Past Perfumance

Past Perfumance
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Next →	Tweety's Circus
Airdate:	21 May 1955
Series:	Merrie Melodies
MPAA Number:	16898
Production Number:	1329
Copyright Renewed:	28 May 1982
Starring:	Pepé Le Pew Penelope Pussycat
Crew
Voice Characterizations:	Mel Blanc Arthur Q. Bryan (uncredited) Michael Maltese (uncredited)
Director:	Charles M. Jones
Written By:	Michael Maltese
Producer:	Eddie Selzer (uncredited)
Animated By:	Ken Harris Richard Thompson Lloyd Vaughan
Layout Artist:	Robert Givens
Background Artist:	Philip DeGuard
Film Editor:	Treg Brown (uncredited)
Musician:	Milt Franklyn

Past Perfumance is a 1955 Merrie Melodies short directed by Charles M. Jones.

Title

The title is a play on "Past Performance", horse-racing stats published by the Daily Racing Form.

Plot

It's 1913, and in Paris, Pepé Le Pew finds the latest love of his life, Penelope Pussycat. Pepé finds her in the scene of Romeo and Juliet, but she runs away. Then, he walks into The Three Musketeers, two actors went in and Pepé scares them away by jumping in. Pepé finds Penelope in the projection box, but she runs away. Then, Pepé goes in the film which he lets the projectionists out because of his stench, and he also lets the man and woman dash out the picture and find Penelope Pussycat. Pepé gives chase around the Uncle Tom set, the Icy set and a Tarzan set which Pepé plays as Tarzan swinging to Penelope. As Pepe has Penelope cornered on a cliff set, Penelope dives off it, causing Pepé to panic. When he sees Penelope crawl out of the pool of water, he notices that the white stripe on her back isn't there anymore and realizes that he's been chasing a cat the entire time. Not to be deterred, Pepé runs to the paint department, blacks out his own tail, tells the audience, "If you cannot beat them, join them," and continues his amorous pursuit.

Availability

(1985) VHS
A Salute to Mel Blanc

(1986) VHS
Pepe Le Pew's Skunk Tales

(1985) Beta
Pepe Le Pew's Skunk Tales

(1996) VHS
Looney Tunes Collection - Pepe le Pew

(1999) VHS
Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 3: The Vocal Genius

(2010) DVD
Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers

(2011) DVD
Looney Tunes Super Stars' Pepé Le Pew: Zee Best of Zee Best

Streaming

Boomerang App ( - )

HBO Max Latin America / Brazil (2021 - 2024)

Max Latin America / Brazil (2024 - )

Notes

• This is the first time Pepé finds out that Penelope is not a skunk, yet still chases after her.
• Scenes from this short were used in the television special Bugs Bunny's Mad World of Television.
• Despite being released two weeks after "Hare Brush", this cartoon uses the older 1945–55 Merrie Melodies opening theme and the 1941–55 Merrie Melodies closing theme. This is the second-to-last cartoon to use these older themes, with the last one being "Tweety's Circus".

Gallery

Lobby card

Lobby card

TV Title Cards

The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show

External Links

• "Past Perfumance" at the SFX Resource Wiki