It's Hummer Time is a 1950 Looney Tunes short directed by Robert McKimson.
Plot[]
A hummingbird is pollinating flowers for the season. Meanwhile, the Supreme Cat plans to catch the hummingbird for a meal, first by disguising himself as a bird bath. The hummingbird falls for the bird bath trap, but the bird spits water on the bird's face.
Supreme chases after the bird, with his attempts all failing due to the bird's cleverness or the interference with a bulldog who likes to give Supreme punishments:
- Supreme claps after the bird while running, but ends up accidentally hitting the bulldog in the process. The bulldog pulls the cat into his first punishment, "The Fence", where the cat is shoved through a knothole in a fence by the tail. "Ooh, I hate that!"
- The cat takes out a phonograph horn colored like a flower and hides in a bush. The bird sees the abnormally-sized flower and sticks a piece of dynamite inside of it. When it blows up, Supreme spins the open horn like a propeller.
- The bird sees the bulldog and flies next to it. Supreme tries to catch the bird with a net, but misses and hits the bulldog in the head. The bulldog takes Supreme to the back where the next punishment is performed; "Happy Birthday". The punishment involves a faux birthday party with a cake that has dynamite sticks instead of candles. The cat tries to blow out the dynamite, but they explode and covers the cat with frosting.
- Using a balloon and fishing rod with a flower attached to a hook, the bird sees the trap and paints a picture of the cat while directing it to the bulldog. "I tawt I taw a putty tat." The dog attacks the balloon, and then tugs on the fishing rod. The cat pulls the bulldog right to him, and is now sent to his next punishment, "The Rain Pipe", where he is shoved down a rain pipe by a rope on his tail. Once the punishment is completed, Supreme smashes the rain pipe with a baseball bat in frustration.
- The hummingbird hides in the bulldog's food bowl. The bird walks away while Supreme searches, while the bulldog spots the cat. The bulldog takes him to a cement mixer to perform the next punishment, "The Thinker", where the cat is mixed into a statue of The Thinker.
- The bird takes out a feather and places it on the bulldog's mouth to make it look like the bird is hiding in there. The cat tries to search using sneezing powder, but is unable to find the bird before the dog sneezes. Fed up with the cat's antics, the bulldog takes the tantrum-throwing cat to prepare for his final punishment - "The Works"; a machine set up in combination to most of Supreme's previous punishments that ends with him mixed in the cement mixer.
As the bulldog prepares the punishment, the hummingbird ties up the rope to the bulldog's leg and connects it to the cat, causing the bulldog to also be involved in Supreme's punishment. The two are railed against a ladder and a staircase, shoved through two knotholes, an open tree, a rain pipe, a fence, and crashing into a set of logs before being sent to the cement mixer. In the end, the hummingbird mixes the two into a statue of a bird bath while the hummingbird mockingly repeats Supreme's tantrum, saying "Oh no! Not the bird bath!" before laughing and resting on the bird bath while Supreme and the bulldog helplessly watch.
Availability[]
Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 13: Comic Cat-Tastrophies
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6, Disc Four (restored)
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 6, Disc 2
Montana
Streaming[]
Notes[]
- This was the first cartoon Jerry Beck saw that made him a fan of animation.
- A followup cartoon called "Early to Bet" was created around a year later.
- The bulldog quotes Tweety's catchphrase, "I tawt I taw a putty tat."
- The sign reading "Don't be half safe" was inspired by the pitch for Arrid deodorant.
Gallery[]
References[]
External Links[]