Chow Hound (1951)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Chuck Jones

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Release Date:

16 June 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Animation | Short | Comedy

Plot:

A mean, greedy, glutton of a bulldog uses two unwilling parties - a frightened cat and a mouse to help him grab dinner from various residences...

Plot Keywords:

Bulldog | Gravy | Dog | Butcher Shop | Zoo

Cast

Mel Blanc

...

Cat / Mouse / Vaughan / K. Harris / Doctor (voice)

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Names of Warner Brothers staff in the newspaper want ads.

Quotes:

Cat: *This* time, we didn't forget the gravy.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dead End (1985)

Soundtrack:

It's a Great Feeling

Gluttony, Greed and Gravy

Not only is this a great cartoon, but it represents a change in Chuck Jones' style while at Warners. In the late 30's and early 40's Jones made cartoons in the Disney mode, or rather he tried to. Most of those cartoons were rather dull and humorless. By mid-forties, though, Jones had seen the light and started to make funny cartoons like his contemporaries Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng and Frank Tashlin. But it was when he was teamed up with writer Mike Maltese in the late 40's that Jones' cartoons really started to gel; they became funnier and more polished as well as being stylistically unique, especially when compared to the cartoons Freleng and McKimson were turning out during the same period at Warners.

Maltese's writing was much darker and more cynical than anything Jones had worked with before. (Jones tended to make rather sweet and sentimental cartoons when left to his own devices.) "Chow Hound" shows how well Jones and Maltese complimented one another's styles. It is Jones' strong sense of design, superior draftsmanship, funny expressive characters, and expert timing that keeps the cartoon from getting too dark or grotesque.

The plot involves a bully of a dog (who looks like a beefier version of Charlie Dog) who uses a cat and mouse to run several scams on some unsuspecting pet owners in order to get himself a running supply of meat. However, the dog's own gluttonly and greed drive him to think up the ultimate plan to get a bigger score. The cartoon moves at a brisk pace, and scenes build on top of each other, leading nicely to the next until the final surprise ending. And it is a great ending!

In one scene, featuring a close up of a newspaper want ad, several of the animators' name are printed as an injoke.