Birds Anonymous
| Birds Anonymous | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies (Tweety/Sylvester) series | |
| Directed by | Friz Freleng |
| Produced by |
Edward Selzer (uncredited) |
| Story by | Warren Foster |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Milt Franklyn |
| Animation by |
Art Davis Virgil Ross Gerry Chiniquy |
| Layouts by | Hawley Pratt |
| Backgrounds by | Boris Gorelick |
| Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date(s) | August 10, 1957 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 6 minutes 56 seconds |
Birds Anonymous is a 1957 Merrie Melodies animated short, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster, starring Tweety Bird, Sylvester with Clarence the cat. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc.
The film is a lighthearted reference of 1950s melodramas about the sufferings of substance abuse and drug recovery groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
The short opens with Sylvester once again attempting to catch and eat Tweety, this time succeeding and closing the blinds to hide the evidence. Before he can eat Tweety, however, he is interrupted by a crimson, erudite, cat (named "Clarence" or "Sam" in some sources but unnamed in the short itself), who tells him that his constant cravings for Tweety are a sign of profound personal weakness, and that the only way for him to overcome this weakness is to kick the habit for good. Believing that he is in need of help, Sylvester proudly joins "Birds Anonymous", a group of cats who have banded together to overcome their addictions to birds. Sylvester lives by this motto: "Birds is strictly for the birds!"
However, Sylvester's resolve begins to break down after a short time, primarily due to constant temptation since he still lives in the same house as Tweety. The temptations begins to grow even more after he hears TV commercials featuring a stuffed turkey and bird-themed songs on the radio. Sylvester valiantly makes many attempts to control his baser urges, even physically chaining himself to an iron radiator at one point. After Tweety asks the cat: "Don't you wike me anymore?" Sylvester replies: "I think... I think... I think you're... I think you're... DELICIOUS!" and yanks the radiator out of the floor as he makes another grab for Tweety, only to be stopped by his cat friend again.
Sylvester is tortured by insomnia that night, and after an emotional breakdown eventually gives in to his basic instincts to try to grab Tweety, but is stopped again when his cat friend pours alum in his mouth. Sylvester then attempts to literally drink Tweety through a straw but fails. Ashamed of his weakness, Sylvester collapses into sobs ("I can't stand it! I gotta have a bird! I'm weak! I'm weak, but I don't care! I can't help it! After all, I am a pussycat!"), but the cat friend consoles him, telling him severe withdrawal symptoms are all part of the process, and that if he stays with the "Birds Anonymous" program, he will eventually succeed and come to love birds, as he does. However, when the cat kisses Tweety to prove his point, years of his denial take their toll and the B.A. cat attempts to devour Tweety himself, this time with Sylvester restraining him and telling him to control himself.
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