Gift Wrapped (1952)

. . . as he gets to consume THREE yellow canaries (at 2:15, 2:43, and 6:32). Since this is 50% more than the penguin-colored cat's usual "Merrie Melodies" daily minimum protein requirement, it's a merry Yule indeed for Mr. "Suffering Succotash." GIFT WRAPPED extends the origin story begun by Warner Bros. animators in TWEET TWEET TWEETY. The latter episode's feral feline is now domesticated in "Granny's" house. This latter old bat is totally clueless about proper cat care, giving "her" newly-named Sylvester a RUBBER mouse as his holiday gift. "Why couldn't she have given me something practical, like a REAL mouse?" Sylvester laments. Some anonymous benefactor HAS sent "Tweety" to Granny's address, but misdirects this food source Sylvester hatched himself in TWEET TWEET TWEETY to "Granny." When Sylvester tries to rectify this simple mistake, Granny-the-Witch is able to conjure up equally annoying Tweety clones for "her" starving cat to consume with swats of her Magical Broom. Though the animators sketch in an extraneous bulldog for comic relief, GIFT WRAPPED is a generally cheerful tale of festive feline feasting.

It's Christmas at Granny's house and everything is kind of crazy. Sylvester is trying to eat Tweety, Hector the bulldog is trying to eat Sylvester, and Granny is trying to keep the peace. One of the best Sylvester & Tweety shorts, brought to us by Friz Freleng. The animation is beautiful with really lush colors. The music is lively and fun. The always great voicework from Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet is a treat. Wonderful characters alternate between being adorable and being hilarious. It's such a good cartoon. Plus it's Christmas-themed so it has that added bonus and even ends with everybody singing a Christmas carol (badly).

Friz Freleng's 'Gift Wrapped' is a decent entry in the lacklustre Tweety and Sylvester series. A Christmas cartoon set entirely in a house on Christmas morning, 'Gift Wrapped' adheres to some pretty standard and not terribly funny jokes involving dynamite and surprisingly effective toy guns. Such gags can be made fresh again with the right execution but in the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons Freleng always seemed content to just play them the way they'd already been played a million times before. The addition of Granny and a Bulldog to proceedings adds a little colour and Tweety is not excessively annoying this time round either but the main thing that saves 'Gift Wrapped' from being as weak as the worst Tweety and Sylvester shorts is the impeccably realised festive atmosphere which gives the cartoon a pleasingly cosy feel. I used to love seeing 'Gift Wrapped' at Christmas when I was young and that happy memory has not totally deserted me as I watch it again. But sentiment is not enough to make a great cartoon and 'Gift Wrapped' remains merely OK, a mildly enjoyable trip down memory lane which opens with its best moment ("You just ain't whistling Dixie") and then fails to live up to it.

"Gift Wrapped" is an excellent Tweety/Sylvester/Granny cartoon for the Christmas season. If only Sylvester had behaved himself, he would have had a joyous, peaceful Christmas. Fortunately, in the end, Granny sees to it that there will indeed be peace in her household.Highlights: Sylvester's toy crane accidentally lifts up Granny instead of Tweety's birdcage. Granny ends the short by playing the organ and singing Christmas carols with Tweety (although Granny cannot sing very well); Sylvester and the bulldog try to sing along, too, but Granny has sealed their mouths shut with Christmas tree stamps. The bulldog hides himself inside a large gift box and mightily chomps Sylvester when he opens the lid! Sylvester poses as Geronimo (with hilarious stereotypical musical accompaniment) and Tweety poses as Hopalong Cassidy; Sylvester pulls the cork out of Tweety's pistol and gets blasted! For a great Christmas comedy short, I highly recommend "Gift Wrapped." For all his trickery, Sylvester just can't seem to outwit Granny, and it's funny to see all of Sylvester's schemes backfire on him.