Cat-Tails for Two

Cat-Tails for Two
Merrie Melodies (Speedy Gonzales) series
A prototype Speedy Gonzales, as seen in the short. He was redesigned in later cartoons.
Directed by	Robert McKimson
Produced by	Edward Selzer (uncredited)
Story by	Tedd Pierce
Voices by	Mel Blanc Stan Freberg (uncredited)
Music by	Carl Stalling
Animation by	Herman Cohen Phil DeLara Charles McKimson Rod Scribner
Layouts by	Robert Givens
Backgrounds by	Richard H. Thomas
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	August 29, 1953 (USA premiere)
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	7 min (one reel)
Language	English

Cat-Tails for Two is a 1953 (1961 Blue Ribbon Re-issue) Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce starring Bennie the fat cat and George. It was animated in 1952. Voices by Mel Blanc and music by Carl Stalling. It was the first appearance of Speedy Gonzales, in a prototype form. Because this cartoon's rendition of Speedy Gonzales looked rather coarse, they redesigned him for future cartoon releases.

The two cats pursuing Speedy in Cat-Tails for Two are the slow-witted (and injury-causing) Benny and the fully functioning but unfortunate George, both patterned after the characters Lennie and George in the novel Of Mice and Men. George and Benny are walking down a pier looking for food, when they find a Mexican ship. Figuring the ship will have plenty of Mexican mice, i.e. "Mexican food" (Benny: "It gives me the heartburn and I love it!"), they climb on, only to find an unkempt mouse calling himself "Speedy Gonzales: Fastest Mouse in All Mexico".

George and Benny go through numerous attempts to capture Speedy, who always outwits them. Speedy comes to think of them as private entertainment, at one point declaring "I like those fellows. All the time having fon (fun)!" Among the cats' failed attempts:

1. A crate full of "Acme Anvils" set above a piece of cheese. With Benny holding the rope and George setting the bait, Speedy gives Benny a scare from behind, causing him to let go of the rope and the crate to flatten George. As punishment, George swings down on Benny's cranium with a mallet, but the mallet bounces off Benny's head right on top of his own! When Benny asks "Why did you hit yourself on the head for, George?", the slap-happy cat answers: "I like it, I like it!!"

2. George sets up seven pieces of cheese with dynamite-stick booby traps throughout the ship, but doesn't have a match to light the sticks. Speedy taunts George with a match and sets him up to take the explosions. Benny comes to the rescue by cooling George down, but misinterprets a bucket of petrol as "a funny way to spell 'water'" leaving him half furless.