Yes, I thought of another one to do. This time we will explore the career and psyche of that Francophone Fop, Mr. Pepe Le Pew. However, this list will consist only of 5 cartoons since his filmography is much more brief than the others. (Images as always provided by Dave Mackey).
1. Odor-able Kitty (by Chuck Jones c. 1945) <on dvd>
According to legend, this story was originally meant for the Looney Tunes comic books. But, Chuck Jones went to writer Michael Maltese pleading for a story idea for his next theatrical cartoon. So, he and Mike developed the French skunk idea and that became Odor-able Kitty. Jones combined the performances of both Charles Boyer and Maurice Chevalier as well as the egotistical personality of writer Tedd Pierce and Pepe was born. But, there was still work to be done. There were many elements in this cartoon that would not be a part of the routine. For one, the victim in this case is a MALE cat. He voluntarily paints himself and befowls himself in order to seem like a skunk so that the world would stop abusing him. Truly this cartoon is centred more around him and Pepe is merely a build up to a punchline. In the end it is revealed that Pepe is not French and also married as well as being a father. When the wife finds him romancing what looks like another skunk she whacks him with a rolling pin and the cat is free to go. The only aspect of Pepe that remianed after this was his persistance and his easily recognisable hop. I'm quit sure the audience was pleased with this cartoon when it came out. But, the REAL reason Jones would make several more Pepe Le Pew cartoons was because of then producer Eddie Selzer. Ed ABSOLURELY HATED this cartoon and the star character. He especially hated the 'fractured french that Pepe spoke. But, like on so many other projects at the studio, Selzer would go on to be proved wrong with much egg on his face.
2. For Scent-imental Reasons (by Chuck Jones c. 1949) <on dvd>
While Odor-able Kitty barely established anything about the character of Pepe, this one established EVERYTHING. Jones and Maltese had seen all the mistakes made in Odor-able Kitty (1945) and Scent-imental Over You (1947) and fixed them all here. For one, this cartoon marks the first appearance of the hapless female cat who would be unofficially dubbed Penelope in the future. (But truly, she had many names during Pepe's career). When Pepe is found in a perfume shop, the owner tosses her in so that she can get rid of that skunk de pew. Instead, some white liquid gets accidentally poured down her back and Pepe mistakes her for an attractive female skunk. This is of course the most easily recognisable element of the Pepe Le Pew cartoons and it made it's debut here. But, other aspects were introduced as well. For one thing, while the cat has locked herself in a glass case, Pepe insists that she exit it at once. She then tells him that she won't on account of him stinking. Once it sinks in Pepe puts a gun to his head, gives her an sad ironic smirk and walks away. Then a gunshot is heard and she's devastated. However, after she emerges from the glass case, it is revealed that the suicide was a hoax and the chase resumes. There are other times in the future when Pepe is made aware of his condition and yet remains ever determined. The cartoons Really Scent and Touche` and Go come to mind. And then there's the ending. Both Pepe and Penelope fall out of a window, he into a can of blue paint and she into a full rain barrel. The water washes the stripe off of her and makes her look all scraggily. So, Pepe doesn't recognise her as the lovely creature he is persuing. But, at the same time, the blue paint not only covers up Pepe's smell but makes the cat notice Pepe's manly physique as well. This turns the tables, she is now the repellent one in mad persuit of Pepe and he is the nervous prey. This would be repeated in future installments like Little Beau Pepe and Really Scent. But, besides being a brilliant punchline, it also reveals an aspect of Pepe as to why he chases. It's not just out of love. Pepe needs to feel the fear in the female he is persuing. Deep down that's what keeps him going. It's not an issue of malice, it's just his fetish. Once she starts returning the woos, he gets scared and feels the need to retreat. No doubt Jones injected this chauvanistic elements as a way of making fun of Tedd Pierce, a man who thought he was much more of a "lady-killer" than he actually was. But, the significance and greatness of this cartoon would not end within itself. For this was Chuck Jones' first cartoon to win an Oscar. Thus this cartoon was a major step up for the careers of both Pepe and Jones. Not only that, it put egg on the face of Selzer who thought it would never fly. His wrong assessment of Friz Freleng's Tweetie Pie happened again. Whew, that's quite alot to pack into 7 brilliant minutes of film.
3. Wild Over You (by Chuck Jones c. 1953)
The structure for this one is the same as every other Pepe cartoon really. All accept for the cat. Here, instead of the ever timid Penelope (or whatever unofficial name she was given for any particular episode), she is a dangerously ferocious "wild cat" who escaped from the Paris zoo. To avoid being captured and put back in a cage, she disguises herself as a skunk. A move she will soon learn to be a big mistake. For when Pepe gets a look at her, the chase is on as usual. However, while the regular cat would try to squeeze her way out of Pepe's embrace and maybe kick him in the face once or twice, this cat nearly shreds him. There is a sudden blur of black fur with Treg Brown's cat-fight sound effects and pretty soon all that's left is some black fur floating to the ground and a scratched up Pepe. But, instead of being discouraged, Pepe exclaims "I like eet!" What?! Pepe enjoys getting beaten up while in the throes of passion??! In case anyone missed it, Pepe reiterates at the end when he is trapped in a hot-air balloon with her and must endure her constant abuse and says "Eef you have not tried eet, do not knock eet." Whoa! Pepe just advocated the practice of S & M in a cartoon made in the buttoned down 1950's in a cartoon that many unobservant parents assume is made for kids. Leave it to the Looney Tunes writers to sneak something brilliant into an already artistic work of genius.
4. Louvre Come Back to Me (by Chuck Jones c. 1962)
According to legend, Jones had been fired from Warner Bros. around this time. So, I guess he wanted his last Pepe to end with a bang. Although, this cartoon is not quite the bang he had hoped it would be, the attempt is certainly to be admired. This time, the formula is shaken up a bit by the addition of a jealous boyfriend. Yes, Penelope is already in a relationship when Pepe makes his intentions known. Along with them playing with the works of art in the museum, the boyfriend angle interupts Pepe's routine in a way that is both refreshing and disappointing. It's refreshing in that we see how Pepe goes about his day when there is some competition this time. But, it's disappointing in that the boyfriend takes up too much of the time. The sequence where Pepe enacts a duel with pistols while the boy cat is trying to hold his breath around Pepe is much too long for the pace of it and brings things to a crawl really. In fact, from the looks of things, that sequence took so long that Jones ended this cartoon with a series of "paintings come to life" gags and ends with the weakest one. A cartoon that started out with such promise ends on a lacklustre note. Oh well, despite that, this and many other Pepe cartoons from the golden era are still entertaining and well worth a second, third or 200 millionth look. Pepe would never have it so good after that.
5. Dancing Pepe (Larry Doyle c. 2005)
I have not seen this cartoon. Nor do I think anyone has. However, I have read a brief synopsis of it which reads as follows: A squirrel with a head-cold falls for Pepe on the dance floor until a friend of hers gives her some Clariton. Which of course cures the cold and she finds out how stinky he really is, and so forth. This is not a mere shaking up of a formula meant to keep Pepe's routine fresh. This is sabotage. But not on Larry Doyle's part. For you see, sometime during the '90's, some 'holier-than-thou' political-correctness gurus proclaimed that Pepe Le Pew was incorrect. That his classic routine was lashing out against women and that he promoted rape fantasies or some such nonsense. Thus, Pepe was suppressed during this time. In Space Jam all he was allowed to do was be stinky. However, in Looney Tunes: Back in Action, a scene was planned where Pepe would go after Penelope once again but the "powers-that-be" at Warner Bros. were afraid of any back-lash from any radical 'anti-entertainment groups' so the scene was cut. And, like in Space Jam, Pepe could only be stinky. However, the story-line of Dancing Pepe is going too far in the other direction. Now, not only is Pepe not allowed to do his chase schtick, he now has to be the one who is chased. He has literally been neutered by the political correctness movement. You can almost hear the hairy armpits rustling as the members of any or all the radical women's groups shout "dance MALE dance!" as he is now their slave. Okay, I'm sure some will feel that last line "went too far". But you have to admit, this scenario is a complete 180 for Pepe. While it was done as a punchline in such cartoons as For Scent-imental Reasons or Little Beau Pepe, here it's just sadly ironic. A once great figure reduced to not a shadow but rather a bizarro-type mirror image of his former self.
Re: Significant toons in Pepe Le Pew's career
[In reply to]
In Reply To
the REAL reason Jones would make several more Pepe Le Pew cartoons was because of then producer Eddie Selzer. Ed ABSOLURELY HATED this cartoon and the star character. He especially hated the 'fractured french that Pepe spoke. But, like on so many other projects at the studio, Selzer would go on to be proved wrong with much egg on his face.
Yeah, RIGHT! But WHO WAS IT that had the UNMITIGATED GALL to prance on up to the podium and ACCEPT THE OSCAR (tm) AWARD taking F-U-L-L CREDIT for "HIS" contribution to Termite Terrace??You GUESSED it, Mister "No Bullfights! They're NOT funny!" "NO Tasmanian Devils! They're NOT funny!" "NO French-speaking skunks! They're NOT humorous!" EDDIE SELZER!
-------------------------
The bald rabbits march down the street, looking for their lost hare..
(This post was edited by MartinTarasFan on Sep 17, 2004, 2:03 PM)
The structure for this one is the same as every other Pepe cartoon really. All accept for the cat. Here, instead of the ever timid Penelope (or whatever unofficial name she was given for any particular episode), she is a dangerously ferocious "wild cat" who escaped from the Paris zoo. To avoid being captured and put back in a cage, she disguises herself as a skunk. A move she will soon learn to be a big mistake. For when Pepe gets a look at her, the chase is on as usual. However, while the regular cat would try to squeeze her way out of Pepe's embrace and maybe kick him in the face once or twice, this cat nearly shreds him. There is a sudden blur of black fur with Treg Brown's cat-fight sound effects and pretty soon all that's left is some black fur floating to the ground and a scratched up Pepe. But, instead of being discouraged, Pepe exclaims "I like eet!" What?! Pepe enjoys getting beaten up while in the throes of passion??! In case anyone missed it, Pepe reiterates at the end when he is trapped in a hot-air balloon with her and must endure her constant abuse and says "Eef you have not tried eet, do not knock eet." Whoa! Pepe just advocated the practice of S & M in a cartoon made in the buttoned down 1950's in a cartoon that many unobservant parents assume is made for kids.
Damfine, how old were you when you watched this and figured that out? Because I was 14 when I watched this (for the first time since I saw this on Nickelodeon in the mid-1990s) on Cartoon Network in the early 2000s, and, well, let's just say, after watching that (and several other WB cartoons--with and without Pepe Le Pew) I don't consider Looney Tunes all that childish anymore.
Re: Significant toons in Pepe Le Pew's career
[
