King-Size Canary

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King-Size Canary
Original title card for King-Size Canary
Directed by	Tex Avery
Story by	Heck Allen
Animation by	Ray Abrams Robert Bentley Walt Clinton
Music by	Scott Bradley
Produced by	Fred Quimby
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	December 6, 1947
Format	Technicolor, 8 min (one reel)
Language	English

King-Size Canary is an animated cartoon short that debuted in movie theaters in 1947. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by cartoon legend Tex Avery. In 1994 it was voted #10 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

An unnamed alley cat searches for food outside of in some garbage cans late at night. Unable to find anything worth his while (the bones he finds are stolen by other alley cats before he can take a bite) he spots a refrigerator inside the house and heads for it. He sneaks onto the property only to wake a sleeping bulldog. The bulldog chases the cat up to the side of the house. The cat quickly pulls out some sleeping pills, putting the dog into a deep sleep.

Once inside the cat searches for food in the kitchen, but comes up empty. His luck finally changes when he finds a can of cat food. He quickly opens the can and out of the can pops a mouse who is plopped down onto a dinner plate. The cat is about to dig in with a fork only for the mouse to put a quick stop to that. He tells the cat that he can't eat him because he has already seen the cartoon they are in and that he winds up saving his life later. The cat understands but wants some food as he is starving. The mouse points into the other room and tells him that there is a huge, fat, tasty canary in there. The cat charges out into the other room and stuffs the unseen canary into a sack heading back to the kitchen.

The bird is emptied from the sack only to be revealed as a sickly little bird. The bird tells the cat, "Well, I've been sick.." Desperate, the cat gets a brainstorm when he sees a bottle of jumbo-gro plant growth formula on the shelf. Quickly he pours some of the formula into the bird and sure enough the canary grows rapidly in size. But before the cat can take a bite the bird is already over 10 feet tall. The canary takes advantage of his new height and beats up on the cat. The cat turns the tables on the bird and drinks the jumbo-gro formula himself, doubling in size until he is much bigger then the bird. He tosses the potion out of the window only for it to wind up in the bulldog's mouth.

Closing shot.

While the now giant sized cat chases the slightly smaller canary through the side of the house, the bulldog guzzles down the formula. After a quick run around the block, the cat and canary wind up back outside of the house, where a now gigantic bulldog appears before them. The cat runs away in fear as the bulldog tosses the bottle of plant growth food down the chimney, where it rolls to the mouse inside the house. The dog leaps over the house and chases the cat into the city.

The mouse in the house takes a few sips of plant food, instantly growing to gigantic size. The dog chases the cat to the city only for the now huge mouse to show up and scare the bulldog away with a simple "Boo!". The mouse reminds the cat that he told him he would save his life. The cat thanks him as the mouse hands him the bottle back and stomps off. The cat, realizing he still is hungry, sees the huge mouse stomping off and gets another idea. He suddenly drinks more of the formula and grows even bigger then the mouse. The cat chases the smaller mouse through the city and across the country, passing the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and the mountains.

The giant mouse hides in a railroad tunnel, losing the cat for a moment. The mouse drinks the potion when the cat isn't paying attention and becomes even bigger then the already huge cat. The mouse starts to beat up on the cat only for the cat to take the potion back and drink it, becoming bigger then the mouse. The mouse takes it back and drinks more to become bigger still. This continues until they suddenly both come to a stop at the same exact size. They shake the now empty bottle of jumbo-gro and tell the audience at home that they have to end the cartoon, as they've run out of the formula. They wave goodbye to the viewers as the camera pulls back, revealing that they have outgrown the Earth itself and are standing atop the globe.

[edit] Trivia

Newly giant bulldog Atom stares down the cat as the canary is happy of the sudden turn of events.

As well as being rated #10 in 50 Greatest Cartoons, Cartoon Network had their own voting done in 1999 for their own special of what they felt was the 50 greatest cartoons of all time and King-Size Canary was picked at 13th on their list.

The book the mouse is reading before he drinks the growth formula is titled "The Lost Squeakend" which is a play up on the book and film, The Lost Weekend.