Elmer threatens to give his dog a bath if he doesn't stop scratching, but the poor pooch is the victim of a hungry flea whose tools of the trade include pickaxes and dynamite.Elmer threatens to give his dog a bath if he doesn't stop scratching, but the poor pooch is the victim of a hungry flea whose tools of the trade include pickaxes and dynamite.Elmer threatens to give his dog a bath if he doesn't stop scratching, but the poor pooch is the victim of a hungry flea whose tools of the trade include pickaxes and dynamite.
- Director
- Writer
- Stars
Sara Berner
- A. Flea
- (singing voice)
- (uncredited)
Arthur Q. Bryan
- Elmer Fudd
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe gag of the dog stopping from dragging his rear to say, "Hey, I'd better cut this out. I might get to like it," was originally intended to be left out of the final cut and used in the studio's yearly gag reel. Somehow it wasn't, and passed the scrutiny of the Film Board censors to be left in the cartoon.
- Alternate versionsAt the original end of this cartoon, the flea carries Elmer and the dog away on a platter. The cat sees this, says "Now I've seen everything" to the camera, then shoots himself in the head. This ending is rarely shown on television; it fades to black during the cat's last line instead.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Troldspejlet: Episode #9.9 (1993)
Featured review
"Hey, I better cut this out. I may get to like it"
'An Itch in Time', as with all Looney Tunes cartoons had much potential from the get go.
There are many reasons why, with it being directed by Bob Clampett, having music by Carl Stalling, featuring the voices of Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan and that it featured Elmer, always amusing and watchable whose partnership with Bugs is legendary. It was also interesting as to what it would do with a slightly limited concept.
Luckily, 'An Itch in Time' works really well and lives up to its potential. For me, its only disappointment is Elmer (looking closer to his familiar character design than his portlier look in his previous cartoons) having very little to do, as a character he's side-lined and too much of a plot-device and his material is not as inspired as that of the flea's and particularly the dog's.
On the other hand, the animation as ever is of very well done quality. It's very lush and vibrant in the colours, it's rich and meticulous in background detail and all three characters are drawn well. There are also some really imaginative visuals in the gags, which play a large part as to why they work as well as they do, and the animation of the inside of the dog's fur equally so.
Carl Stalling's music score is outstanding, once again a perfect demonstration as to why of the regular Looney Tunes composers he was my personal favourite. The orchestration is so sonically rich and beautiful as well as used so cleverly, it's high voltage in energy and character and it adds so much to what is going on. What Stalling also excelled in was incorporating pre-existing material and putting his own spin on it, here particularly standing out was a wonderfully upbeat "Food Around the Corner" (complete with some very inventive animation).
Bob Clampett's direction is delightfully wacky, in a way that only he could be, and what could have easily have been limited material considering the concept turned out to be enormously entertaining. Dialogue is witty, with the dog boasting the best lines, and the gags are hilarious, visually imaginative (especially the dog's reactions) and Clampett's wackiness is apparent constantly in the flea's brutal but thankfully never gratuitously sadistic treatment of the dog.
The other two characters carry 'An Itch in Time' strongly. The flea is cute, antagonistic and suitably obnoxious, without being overly so, but it's the dog that steals the show. The voices are spot-on, especially from a supremely talented Mel Blanc once again in multiple roles, particularly colourful as the dog.
On the whole, a great Bob Clampett-directed cartoon though another case of the supporting characters making more of an impression than the most famous character. 9/10 Bethany Cox
There are many reasons why, with it being directed by Bob Clampett, having music by Carl Stalling, featuring the voices of Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan and that it featured Elmer, always amusing and watchable whose partnership with Bugs is legendary. It was also interesting as to what it would do with a slightly limited concept.
Luckily, 'An Itch in Time' works really well and lives up to its potential. For me, its only disappointment is Elmer (looking closer to his familiar character design than his portlier look in his previous cartoons) having very little to do, as a character he's side-lined and too much of a plot-device and his material is not as inspired as that of the flea's and particularly the dog's.
On the other hand, the animation as ever is of very well done quality. It's very lush and vibrant in the colours, it's rich and meticulous in background detail and all three characters are drawn well. There are also some really imaginative visuals in the gags, which play a large part as to why they work as well as they do, and the animation of the inside of the dog's fur equally so.
Carl Stalling's music score is outstanding, once again a perfect demonstration as to why of the regular Looney Tunes composers he was my personal favourite. The orchestration is so sonically rich and beautiful as well as used so cleverly, it's high voltage in energy and character and it adds so much to what is going on. What Stalling also excelled in was incorporating pre-existing material and putting his own spin on it, here particularly standing out was a wonderfully upbeat "Food Around the Corner" (complete with some very inventive animation).
Bob Clampett's direction is delightfully wacky, in a way that only he could be, and what could have easily have been limited material considering the concept turned out to be enormously entertaining. Dialogue is witty, with the dog boasting the best lines, and the gags are hilarious, visually imaginative (especially the dog's reactions) and Clampett's wackiness is apparent constantly in the flea's brutal but thankfully never gratuitously sadistic treatment of the dog.
The other two characters carry 'An Itch in Time' strongly. The flea is cute, antagonistic and suitably obnoxious, without being overly so, but it's the dog that steals the show. The voices are spot-on, especially from a supremely talented Mel Blanc once again in multiple roles, particularly colourful as the dog.
On the whole, a great Bob Clampett-directed cartoon though another case of the supporting characters making more of an impression than the most famous character. 9/10 Bethany Cox
helpful•21
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jun 18, 2016
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Merrie Melodies #24 (1942-1943 Season): An Itch in Time
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime8 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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