Ventriloquist Cat

Ventriloquist Cat is an MGM animated film, directed by Hollywood director Tex Avery. The film was released in the US with the movie The Big Hangover on 27 May 1950.

Plot

An alley cat is being chased by a dim-witted bulldog after he is caught writing on the fence "I hate Dogs!". In order to escape, the cat jumps into a box full of magicians props and discovers a ventriloquists device for throwing his voice. With his newly acquired powers of ventriloquism, the cat plays a series of practical jokes on the bulldog. Ultimately the jokes backfire on the cat.

Remake as 'Cat's Meow'

Ventriloquist Cat was later remade in CinemaScope as Cat's Meow, which was released in 1956. It was one of two Avery MGM cartoons to have been reworked in the widescreen format (the other was the 1949 Droopy cartoon Wags to Riches, which was redone as Millionaire Droopy); as Avery himself was long gone from MGM at the time of these remakes, the new versions were worked on by the Hanna-Barbera unit, despite having Avery's name credited on the title card.

There were numerous differences in the designs of the two main characters. Spike the bulldog is two shades of tan in the 1950 original and white in the 1956 remake, while the cat had black fur in the earlier version and red fur in the later version.

This (Cat's Meow) was the final MGM animated film before the MGM cartoon studio shut down in 1957.

External links

• Ventriloquist Cat at the Internet Movie Database
• Original 1950 Ventriloquist Cat on YouTube
• 1956 remake Cat's Meow on YouTube