Tweety Pie and Sylvester

When Friz Freleng directed 1947's "Tweetie Pie," he may not have known he was making history. This, the first pairing of Sylvester the sputtering cat and Tweetie (later Tweety) the wide-eyed canary, won an Academy Award and united a duo that would appear in more than 40 Warner Brothers cartoon shorts by 1962. Sylvester and Tweety earned their studio another Academy Award for 1957's "Birds Anonymous" and several other Oscar nominations through the years. Generations of Americans have grown up watching Sylvester's classic, ever-thwarted attempts to catch Tweety. With two of the most famous voices in cartoons, both supplied by Mel Blanc, Sylvester's sloppy "sufferin succotash" and Tweety's baby-voiced "I tawt I taw a puddy tat," Sylvester and Tweety are two of the most quickly identified characters in cartoons.

A number of Warner Brothers cartoons featuring a predator unable to catch his prey appeared and gained popularity in the 1940s, including such classic pairings as Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Other studios created similar cartoons, one of the earliest examples being MGM's Tom and Jerry. Many of these cartoons, like Sylvester and Tweety, survived into the 1990s. Few characters, however, have attained the status Sylvester and Tweety enjoy.

Primarily responsible for uttering his tag lines ("I tawt I taw a puddy tat! I did! I did taw a puddy tat!" and "You bad old puddy tat!") and looking cute, Tweety isn't known for his superior wit or intelligence. Then again, that little canary is consistently able to get away from Sylvester, an animal who is both larger and faster than he is. Tweety is a popular character, both liked and disliked by audiences. Some like him because he does always get away from Sylvester, and also because he is so cute—bright yellow with big blue eyes and a baby voice. On the other hand, many people find him irritating for the same reasons. Either way, Tweety is one of the most recognized and imitated characters in cartoons.

If Tweety is not known for his superior wit and intelligence, Sylvester is known for his decided lack thereof. He generally goes barreling into situations, never considering the possibilities or consequences. When, in an effort to catch the delectable Tweety, Sylvester dresses up in a dog suit and is caught by the dog catcher, the moment he's thrown in the back of the truck with a group of mangy mutts, he takes off his costume and shouts, "But I'm a cat!" Sylvester's son, Junior, is so ashamed of his father, he generally walks around with a paper bag over his head. Sylvester's only virtue may be his dogged persistence. In the face of constant failure, he continues to try. A combination of stupidity, audacity, and sputtering temper, Sylvester defies the image of the cat as smart, cool, and collected. He continues to be, along with the likes of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, one of the Warner Brothers's most popular and liked characters.

Both Sylvester and Tweety appeared in other cartoons before being paired for "Tweetie Pie." Since this first pairing, Tweety has appeared almost exclusively with Sylvester. Other regular characters added spice to the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, including Granny, Tweety's owner and protector, and a bulldog, who, in his general dislike for cats, often saves Tweety from Sylvester's schemes. Sylvester was also given a son, Junior, for 1950's "Pop 'Im Pop." Sylvester has had other adventures, appearing in cartoons with Speedy Gonzales, the world's fastest mouse, and Hippety Hopper, the baby kangaroo. Sylvester even made a cameo appearance as the Grand Duke in "The Scarlet Pumpernickel."

The Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, like their counterparts, began as "curtain-raisers" in theatres. A 1949 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared it illegal for studios to demand that theaters book a cartoon, newsreel, or live-action short in addition to hit films marked the beginning of the end of curtain-raisers. The advent of television and less public interest in movies made it difficult for studios to recover the costs of creating a cartoon short. Some less expensive cartooning methods came out of this time, but, ultimately, cartoon shorts had to make the move to television or perish. Sylvester and Tweety made this transition, culminating in a self-titled repackaging of their older cartoons as well as other Warner Brothers shorts which premiered on September 11, 1976 on CBS. Sylvester and Tweety shorts appear into the 1990s on various programs on network and cable stations.

Perhaps one of the most important factors in the continuing popularity of Tweety and Sylvester is Warner Brothers Studio's ability to keep the characters' faces in front of viewers. Sylvester and Tweety have been reincarnated in a new cartoon series, Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, which premiered on September 9, 1995 on the WB Television Network. The duo appeared in 1996's Space Jam with legendary basketball player Michael Jordan. The cat and canary have been seen endorsing products such as Miracle Whip dressing and MCI long distance. On April 27, 1998, the United States Post Office honored Tweety and Sylvester with a 32 cent postage stamp. Sylvester and Tweety are on tee shirts, shorts, socks, underwear, and other articles of clothing. They appear prominently in products from clothing to cups to clocks sold at the Warner Brothers Studio Stores in malls across the United States.

Sylvester and Tweety are just two of numerous Warner Brothers cartoon characters who appeared in the first half of the 20th century and have enjoyed continuing popularity. Warner Brothers's marketing of the characters is no small part of their fame, but Sylvester and Tweety have an appeal that goes beyond marketing. Sylvester is not the cat we might expect, and Tweety certainly isn't as innocent as he appears. Their interactions are what makes great comedy. With Sylvester and Tweety, it is always the unexpected that makes audiences laugh. When people have seen the cartoons repeatedly and are still laughing, Sylvester and Tweety Pie's continuing popularity seems to be assured.

—Adrienne Furness

Further Reading:

Friedwald, Will, and Jerry Beck. The Warner Brothers Cartoons. Metuchen, New Jersey, and London, The Scarecrow Press, 1981.

Lenburg, Jeff. The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. New York and Oxford, Facts on File, 1991.

Woolery, George W. Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981: Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Metuchen, New Jersey, and London, The Scarecrow Press, 1983.