Could anyone shed some light on whether Pussyfoot was actually a boy or girl? Near the end of the toon, Marc-Antony's mistress says something along the lines of "You can keep that dear little kitten if you want to...but he's your responsibility", but at the beginning when we first see the kitten, there is a burst of 'Ain't She Sweet. Which is it?
Lando Calrissian to Nien Nunb "That was too cloose!"
That's a very hard question indeed. I believe the character is a female, from what Greg Ford said in his commentary on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume One. Then again, I may be misinterpreting it.
sharePussyfoot had a wife and kids in one cartoon in the Golden Collection, the one where he flew by twirling his tail. As I recall, "Ain't She Sweet" was just the powder puff scenes . . .?
shareAin’t she sweet was used in the first scene at the dustbin, at the scene where Pussyfoot is playing with the ball, where he/she gets into the toy car, where she climbs out of the food mixer, where she reappears afters Marc Anthony thinks she is dead, and a short stab right at the end of the cartoon.
After rewatching the Greg Ford commentary on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD, I think Pussyfoot's gender was supposed to be ambiguous, with Ain't She Sweet being only being used as a motif. Marc Anthony's misstress' comments at the end about "taking care of him, he's your responsibility" only muddying the waters further. We may never know.
Lando Calrissian to Nien Nunb "That was too cloose!"
Thanks for the info about the music. I was obv. too lazy to go check! :)
shareThe fact that Pussyfoot is referred to as "he" in this episode and its sequel ("Kiss Me Cat") seems to indicate that it's a he, but that just doesn't make sense to me. I prefer to think of Pussyfoot as a girl...the relationship between Pussyfoot and Marc Anthony just seems more natural that way, like a big guy taking care of his little sister, daughter, or some other female loved one. Plus, Pussyfoot is obviously very feminine, in name, appearance, and body language.
I agree with the animation historian who did commentary on this episode in the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" saying that the relationship in this episode is like a guy courting a girl, where he goes from being really fond of her to caring about her deeply and worrying that she's gonna die or something. I think that's the most sensible interpretation of what's going on here. I would chalk up the referring to Pussyfoot as "he" in two shorts as just a blunder by the writer (as suggested on Wikipedia), as it looks obvious that Pussyfoot was conceived to be a female character.
And I don't consider the cat in "Go Fly a Kit" (which has a girlfriend and is AN ENEMY of Marc Anthony) to be Pussyfoot...that wouldn't gel with the continuity here. The characters in that one were just a proto-Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot...similar in appearance, but not the same individuals. Does that clear things up for you? =o)
"It's not how long you wait, it's who you're waiting for!"
- "Some Like It Hot", 1959
I just watched all five of the cartoons that the Marc Anthony/Pussyfoot team was in and nowhere do they outwardly indicate that Pussyfoot is a girl. In "Feed the Kitty" (the only cartoon in which Marc is mentioned by name) the owner refers to the cat as he. In "Kiss Me Cat" (the only cartoon in which Pussyfoot is mentioned by name... go figure) Pussyfoot is refereed to as he. And of course in "Go Fly a Kit" Pussyfoot is clearly a dude. Pussyfoot also appears to be a bit aggressive for a female cat (he tries to fight the villain cat in "Cat Feud" and takes that angry swipe at Marc in the closing scene in "Kiss"). So the answer is obvious that the character is male.
I don't apologize. I'm sorry, but that's how I am. - Homer Simpson
Of course I made my previous post long before that video of the cat - which was a female cat - tearing the hell out of the dog for attacking the boy.
I don't apologize. I'm sorry, but that's how I am. - Homer Simpson