A Tale of Two Kitties

A Tale of Two Kitties is a 1942 Merrie Melodies short directed by Bob Clampett.
== Title ==
The title is a play on Charles Dickens' 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities.
== Plot ==
Catstello hesitates to catch and eat Tweety so that he and Babbit can eat, largely because Catstello is afraid of heights as well as getting attacked by birds, but Babbit convinces him to do so since Tweety is only "a tiny little bird", though unknown to them, Tweety is dangerous.
Catstello gets a height panic and falls off the ladder. When the straightforward approach fails, Babbit then subjects Catstello to the following attempts to catch Tweety for food, all in vain:
# Jack-in-the-box springs: Babbit stuffs Catstello, who is equipped with springs, into a box, causing Catstello to constantly scream, "HEY BABBIT!" When Babbit lets him out of the box, Catstello successfully reaches the top of the tree, where Tweety lives. Upon encountering Catstello, Tweety starts getting really aggressive, with knocks to the head and a dynamite stick (a more tame version of this gag would later be re-used in "Bad Ol' Putty Tat").
# Next, Babbit plants a bomb right under a demotivated Catstello, who is eating an apple. As Catstello blasts off into the air, Tweety snatches away his apple, eats the worm in it, and tosses the apple away. Catstello falls mid-air but lands on a wire, where Tweety plays "This little piggy" with Catstello's fingers without even caring when Catstello constantly yells "BABBIT!" causing him to fall. Tweety "saves" him by giving Catstello a rope, which is tied to an anvil, which sends the cat crashing really hard into the ground, so hard that it sucks up everything in sight!
# Finally, Babbit transforms Catstello into an anti-aircraft plane and launches him into the air. Catstello says, "Hey, Babbitt! I'm a Spitfire!". Tweety, mistaking Catstello for a UFO, calls the air-raid warden, causing Catstello to be shot by air-raid warden tanks and fall to the ground, landing flat on Babbit.
Tweety tells the air raid warden, "Lights out," and passes by both Babbit and Catstello. Babbit and Catstello see Tweety on the ground. "Hey, now's our chance. Come on!" They creep up on him. They approach him, eyes bulging, claws drawn, and big teeth exposed. Tweety turns over and yells in a very loud and un-Tweety-like voice, "TURN OUT THOSE LIGHTS!" The cats' eyes, the street light, and the moon all blink out.
== Caricatures ==
* Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
* Red Skelton's character the "Mean Widdle Kid"
* Harry Langdon - smirk
* Ed Wynn - Catstello cries like him on the ladder
== Availability ==
Golden Age LT Vol 1.jpg|(1991) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 1, Side 2: Firsts
The golden age of looney tunes vhs 2.jpg|(1992) VHS The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 2: Firsts
Lt they died.jpg|(2005) DVD They Died with Their Boots On, Blue Ribbon reissue titles, 1995 Turner dubbed version
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5.jpg|(2007) DVD Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5, Disc 3, (restored)
Lt spotlight 5.jpg|(2007) DVD Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 5, Disc 2
LTPC VOL 1 DVD.jpg|(2011) DVD Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc 1, (restored)
51LA0AzTVqL. SL500 AA300 .jpg|(2011) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc 1, (restored)
Looney Tunes Showcase - Volume 1.jpg|(2012) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Showcase: Volume 1
Lt spotlight df2.jpg|(2014) DVD Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection Volumes 4-5 Repack
=== Streaming ===
Lt boomerang.jpg|Boomerang App (2017 - ) (restored)
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2023) (restored)
lt max.jpg|Max (2023 - 2024) (restored)
Lt itunes.jpg|iTunes ( - ) (restored)
== Censorship ==
* When this short aired on The WB, Catstello's line "If the Hays Office would only let me, I'd give 'im the bird all right!" after Babbit innocently referring to the real bird who is Tweety says "Gimme the bird! Gimme the bird!" was cut, as "the bird" Catstello is referring to is an expletive term for showing someone the middle finger, which is an absurde rude gesture but also was bag thing to show by the Hays Office.http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-t.aspx 
== Notes ==
* The working title was "Babbit and Catstello".
* The "this wittle piddy" gag would later be re-used in "Tweety's S.O.S.", "China Jones" and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
* The cartoon is replete with topical references, many having to do with World War II. One gag has the "Babbit" cat hoeing his "Victory garden". Another has the "Catstello" cat gliding through the air on artificial wings like a warplane and shouting, "Hey, Babbitt! I'm a Spitfire!" followed by a few juicy expectorations; in response, Tweety calls on the "IV Interceptor Command" to protect his nest, in reference to a US Air Force unit that protected the Pacific Coast of the United States during the war, particularly after the events of Pearl Harbor. The climax has Tweety admonishing the cats, in a very loud and un-Tweety-like voice, to "TURN OUT THOSE LIGHTS!" during an air raid drill; the cats' eyes, the street light, and the moon all blink out.
* Tweety reveals early on that his cute appearance masks a willingness to be merciless, even sadistic, towards anyone who threatens him. After slipping one of the cats a bomb which explodes, the bird remarks, "Aw, da poor putty tat, he cwushed his widdow head!" followed by a big grin. This line was patterned after a catchphrase from a Red Skelton character, and would be used in other Warner cartoons, such as "Easter Yeggs".
* This cartoon pokes fun at the Hays Office not allowing the use of profanity, regardless in the form of mentioning or curse words in films. This is when Babbit demands Catstello to "give him the bird" innocently referring to the real bird who is Tweety, and Catstello remarks "If the Hays Office would only let me, I'd give 'im the bird all right!" The "bird" to which Catstello is referring is an expletive term for giving someone the middle finger. A similar censorship gag regarding "the bird" not being allowed is used in an Animaniacs episode "Turkey Jerky" fifty years later, when Myles Standish demands the Warner siblings give him the bird, only for Yakko to remark "We'd love to, really, but the Fox censors won't allow it!".
* A pencil layout of the original titles surfaced in 2021.
* This short is perhaps best known for introducing the character of Tweety, though here he is unnamed. On a studio model sheet, he is referred to as "Orson". He would not be named "Tweety" until his next appearance, 1944's "Birdy and the Beast".
* It is also the first appearance of Babbit and Catstello, based on the popular comedy duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. At one point, Catstello even uses a paraphrase of Costello's catchphrase "I'm a baaaad boy!", and inadvertently refers to Babbit as Abbott.
* This cartoon entered the public domain in 1970 since United Artists did not renew the copyright in time.
** This is also the only Tweety cartoon to be in the public domain.
* There are two American Turner "dubbed" versions, one with no borders and another version with red ones. The European "dubbed" version has dark blue ones.
== Music-Cueshttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035414/soundtrack/ ==
* Three Little Kittens (traditional)
** Plays during the opening credits and continues into the opening scene
* I'll Pray for You (by Arthur Altman)
** Played when Catstello says he likes birds
* Keep Cool, Fool (by Josef Myrow and James P. Johnson)
** Played when Babbit tells Catstello to give him the bird
* Rock-a-Bye Baby (by Effie I. Canning)
** Played when Babbit is holding Catstello in his arms
* Keep Cool, Fool (by Josef Myrow and James P. Johnson)
** Plays again when Babbit pushes Catstello into a box
* Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat (by Leon René, Otis René and Emerson Scott)
** Played when Tweety first sees Catstello
* Keep Cool, Fool (by Josef Myrow and James P. Johnson)
** Plays when Babbit explodes Catstello up into the air
* California, Here I Come (by Joseph Meyer)
** Played when Tweety pulls the worm out of the apple
* Hang On to Your Lids, Kids (by Harold Arlen)
** Played when Tweety throws Catstello a rope
* We Did It Before (and We Can Do It Again) (by Cliff Friend)
** Whistled briefly by Babbit while he tends his victory garden
* Don't Give Up the Ship (by Harry Warren)
** Played when Catstello is a Spitfire
** Played again when Catstello falls on Babbit
== Gallery ==
A Tale of Two Kitties pencil sketch.jpg|Pencil sketch of original titles
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Ataleoftwokitties6.jpg
Ataleoftwokitties5.jpg
Ataleoftwokitties4.jpg
Ataleoftwokitties3.jpeg
Ataleoftwokitties2.jpg
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Taletwo.jpg
Tale+Of+Two+Kitties+copy.jpg|"A Tale of Two Kitties" model sheet
Tale-two-kittles-pencil.jpg
Tale-two-kitties.jpg|Lobby card
39181441 228951747823543 2167495283611533312 n.jpg|Lobby card
Tale-of-Two-KittiesDraft1.jpg
Tale-of-Two-KittiesDraft2.jpg
== References ==
fr:Histoire de chatons
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist
Category:Cartoons directed by Bob Clampett
Category:Tweety Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:1942
Category:Public domain films
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Babbit and Catstello Shorts
Category:Cartoons written by Warren Foster
Category:Cartoons animated by Sid Sutherland
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Wartime Shorts
Category:Caricatures of real people
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger
Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package
Category:Cartoons with missing Leon Schlesinger credits