Chow Hound

Plot synopsis:
A large bulldog bullies two unwilling parties—a frightened cat and a tough-talking mouse—into various scams to obtain dinner from various residences. The scheme involves the dog, who forever complains that he is "starving," using the cat to pose as the pet for three residents and a municipal zoo. The cat poses as (in order of appearance):
"Butch," a turtleneck-wearing feline. The cat timidly walks to the waiting bulldog to hand him his steak, only to get slapped for forgetting the gravy.
A bow-tied "Harold," who is scolded by his female "mistress" as he comes home. "Harold" tries to eat a leg of chicken when the mistress leaves the room, but is quickly grabbed by the bulldog, who again reprimands him for forgetting the gravy.
"Timothy," the alley cat who serves as the mouse catcher for an older gentleman living in a brownstone apartment building. The cat swallows the mouse whole, earning more physical punishment; the mouse tries unsuccessfully to get away after he is spit out. After earning another steak from the owner, the cat is again slapped by the bulldog for forgetting the gravy again. The mouse tries to get tough, but is simply hit on the head.
As a "saber-tooth alley catus," complete with fake fangs. The zookeeper shrugs his shoulders at the apparently new, unannounced "exhibit." It is at this point where the cat tries to one-up his captor by wrapping a TNT stick inside the steak. The result is only a small blast in the dog's stomach, which the embarrassed dog apparently misinterprets as gas and excuses himself. He smacks the cat (off-screen) for forgetting the gravy yet again.
He then starts to complain that "week in, week out, it's the same thing; it's too slow!" He then sees a sign advertising a reward for lost animals and gets a sinister idea: Holding the cat hostage for weeks, the dog accurately anticipates that the cat's "owners" will post rewards in the newspaper. "I've got plans for you!" the dog snarls.
The bulldog reads the missing animals article in the newspaper for the addresses and reward amounts from the owners and prepares to execute his big scam (telling his cat comrade "C'mon stupid; this is the payoff.") The bulldog returns the cat to each of his masters, collects the reward and then reclaims his cat by means of a trick-bed, the largest of the rewards coming from the zoo. The dog, gloating that he is now "set for life" and will "never be hungry again," uses his ill-gotten gains to purchase a butcher shop, where "acres and acres" of meat hang from the ceiling.
The final scene takes place at a "dog and cat hospital". The bulldog's gluttony has gotten the better of him, as his overindulgence on meat has rendered him grossly obese and unable to move a muscle. After two doctors diagnose "a distinct case of overeating" and depart from the operating room, two visitors march in: the cat and the mouse. The cat—speaking for the only time in the film—menacingly says, "This time, we didn't forget the gravy." The nervously-perspiring dog mutters "no" several times but is helpless to stop them as the mouse jams a large funnel into the dog's mouth and smiles as the cat begins force-feeding the dog from an institutional-sized canister of gravy as the picture irises out over the sound of the dog gurgling; with the cat and mouse finally getting their revenge.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
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..
One of Chuck Jones' masterpieces.
Chuck Jones has been responsible for some of the best cartoons ever made, and among his finest and those best cartoons ever made is Chow Hound.
It is animated with fluid detail and with colours that are vibrant but also in keeping with the tone of the writing and story.
The music is energetic and has a strong sense of character, while also being orchestrated most beautifully.
Chow Hound has some amusing and appropriately witty moments as you'd expect from WB/Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies and Chuck Jones, but it's notable also for having writing that has a dark and cynical tone, shaped and characterised in an adept way and giving Chow Hound some power and depth.
The story is one that is very well paced and never short of intriguing, while the characters are likable and written and characterised in a way that makes even the most minor of characters interesting.
Mel Blanc, Bea Beanderet and Stan Freberg, three of the finest voice actors of the era(and especially in the case of Blanc of all time too) all give sterling vocal performances, beautifully pitching manic energy and affecting pathos.
John T.Smith is also great as Bulldog.
In conclusion, one of Chuck Jones' and possibly also animation's masterpieces.
10/10 Bethany Cox. Chuck Jones at his best..
As a boy, every kid in the neighborhood was repeating the "No Gravy?" line.
This Chuck Jones at his edgiest.
The ending is truly (and deservedly) sadistic.
Amazing, that this cartoon couldn't be made today.
Now lets hope Warner Bros.
releases it on DVD.
This is one of those one-off gems that don't make there own collection.
To a child, the dog represented everyone who tells you what to do, orders you about, and generally makes life hell.
Interesting that the dog, cat, and mouse, behave much like an abusive Father, repressed Mother, and abused child, but that's probably reading too much into it.
When the dog receives his gravy, which he has "hounded" the cat & mouse about for the entire cartoon, it is divine justice in the 1951 sense..
This Time we Didn't forget the gravy.
Chow Hound is a brilliant masterpiece.
Directed by Chuck Jones this cartoon is a masterpiece.
featuring memorable lines.
John T.
Smith voices the dog, Bea Benaderet voices the women and Mel Blanc does the rest.
the cartoon is about a dog who uses a cat for personal game for meat.
It is a brilliant masterpiece .
then the cat is known as Butch, Harold, and a Sabertooth alley cat.
It's not a Chuck Jones brilliance but is still to enjoy.
I think the dog should of went further then this cartoon.
This cartoon earns an 8 out of ten rating because it is not that of a brilliance and it does not earn recognition.
the dog is well voiced but come on the cartoon doesn't earn a fair rating but is an classic to enjoy a cartoon to remember for generations.
Thank You for reading my comment..
Amusing but a little repetitive.
A dog is so hungry he can never get enough food.
He uses a cat to `belong' to about 10 different homes and bring him the food from all of them to him.
He also uses a mouse to play dead and get rewards for the cat for catching him.
When this isn't enough he devises a plan to get even more from the cat.Hoping to see a scheduled Wallace and Gromit short, I was disappointed to have this come on instead.
Once over this I settled into this to try and waste a few moments.
The cartoon is amusing but the one joke repeats itself until the final two minutes that are clever, and a good ending.The characters are of the usual animation style and everyone will recognise the structure of the dog, cat and mouse.
It's only a shame that the plot has only a few jokes in it, but it is still amusing and worth a few minutes of your time..
Jones's famously dark masterpiece will remain with you long after the iris out.
Chuck Jones's 'Chow Hound' is a legendary cult classic, renowned for its extremely dark plot (from a beautiful script by Michael Maltese).
It would make a great double bill with Jones's equally dark 'Fresh Airedale' since both cartoons feature villainous dogs mercilessly exploiting innocent cats.
The main difference is that in 'Chow Hound' the villain actually gets his comeuppance in a gruesomely unforgettable final twist.
To say too much more about 'Chow Hound's' plot would be to spoil it but special mention must go to the exceptional characterisation that Jones teases out of even the most minor of players.
All three of the cat's unwitting shared owners are brilliantly rendered without the audience ever seeing their faces, a little mouse steals every scene he appears in and the villainous dog is a truly despicable and genuinely threatening presence.
'Chow Hound' is thoroughly deserving of its cult status and will remain in any viewers mind long after the chilling iris out..
my all time favorite warner bros.
cartoon.
This is my all time favorite Warner brothers Cartoon,I cannot tell you how many times I have seen this one ,It is also my favorite revenge story, In seven minutes it tells a great story of intimidation and revenge, In "Jean de Florette" and Manon des Sources" it takes four and a half hours to tell the story of crime and revenge, And in two films, If you love Warner brothers cartoons of this period, You Must see this one !
all the characters are original and fresh, No regular characters in this one ,I am surprised no one has made a live action film of this story it would not take much imagination to do so, I still love to use the tag line,"This Time we didn't forget the gravy" see it !And if you have the time , see "Jean de Florette" and Manon des Sources" "revenge is a dish best served cold"..
Remarkably dark cartoon with a hilariously disturbing ending!.
This is a one shot cartoon from Warner Brothers animation studio.
There will be spoilers ahead:This is a great cartoon done by a mater at the top of his form who also had a top notch unit also at the top of their game.
Chuck Jones and Mike Maltese come up with a short worthy of Alfred Hitchcock at his wickedly funny best.The basic premise is that a dog who exemplifies crudity, vulgarity and greed has forced a cat and later a mouse into helping him try to satisfy his gluttony.
The dog goes from house to house with the cat.
Various people know the cat by different names (Butch, Harold and Timothy are the ones shown) as well as posing as a Sabre-toothed Alley Cattus in the Lion House at the zoo.As the cat's owners feed him, the dog takes the food and wolfs it down, continually berates him about there being no gravy.
For one stop, the dog takes a mouse from a tin can to make "Timothy" look like a mouser.
The mouse has some beautiful lines and almost steals the short.The dog finally becomes frustrated at the perceived slowness of it all and gets a brilliant idea.
He holds the cat away for a period until ads are placed offering rewards for the return of lost cats.
The ads are composed of in-jokes relating to the Jones unit and the studio itself.The dog collects the rewards, grabs the case and with his windfall, he buys the meat market.
Gluttonous dog, surrounded by meat and the end result isn't pretty.
Cut to the dog and cat hospital and a grossly bloated dog on a table, with doctors amazed at the dog's condition.
Doctors leave and a doorknob turns.
Cue cat and mouse with the coup de grace and a funny, disturbing and truly evil line.
The dog is about to get his just desserts, so to speak.
I almost felt sorry for the dog.
Almost.This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 6 DVD set and the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Volume 1 Blu-Ray set.
If you have Blu-Ray, go that route.
I've seen both and while the DVD is good, this looks beautiful in HD on Blu-Ray and I usually don't care all that much about the difference between the two.
Most highly recommended..
An elaborate hoax is worked by a mean Buldog, a Cat and a Mouse; upon all the people who think they "own" the cat..
All I wanted to do was make a simple comment on how this is a classic piece of Warner Brothers Animation.
I didn't realize I had to make a separate summary on the movie.
I thought I would be doing that with my commentary.
The whole gag is classic.
The Dog uses the Cat ( and the mouse in the cats mouth)to get free food.
The line "And don't forget the Gravy" soon gets forgotten when the dog yanks the cat back to him, gobbles up the food, then slaps the cat and says " What?!
No Gravy??" Like the cat had time to even get the food in his mouth in the first place.
The truly classic part comes after the Dog buys the butcher shop.
The doctors commenting on his bloated fat body, unable to even move and after they leave the cat and mouse letting him know that " This time we didn't forget the gravy!".
Funnels are so helpful.
Just classic.
I wish I could get a copy of the thing.
But with so many studios keeping things "PC" I don't think the thing will be out soon.
The scene where the dog gets paid for returning the Saber-toothed pussy cat to the ZOO and the cat is trussed up and held by the mouse dressed like a ZULU Warrior would have a hard time getting by the PC police.
Tragic really.
This is a great little movie..
No gwavy?!".
Directed by Chuck Jones, "Chow Hound" is a great Warner Bros.
cartoon about.........a greedy chow hound!
He consistently abuses an innocent feline to bring him slabs of meat.............with gravy, no less!
My two favorite scenes: First, when the dog grooms the cat and ties a large blue bow tie around the cat's neck, the musical accompaniment is "Baby Face".
Second, at the very end of the film, after the dog devours an entire meat market and convalesces in a hospital, the cat returns (along with his mouse companion) and says, "This time we didn't forget the gravy." Oh, how revenge can be sweet!
"Chow Hound" is one of a series of one-shot cartoons that appear on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 Disc 4.
It's a really fun cartoon to watch!.
Greed can be a bitch.
"Chow Hound" is a 7-minute cartoon from 1951, so this one had its 55th anniversary last year and as a Warner Bros work, it once again unites some of the best in the business back then like Jones, Maltese, Benederet and Blanc of course.
In this little movie we may not have any of the company's biggest cartoon stars, but a dog, a cat and a mouse fill in nicely.
Cats usually don't have it easy in these old cartoons (just look at Tom and Sylvester) and this one is no better for the feline protagonist.
A hunky dog pushes him around collecting food and when the people say the cat is missing, then the dog acts like a savior and collects even more food while still finding a way to take the kitty with him again.
But eventually and not unsurprisingly, the cat and mouse have the last laugh as the dog's greed eventually destroys him.
It was a good and entertaining seven minutes here.
Definitely worth seeing if you like old cartoons.
It may not have had any really great moments, but I enjoyed it enough for a thumbs-up.
Go check it out..
This Parable about Job-Killing Capitalism .
. emanates from America's top whistle-blowing outfit of All-Time, Warner Bros.' Animated Shorts Division of the mid-1900s.
Warner's Watchdogs focus on a gluttonous bulldog who's a Total Trumpster in CHOW HOUND.
This voracious gangster forces a red cat to work at least four jobs for little or no pay (putting at least three felines out of work).
It's small wonder that consumers of this behind-the-scene manipulator's offerings are deprived of more than 75% of the services for which they've contracted.
(In the case of the Municipal Zoo, the bulldog is defrauding it entirely with his knock-off goods.) This Fat Cat Bulldog also enslaves and demeans a small rodent in his rapacious plot to gorge himself with enough food to maintain the population of a fully-stocked kennel.
Taking a Prophetic Page from Trumpenstein's Playbook, the insatiable bulldog begins bouncing out bogus contracts in quadruplicate, accumulating enough ill-gotten Moolah to buy his Own Private Butcher Shop.
After biting off more than he can chew, the Trumpish Bulldog's Gravy Train finally derails, indicating that there's hope for America yet, if we all hang together like CHOW HOUND's red cat and abused mouse.