Penelope Pussycat

**Penelope Pussycat** is a *Looney Tunes* character. Although she is typically a non-speaker, her "meows" and "purrs" were most often provided by Mel Blanc using a feminine voice. In the 1959 short "Really Scent", she was voiced by June Foray. Her first speaking role was in the 1995 short "Carrotblanca", where she was voiced by Tress MacNeille.

## About Penelope

Penelope is best known as the often bewildered love interest of Pepé Le Pew. Penelope is a typical black and white pussycat, though by some means or another, she often finds herself with a white stripe down her back, whether painted intentionally, or by accident.

She often finds herself constantly being chased by the overly-enthusiastic Pepé, but when the occasion has presented itself, Penelope has been the pursuer. "For Scent-imental Reasons", "Little Beau Pepé", and "Really Scent" have all shown Penelope to harbor an attraction to Pepé whenever his scent is neutralized, though in each referenced instance, extenuating circumstances have caused Pepé to become frightened by her, inciting Penelope to reverse the roles.

Since her debut in "For Scent-imental Reasons", she appeared in almost every cartoon in which Pepe Le Pew appears, with the notable exceptions of "Wild over You" and his cameo appearance in "Dog Pounded".

In more recent years, merchandising from Warner Bros., such as ornaments, glass wear, statuettes and children's activity books, has depicted Penelope and Pepé as mutually attracted "sweethearts", although other modern media, such as *The Looney Tunes Show* and the current *Looney Tunes* comic book series, has maintained their classic "chasing" relationship.

She appears in the 1995 short "Carrotblanca" as Bugs Bunny's love interest; Lola Bunny was introduced a year later. This is the first *Looney Tunes* media to give Penelope a proper voice and numerous speaking lines with a more extensive vocabulary instead of just saying "le mew, le purr, le pant."

Penelope was originally going to appear in *Space Jam A New Legacy* as a member of the Tune Squad but was cut before the film was released. It was because of the studio wanting Pepé Le Pew out of the movie and Penelope having no foil. The character still appeared in merchandise.

Penelope appears in *Bugs Bunny Builders* as a fashion designer. She is given a French accent and it is her first time appearing in any *Looney Tunes* media without Pepé Le Pew.

## Name Confusion

For many years, Penelope remained a nameless character, simply referred to as "the black cat." She was eventually given a name in the 1954 short "The Cats Bah", where her mistress referred to her as "Penelope". The name was later contradicted in the 1955 short "Two Scent's Worth", where she was identified as "Fifi." In the 1959 short "Really Scent", she was referred to as "Fabrette." Confusingly, her mother was named "Fifi" in that short. Furthermore, although not actually mentioned by that name, the color guide for "Louvre Come Back to Me!" shows that Penelope was renamed Felice in that cartoon. In a model sheet from the early 1990s, she was referred to simply as "Le Cat."

She remained without an official name for many years, until the 1995 release of "Carrotblanca" (a parody of *Casablanca*). Her name was then canonized as "Penelope Pussycat," as many advertisements for the short credited her as "Penelope Pussycat in her first speaking role."

## Appearances

The classic shorts:

* "For Scent-imental Reasons" (*debut appearance*) (1949)
* "Scent-imental Romeo" (1951)
* "Little Beau Pepé" (1952)
* "The Cats Bah" (1954)
* "Past Perfumance" (1955)
* "Two Scent's Worth" (1955)
* "Heaven Scent" (1956)
* "Touché and Go" (1957)
* "Really Scent" (1959)
* "Who Scent You?" (1960)
* "A Scent of the Matterhorn" (1961)
* "Louvre Come Back to Me!" (1962)
* "Carrotblanca" (1995)

*Tiny Toon Adventures*:

* *It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special* (1992)

The films:

* *Space Jam* (1996)
* *Tweety's High-Flying Adventure* (2000)
* *Looney Tunes Back in Action* (appears in end credits) (2003)
* *Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas* (2006)

*The Looney Tunes Show* episodes:

* "Reunion"
* "That's My Baby"
* "A Christmas Carol"

*Bugs Bunny Builders*:

* "Catwalk"

## Voice Actors

* Mel Blanc - 1949 - 1989
* June Foray - "Really Scent"
* Tress MacNeille - "Carrotblanca"
* Eric Bauza - Looney Tunes World of Mayhem
* Salli Saffioti - Bugs Bunny Builders