A Year in Shorts Day 314: "Dog, Cat and Canary"

If there’s one thing regular readers of this blog should know about me by now, it’s that I have no great love for Sylvester and Tweety shorts. Even setting aside the fact that Tweety Bird is an obnoxious character, and allowing for the few shorts of theirs I’ve enjoyed, there’s no getting around the fact that they are, at the end of the day, just the poor man’s Tom and Jerry. But as bad as that is, it can always be worse- imagining being the poor man’s Sylvester and Tweety. Enter today’s short, Howard Swift’s Dog, Cat and Canary, to help add a little perspective to the whole affair.


(via TV Tropes)


Directed by Howard Smith and released in 1945, Dog, Cat and Canary is a part of Columbia's Color Rhapsody series, which is already a bad sign if you ask me. Have any of the Color Rhapsodies been worth a damn? At any rate, the premise is a fairly straightforward one- a stray cat is on the hunt when it spots a canary in a nearby yard. (The fact that the cat is black and white like Sylvester and the bird is yellow like Tweety is probably just a coincidence.) Unfortunately for the cat, the canary's owners also have a guard dog tied up in their yard. So the stakes are pretty firmly established- the cat wants to eat the bird, the dog doesn't want to let them, a great deal of hijinks ensue. Is any of it funny? No. Is it at least passably amusing? Also no. Is there anything about this short that makes it worth watching? Well, I'll let you figure out that one for yourself.



From the lame gags to the cheap, ugly animation, it's hard to believe Dog, Cat and Canary is a real cartoon from the 40s. More than anything it feels like a parody of old cartoons, something stupid a character in a TV show might be watching to show how stupid they are. Lacking in the wit, energy or artistry that other companies could produce in their sleep, Dog, Cat and Canary offers nothing but some lackluster slapstick and poorly designed cartoon animals. (Seriously, that dog is hideous.) The only good to come out of this short is that it makes you appreciate how truly great those Warner Bros., MGM or Disney cartoons were. Seriously, compare Dog, Cat and Canary to some of the shorts it was competing against; the difference is striking. Mouse Trouble? Everything this short wishes it could be. How to Play Football? Frankly insulting that the Academy thought they were remotely on the same level. Swooner Crooner? Well, ok that short was bad, and pretty racist, but I mean... well there was clearly a lot more effort put into one than the other, you know? Fish Fry? Totally forgettable, but at least it wasn't ugly to look at. You see what you've done, Dog, Cat and Canary? You've made me say something nice about Walter Lantz! I feel like I need to take a shower.

Dog, Cat and Canary is not the worst short we've covered, but that's only because it lacks the ambition and originality it takes to make a truly awful film. No, instead Dog, Cat and Canary has to settle for being mediocre and forgettable, which is arguably worse. Still, I'm grateful for it. Watching this short made me realize that perhaps I've been a little too harsh on Sylvester and Tweety this past year. Sure, Tweety's an annoying little shit, but at least he's got an identity. Yeah, they might not have the best gags, but at least there's some variety to them, and they generally have some pretty good setup and payoff structures, not just formless violence. And the animation, my God the animation! So much livelier and more beautiful! Even the worst Looney Tunes shorts have infinitely more to offer than Dog, Cat and Canary. So while Tweety remains my mortal enemy, at least he's an enemy I can respect.


Keep up with the Oscar Baiting here on Letterboxd!


The Great Oscar Baiter is a not-for-profit work of criticism. All images herein are property of their respective owners and are protected under Fair Use.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Song of the Week #15: "Take My Breath Away"

Image
I’ll put myself on a consistent schedule for these things one day, I promise. In my defense, there are a lot of movies to catch up on, and isn’t that what Oscar Baiting is all about? For instance- until recently, I’d never seen the original Top Gun! But with Top Gun: Maverick holding its spot as the biggest hit of the year (probably only to be dethroned by Black Panther or Avatar ) and even potentially soaring into the obligatory crowd pleaser Best Picture slot, I figured it was time to see where things began. Because while the Oscars Top Gun: Maverick may win have yet to be decided, the first Top Gun only went home with one- for the love theme, “Take My Breath Away.” (via Wikipedia) Love themes for films have gone a bit out of style these days, although for a long time it seemed to be a surefire way to nab a Best Song nomination. Seriously, look through the Wikipedia article and count how many times you see "Title Seemingly Chosen at Random (Love Theme from Movie You Didn...
Read more

Song of the Week #6: "The Ballad of High Noon"

Image
I was finally able to catch Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast this weekend, and I have to say it certainly lived up to the hype. There’s a lot to love about this movie, from the gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, the exquisite performances from both the seasoned veterans and newcomers in the cast, to a script that’s brimming with heart and humor. But one aspect of the film I don’t see a lot of people mention is the way it incorporates footage from other films- most notably Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon, using not only a scene from the movie itself but scoring two pivotal scenes with the film’s theme song, the aptly-named (and Oscar-winning) “The Ballad of High Noon.” It was a bold choice to be sure, but who could blame Branagh? It’s a great movie, and a great song- and the subject for today’s installment in Song of the Week. (via Wikipedia) For those of you haven't seen High Noon... well, you really should get on that, it's a classic! Aside from being a taut, tightly edited thril...
Read more

Song of the Week #14- "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

Image
I was watching Belfast with my friend last week, and- like all great films- it raised a lot of questions. Questions like, “Hey, remember the last time I watched Belfast and was inspired to write a blog post because of it ?” and “Hey, why haven’t I written anything Oscar Bait related in a while?” Well, luckily for all of us “The Ballad of High Noon” wasn’t the only Oscar-nominated song featured in Belfast. Unluckily for us, that other song just happens to be “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” (via Wikipedia) Readers of this blog will hopefully remember that I love a good movie musical. Sadly, those were few and far between in the 1960s. Oh sure, movie musicals certainly had a brief resurgence in those days. Many of them were big hits, both critically and commercially. Hell, Best Picture went to a musical on four separate occasions in that decade! But how many of them were actually any good? Not a lot. Oh sure, The Music Man is great fun and Mary Poppins is a classic. But far too many mu...
Read more