Flirty Birdy

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Flirty Birdy Tom and Jerry series
The title card of Flirty Birdy
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Produced by	Fred Quimby
Story by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Music by	Scott Bradley
Animation by	Irven Spence Kenneth Muse Ray Patterson
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	September 22, 1945
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	7 min 13 secs.
Preceded by	Tee for Two
Followed by	Quiet Please!
IMDb profile

Flirty Birdy is a cartoon featuring Tom and Jerry. It was made and released in 1945 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. The cartoon was directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and produced by Fred Quimby. The animation was provided by Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse, and Ray Patterson, the music by Scott Bradley, and backgrounds by Robert Gentle. The cartoon revolves around Tom's effort to regain Jerry from a hawk by dressing up as a female bird.

[edit] Plot

The cartoon opens with Tom laying down a trail of cheese for Jerry. Tom traps Jerry in two slices of bread and makes a sandwich. Just as Tom is about to eat his sandwich, a hawk swoops down and steals the sandwich from Tom's hands. tom breaks his teeth. The hawk tries to eat the sandwich for himself but Tom steals the sandwich back, replacing it with a plate. Hawk breaks his teeth. They fight over the sandwich and almost tear Jerry in half. The hawk then hits Tom with his beak and knocks him out of a tree. Tom then throws a brick at the hawk but it gets thrown back, knocking Tom out cold. Tom then makes a face and yells at the hawk. The hawk grabs Tom, says "Going down?" and throws him back down to the ground. Tom lands near a clothesline where a skirt, some feathers, and some clothespins are. This gives Tom an idea. If he masquerades as a female bird, he can get Jerry back for himself.

The hawk then goes back to eat his Jerry sandwich. Just as Jerry is escaping from the hawk, a whistle is heard from and we see Tom with lipstick and a kazoo on his face. He waves over at the hawk from behind a chimney on a nearby house. Tom has taken the skirt, and stuck feathers on himself and to look like a (rather unconvincing) female bird. This makes the hawk lovestruck. Even Jerry can’t believe what Tom has done. Tom winks at the hawk and he tries to kiss Tom. Jerry who is looking at Tom in disbelief unties Tom’s dress, but Tom recovers. The hawk tries to kiss Tom again and Jerry grabs the elastic band of the kazoo and it brings them together for a kiss. The hawk goes wild and he ends up dropping Jerry. Tom then puts Jerry down his dress. Jerry then grabs a pin and sticks it in Tom's rear causing Tom to yell like cat and jump into the hawk’s arms. Tom then runs away with the lovestruck hawk behind him. The hawk again tries to kiss Tom but he ends up pecking the bricks out of the chimney. Tom then gives a flirtatious smile and struts away. This really makes the hawk wild and with Tom hiding around the chimney with a brick in his hand, Tom hits the hawk. But the hawk is still head over heels in love by sayng, "She loves me!". Tom makes another quick escape by jumping off the roof of the house. But the hawk saves him from hitting the ground and continues to try and kiss him. Tom tries to hide and escape in various means, but the lovesick hawk somehow keeps finding him, and Tom keeps losing Jerry in the process.

Tom is later seen standing behind a makeshift kissing booth that advertises, “Kisses - One Mouse Each!” The hawk ventures over to the kissing booth, hands over Jerry and puckers up. Tom grabs Jerry and then "smooches" the hawk with a plunger, simulating a giant kiss. But Jerry escapes again. Tom then runs into the hawk who holds out his hands. Tom picks one and the hawk produces a ring box with Jerry sitting in it. Jerry’s tail has been tied in a loop and the hawk places Jerry on Tom’s finger. (This is a marriage proposal.) Tom "accepts", then slams the window cover into the hawk’s face and runs away, but he crashes into the other window cover. Jerry then grabs a rope and ties it around Tom’s foot. Tom regains consciousness and runs away. Jerry hands the other end of the rope to the hawk and the hawk drags Tom back to him, preventing Tom's runaway. As Tom is being dragged to the hawk, Jerry hands Tom a bouquet of flowers and waves goodbye to the happy couple. At the cartoon's end, the hawk is shown sitting in a tree while Tom is sitting on a nest of eggs and knitting a tiny sweater, obviously preparing for motherhood with no choice but to endure a relationship with the hawk.

[edit] Trivia

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• The hawk reappeared in the Tom and Jerry Tales short Bend it Like Thomas.
• Tom would also dress up as a female bird again to fool an eagle (a type of hawk) in Tom and Jerry Tales' "Cat of Prey".