Cat-Tails for Two

Infobox Hollywood cartoon
cartoon_name = Cat-Tails for Two
series = Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies/Speedy Gonzales


caption = Cat-Tails for Two saw the debut of Speedy Gonzales.
director = Robert McKimson
story_artist = Tedd Pierce
animator = Herman Cohen
Phil DeLara
Charles McKimson
Rod Scribner
voice_actor = Mel Blanc
Stan Freberg
layout = Robert Givens
backgrounds = Richard H. Thomas
musical_direction = Carl W. Stalling
studio = Warner Bros. Cartoons
distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures
release_date = August 29, 1953 (USA premiere)
color_process = Technicolor
runtime = 7 min (one reel)
movie_language = English
imdb_id = 0045610

"Cat-Tails for Two" is a 1953 Warner Bros. "Merrie Melodies" cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce starring Bennie the fat cat and George. It was animated in 1952. Voices by Mel Blanc and Stan Freberg and music by Carl Stalling. It was the first appearance of Speedy Gonzales. Because this cartoon's rendition of Speedy Gonzales looked rather coarse, they redesigned him for future cartoon releases.

Plot

The two cats pursuing Speedy in "Cat-Tails for Two" are the slow-witted (and injury-causing) Benny and the fully functioning but unfortunate George, both patterned after the characters Lennie and George in the novel "Of Mice and Men". George and Benny are walking down a pier looking for food, when they find a Mexican ship. Figuring the ship will have plenty of Mexican mice, i.e. "Mexican food" (Benny: "It gives me the heartburn and I love it!"), they climb on, only to find an unkempt mouse calling himself "Speedy Gonzales: Fastest Mouse in All Mexico". George and Benny go through numerous attempts to try and capture Speedy, who always outwits them. Speedy comes to think of them as private entertainment, at one point declaring "I like those fellows. All the time having "fon" (fun)!"

Finally, the two cats run a pipe into Speedy's hiding place (to the tune of Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse"), but Speedy grabs a wrench and bends it around back to them, unbeknownst to them. George starts shoving a lot of dynamite into the pipe, resulting in a mountain of TNT behind him and Benny. When he's done shoving dynamite through the pipe, he pushes a plunger down, and the mountain of dynamite blasts him and Benny up into the air. As they descend, Benny asks George about their Mexican dinner, with George responding "I kind of lost my appetite for Mexican food," before both cats plunge into the harbor. A smug Speedy looks at the camera and declares "I love those fellows. They're so see-lee (silly)!" Iris out.