePatie-Freleng''
Lulu Press. . The short was reviewed in ''Hollywood Classics'', volume 23.Reid, John Howard (2010). ''Hollywood Classics Title Index to All Movies Reviewed in Books 1–24''. Lulu.com. p. 122. .

Cast

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for come ...

–

/ Willy the Weasel

References

External links

* {{Robert McKimson 1958 films 1958 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Merrie Melodies short films Barnyard Dawg films Foghorn Leghorn films Animated films about weasels American animated films about revenge Animated films set on farms Films set in 1958 Winter in culture Films directed by Robert McKimson Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films English-language short films 1958 animated short films