Monday 20 April 2020

Costello-in-a-Box

Babbitt shoves Catstello into a jack-in-the-box in an attempt to shoot him into the air to catch Tweety in A Tale of Two Kitties, a 1942 Bob Clampett cartoon.

These drawings were shot on twos.



Mel Blanc’s incessant screaming as the Lou Costello cat gets irritating. Tedd Pierce does an admirable job as the Bud Abbott cat. Rod Scribner got the animation credit on the original release.

6 comments:

  1. I'll take screaming Blanc over grating Stan Irwin from Hanna-Barbera's A&C cartoons anytime.

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    1. I enjoy both, but Blanc (who guest starred on all Abbott and Costello shows, the cartoon included) was certainly by far the better.

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  2. Looks like Virgil Ross animation here; not to mention, this cartoon is from the beginning of Clampett's most high-quality era of animation after inheriting greats like Scribner and Ross.

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    1. According to the draft, it is indeed Virgil Ross.

      https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/bob-clampetts-a-tale-of-two-kitties-1942/

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  3. Oh yes, Babbitt Kitty: " Give me the bird...GIVE ME THE BIRD!!" Costello Kitty: " If the Hayes Office would only let me, I'd give him the bird, alright ( Whistle ) ".

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    1. That used to be my answering machine message, back in the 90s...

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