Pizzicato Pussycat

Friz Freleng's 'Pizzicato Pussycat' is an extremely unusual but thoroughly delightful little tale. Featuring extremely stylised drawings and animation (occasionally boarding on childlike in its simplicity) and two rather uncharismatic lead characters, the cartoon overcomes these potentially detrimental elements with extremely fine storytelling of a simple but effective anecdote. The pleasant, storybook pacing is perfectly complimented by the angular illustrations and the script trims away the fat to leave just the important plot points, making for a constantly engaging experience. 'Pizzicato Pussycat' is best the first time you see it and it isn't a cartoon I'd return to regularly but every so often the fancy takes me and I always enjoy its simple charms. Almost ten years later, Robert McKimson would attempt a similarly picture-book inspired short called 'Bartholomew Versus the Wheel', which went a bit too far into the kiddie-esquire stylisation but, with 'Pizzicato Pussycat', Freleng pitches it just about right.