A Waggily Tale

A Waggily Tale is a 1958 Looney Tunes short directed by Friz Freleng.
== Plot ==
A boy named Junior tugs on the leash of his dog Elvis, wanting to teach him tricks "even if it takes you all night." He is caught and scolded by his mother. Junior reluctantly responds, "Alright, mama!" However, Junior repeats his antics by making Elvis pull a wagon carrying him and riding on him like a horse. His mother catches him and sends him to his room and tells him to think about treating his dog nicer.
Junior takes a nap, while also recalling his mom saying "if you were a dog." He dreams about being a dog in a pet shop. He is adopted by a loving little girl. Junior believes that being a dog is a great experience, but the little girl meets with a young boy named Johnny, who calls Junior silly looking and tugs his tail. The little girl tries to tug back, choking Junior. Another boy named Melvin criticizes Junior and says that his dog Spike can easily beat him up, and Spike actually does. Junior is wrapped in bandages and tries to remove them, causing him to lose some hair.
Junior now realizes that he doesn't want to be mistreated as a dog anymore, but the little girl finds him and puts him in a washing machine for a bath. The girl brushes Junior's teeth with shaving cream, calling it toothpaste, which causes Junior to run and be caught by animal control, who mistake him for a rabid dog foaming at the mouth. After Junior realizes how difficult being a dog is, he awakes from his dream in shock. Now sensitive to his own dog's feelings, Junior vows to be nicer to him. However, it is revealed that Elvis is actually not a real dog; he's also a boy who's stuck in a dream of being a dog, just like Junior was.
== Availability ==
=== Streaming ===
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2022)
== Censorship ==
* A similar scene from "A Kiddies Kitty" in this cartoon where Junior as a dog is thrown into a washing machine by a little girl and comes out of the machine as a big ball of fur was cut when aired on The WB.https://web.archive.org/web/20240228021817/https://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-u-z.aspx
== Notes ==
* This short combines the plots of both "Boyhood Daze" and "A Kiddies Kitty".
* According to the Toonheads episode "Ralph Phillips", the little boy bully Melvin who owns Spike the dog in one scene from this short is a caricature of Chuck Jones, the creator of the Ralph Phillips character. This may be the reason why this short was paired with Ralph Phillips' two shorts in the ToonHeads episode, "Ralph Phillips".
* Junior would later be seen as Prince Abba-Dabba in Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales.
* This is the last Friz Freleng short with backgrounds done by Boris Gorelick.
* The department store where Junior (in his dog form) runs into is called Stacy's, which is based on the Macy's department stores. In the Merrie Melodies short, "The Mouse on 57th Street", there's a department store called Lacy's.
== Gallery ==
AWaggilyTaleCredits1.png
AWaggilyTaleCredits2.png
WaggilyRestored.jpeg|Cropped screenshot of 2020 restoration
A Waggily Tale (1958) - Dog Leash.jpg
Junior(asadog).jpg
1486wb2.png
Melvinreleasesspike.jpg
Spikebeatsupjunior.png|Spike beating up Junior (as a dog)
Warnerbg1486b.jpeg|Production background
== References ==
Category:1958
Category:Looney Tunes Shorts
Category:Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Cartoons written by Warren Foster
Category:Cartoons with music by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Hawley Pratt
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Boris Gorelick
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 Daws Butler
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by June Foray
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Lucille Bliss
Category:Cartoons produced by John W. Burton
Category:Dogs
Category:One-Shot Cartoons
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc