The Brave Little Bat

The Brave Little Bat is a 1941 Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones.
== Plot ==
Sniffles' car breaks down, so he takes refuge in an old windmill when it starts raining. The keeper of the windmill is a talkative bat which is similar in appearance to Sniffles, but with bat-like wings and with a different color scheme. There also happens to be a cat with a hungry appetite which attempts to devour Sniffles, and the bat saves the mouse from the cat at every turn.
== Availability ==
Viddy-Oh! For Kids VHS 12.jpg|(1986) VHS Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals: Sniffles the Mouse Cartoon Festival Featuring "Sniffles Bells the Cat"
Sniffles-the-mouse---sniffles-and-the-bookworm-7469l.jpg|(1989) VHS Sniffles the Mouse Sniffles and the Bookworm
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Vol. 4.jpg|(1993) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 4, Side 9
L.T.M.C..jpg|(2012) DVD Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection, Disc 1
lt mouse chronicles blu.jpg|(2012) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection, Disc 1
=== Streaming ===
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2023)
lt max.jpg|Max (2023 - 2024)
== Notes ==
* This is the final cartoon where Margaret Hill-Talbot voices Sniffles, as beginning with the next Sniffles cartoon "The Unbearable Bear" (1943), Marjorie Tarlton, who voiced the talkative bat in this cartoon, takes over as the voice of Sniffles.
* This is also the final Sniffles cartoon with the Disney-esque cutesy direction and slow pacing. Beginning with "The Unbearable Bear", the Sniffles cartoons are faster-paced and more comedic in tone, due to director Chuck Jones moving out of his Disney-esque phase in the early-to-mid-1940s. Sniffles would continue to appear in three more cartoons, "The Unbearable Bear", "Lost and Foundling", and "Hush My Mouse", after this before being retired in 1946.
* Unlike most old a.a.p. transfers appearing on the first four volumes of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes LaserDisc releases, this cartoon did not have its original Blue Ribbon opening titles intact, due to re-using the Cartoon Festivals VHS master which alters its original opening Color Rings by mistake; in this case when this cartoon was released on The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 4 LaserDisc in 1993, the Cartoon Festivals VHS master which hacks off its BR opening rings was used, and had the altered a.a.p. opening as at the start of almost all the Cartoon Festival tapes in the vein of "Daffy Doodles" (consisting of the a.a.p. opening of "Inki and the Lion" with the 1939-1940 Merrie Melodies opening music cue) edited in to make up for its lost BR opening rings, albeit shortened.https://vk.com/video11652739_169492995
** It is possible that this is one of the very few 1986 Cartoon Festivals VHS prints to permanently lose their original opening titles due to these affected shorts having their opening rings cut or altered for this VHS collection, until at least when the 1995 Turner "dubbed version" prints take their place. This could possibly explain why some shorts that have been previously released in this said VHS collection such as "Trap Happy Porky", "Slick Hare", and "Tweetie Pie" have their a.a.p. transfers replaced for the Cartoon Moviestars VHS collection and The Golden Age of Looney Tunes LaserDisc set, either with a newer MGM print from circa-1987/1988 or an older a.a.p. print from the early-1980s.
** This cartoon's 1986 Cartoon Festivals VHS print does survive its original Blue Ribbon opening on the Sniffles and the Bookworm UK VHS release.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUy641OwuI0&ab_channel=KingAndrewCecil
** It is unknown whether this cartoon's older a.a.p. print from before 1986 survives its Blue Ribbon opening. 
** This is one of the only three cartoons on the first four volumes of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes LaserDisc set to have altered opening titles replacing their hacked-off opening titles, the other two are "The Bear's Tale" (1940, appearing on Volume 1) and "Bars and Stripes Forever" (1939, also appearing on Volume 4, much like this cartoon).
** The 1995 Turner "dubbed version" print (regardless of USA or EU prints) of this cartoon on the other hand restores its Blue Ribbon opening rings, but alters its original ending card in return.
* This was the last cartoon that Rich Hogan wrote for Leon Schlesinger Productions before he left to work at the MGM cartoon studio for Tex Avery.https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2013/02/hogan-isnt-with-us-any-more.html
*As late as 2008, a 35mm print of this cartoon with its original titles was known to exist.https://www.whataboutthad.com/2012/05/08/mice-is-nice/#comment-9737
*It premiered with the global theatrical release of Sergeant York.
== Gallery ==
The Brave Little Bat (1941) - Creepy.jpg
The Brave Little Bat (1941) - Meeting.jpg
The Brave Little Bat (2).jpg|Animation drawing
The Brave Little Bat (1).jpg|Animation drawing
== References ==
es:The Brave Little Bat
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones
Category:1941
Category:Shorts
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Sniffles Cartoons
Category:Cartoons animated by Rudy Larriva
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package
Category:Cartoons with camera by John W. Burton
Category:Cartoons with missing Leon Schlesinger credits
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist