Ah, the satisfied look of a kitten.
The bully bulldog arrives. The cartoon is Bad Luck Blackie (1949), and you probably know how it works. The kitten blows a whistle, a black cat crosses the dog’s path, something bad happens to the dog. The kitten has a great expression of horror as the dog devours it.
Here comes the cat. The bicycle wheel is an unexpected touch; only Tex Avery would come up it. Note the perspective animation. MGM budgets at work.
Now the bad luck. A cash register falls from nowhere. Avery then turns the dog into a cash register as the kitten, looking proud, emerges from a tray in the dog’s mouth.
Louie Schmitt designed the cutsy, Disney-type kitten and provided animation along with Walt Clinton, Grant Simmons and Preston Blair. Rich Hogan helped with gags, Johnny Johnsen painted the backgrounds. Avery voices the bulldog and Pat McGeehan (according to expert Keith Scott) is the black cat.
Thank you for the cute kitten, Louie Schmitt. Now will someone please produce a plush-toy version of the little fella? I'd love to have one to cuddle when I'm in a superlatively bad mood and I don't want to hug my real-life cats too hard because of it!
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