For Scent-imental Reasons (1949)

Director:

Chuck Jones

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Release Date:

12 November 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Romance | Animation | Short | Comedy

Plot:

Pepe Le Peu chases a female cat in a perfume shop until she turns the tables on him.

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Perfume | Perfume Shop | Disguise | Skunk

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Mel Blanc

...

Pepe Le Pew / Perfume Shop Owner / Gendarme / Cat (voice)

Directed by
Chuck Jones		(as Charles M. Jones)

Writing credits
Michael Maltese		(story)

Produced by
Edward Selzer	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Carl W. Stalling		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Treg Brown		(uncredited)

Sound Department
Treg Brown	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Animation Department
Peter Alvarado	....	background artist
Robert Gribbroek	....	layout artist
Ken Harris	....	animator
Phil Monroe	....	animator
Lloyd Vaughan	....	animator
Ben Washam	....	animator

Music Department
Carl W. Stalling	....	musical director (as Carl Stalling)
Milt Franklyn	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS) (on "As Aventuras Fedorentas de Pepe Le Pew")

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #13024) | USA:Not Rated (video release) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) | UK:U

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Quotes:

Pepe Le Pew: This little love bundle. Now she is seeking for us a trysting place. Touching, is it not? Come, my little peanut of brittle. I will help you. Wait for me. Wait.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Bugs Bunny Show: (#1.5)" (1960)

Soundtrack:

Alouette

A witty, sexually charged classic that was never meant for young eyes

Chuck Jones's 'For Scent-imental Reasons' is a brilliantly witty cartoon for which Pepe Le Pew won a well earned Academy Award on only his fourth outing. As a child I hated the Pepe Le Pew cartoons for several reasons. Of course, I thought love was yucky but also the pseudo-French gags and more verbal approach to comedy went completely over my head. Bearing in mind that these sexually charged cartoons were never meant for young eyes, it's hardly surprising that I have come round to loving Pepe and his straight-to-camera witticisms. Having said all that, even as a Pepe-hating child I still enjoyed 'For Scent-imental Reasons'. There was something about it that made it stand out over the other Le Pew shorts and clearly the Academy agreed.

Set in and around a perfume shop, 'For Scent-imental Reasons' finds Penelope the cat locked in with the amorous skunk after a bottle of white hair-dye bestows the obligatory deceptive markings down her spine. There follows a series of great gags, two of which involve aborted suicides! The best gag in the whole cartoon is when Penelope locks herself in a glass case causing Pepe to go absolutely insane with frustration until finally he pulls out a gun, puts it to his temple and walks out of sight. Hearing the shot, the guilt-ridden cat unlocks the case and leaps out straight into Pepe's arms. "I meesed" he tells her! 'For Scent-imental Reasons' is a lovely piece of work and undoubtedly one of the best Pepe Le Pew cartoons. From its familiar setup through to the table-turning ending, it's a classy and classic short.