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Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot, sometimes called "Kitty," but in some of the Warner Brothers animation history books, she is referred to as "Cleo", are two animated characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.

About Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot[]

Marc Anthony is a burly bulldog who is brown with a tan body and black ears. He is a gruff, tough bulldog whom is a softie at heart when it comes to Pussyfoot and is very protective of her.

Pussyfoot, in contrast, is an extremely cute kitten to whom Marc Anthony is utterly devoted. Chuck Jones has discussed the efforts to maximize the kitten's adorableness. All head and eyes, she is black with a white face and body and a white tip on her fluffy tail.

Mark Anthony & Kitty

Claude Cat with Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot in "Feline Frame-Up".

Animator Chuck Jones first introduced the odd duo in his film "Feed the Kitty", first released on Groundhog Day, 1952. Prior to this, a bulldog similar to Marc had appeared in previous shorts with Claude Cat and Hubie and Bertie, but he was never named. In the short, Marc Anthony adopts the interminably cute kitten, only to receive a stern warning from his owner not to " Bring one more thing into this house! Not ONE SINGLE SOLITARY thing!" Marc is forced to go to extreme lengths to keep his new pet under wraps. Meanwhile, the kitten's curiosity gets her into a series of life-threatening situations, which Marc Anthony must rescue her from harm.

Jones would largely repeat the scenario in 1953 with "Kiss Me Cat", only this time, Marc Anthony tries to convince his owners that the kitten (now named Pussyfoot) is a good mouser so that they will let him keep her.

In "Feline Frame-Up" (1954), Jones pitted the dog and kitten against another of his lesser-known players, Claude Cat, with Claude as the antagonist causing trouble to the duo. Jones would later repeat this scenario again with a slight variation in "Cat Feud" (1958), only this time Marc Anthony is swapped out for his similar-looking "counterpart" Hector the Bulldog. Later in 1954, Marc Anthony made a brief cameo appearance at the end of the Claude Cat/Frisky Puppy short, "No Barking".

While Pussyfoot does not appear in "Go Fly a Kit", the short instead features a flying cat resembling Pussyfoot.

After "Cat Feud", Jones eventually retired the duo in 1958 to focus on the more popular characters from the Looney Tunes franchise, such as Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig.

They also appear in a cameo in the background during the basketball game in Space Jam (1996). The duo would later make a cameo appearance in the ending scene of Looney Tunes Back in Action (2003).

Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot appear in the opening theme for The Looney Tunes Show, while Pussyfoot makes a brief cameo in Lola Bunny's quilt in the musical number "Christmas Rules!" in the episode "A Christmas Carol".

Marc Anthony appears alongside Tweety and Gabby Goat in the New Looney Tunes episode "Tweet Team" as a trio helping Speedy Gonzales save his mice buddies from Sylvester, Claude Cat and Pete Puma. He also appears in "Pussyfoot Soldier" and "From Dusk Till Dog", reprising his role from some of the original cartoons, being smitten by Pussyfoot and attempting to protect her from harm. Marc Anthony also appears in "To Be the Flea, You Gotta Beat the Flea", in which He is unexpectedly controlled by Mighty Angelo, who wants to enter the wrestling championship match despite his small size.

In Looney Tunes Cartoons, Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot make a brief cameo in "Happy Birthday Bugs Bunny!", and later appear in "Boarding Games".

Pussyfoot appears in three episodes of Bugs Bunny Builders.

Recent History and Influence[]

Since their retirement, Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot have been somewhat forgotten due to the popularity of other Chuck Jones-created characters, such as Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, and Pepé Le Pew. Pussyfoot has appeared in some recent Warner Bros. merchandising, however, and the pair have been featured in various Warner Bros. productions, such as the third segment of the Twilight Zone movie, and a few Looney Tunes comic book stories such as "Bringing Up Baby", "A Skate with Desteny", and "Kit on a Kite".

Tiny Toon Adventures featured a similar character named Barky Marky who was a comparatively minor character on the show. The pair were also an inspiration for the Buttons and Mindy characters that were featured in the successor to Tiny Toons, Animaniacs.

Chuck Jones would later revisit the gimmick of a cute kitten with an unlikely protector in a Tom and Jerry short, "The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse", with Jerry becoming a kitten's friend and protector against a selfish and jealous Tom.

A segment of "Feed the Kitty," in which Marc Anthony believes that Pussyfoot has perished in the cookie baking (and unaware that she is actually perfectly safe), was the subject in the Pixar film, Monsters Inc. in which Sulley believes that Boo has fallen into a trash compactor, and he reacts nearly shot-for-shot as Marc did in his cartoon short. "Feed the Kitty" is available on DVD, appearing on the compilation Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 and Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection.

Filmography[]

Cartoons[]

In other media[]

The films:

Tiny Toon Adventures

Animaniacs

  • "Cat on a Hot Steel Beam" (1993) - Pussyfoot only

The Looney Tunes Show episode:

New Looney Tunes episodes:

Looney Tunes Cartoons shorts:

Bugs Bunny Builders segments:

  • "Splash Zone" - Pussyfoot cameo only
  • "Tweety-Go-Round" - Pussyfoot only (credited as "Looney Cat Kid")
  • "Haunted Garage" (credited as "Pouncy")
  • "Squirreled Away" (cameo)
  • "Beach Battle" (cameo)
  • "Mini Golf"
  • "Skate Park"
  • "Lemonade"

Gallery[]

Notes[]

  • In the video game Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage, Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot are the audience from battle against Toro the Bull and The Crusher.
    • In Stage 9, Pussyfoot is part from one of bad luck cats where the Bugs Bunny crosses her path, a big ship fall.


Characters
Major Characters
Barnyard DawgBeaky BuzzardBoskoBugs BunnyCecil TurtleCharlie DogClaude CatDaffy DuckElmer FuddFoghorn LeghornGossamerGrannyHector the BulldogHenery HawkHippety HopperHubie and BertieLola BunnyGoofy GophersMarc Anthony and PussyfootMarvin the MartianMichigan J. FrogMiss PrissyPenelope PussycatPepé Le PewPete PumaPorky PigRalph WolfRoad RunnerSam Sheepdog •. SnifflesSpeedy GonzalesSylvesterSylvester Jr.TazTweetyWile E. CoyoteWitch HazelYosemite Sam
Secondary Characters
Blacque Jacque ShellacqueThe CrusherCarl the Grim RabbitGiovanni JonesYoyo DodoTasmanian She-DevilMelissa DuckHugo the Abominable SnowmanSpike and ChesterNasty CanastaThe GremlinPrivate SnafuPetunia PigPlayboy PenguinShropshire SlasherCount BloodcountMama BuzzardColonel ShuffleEgghead Jr.Owl JolsonToro the BullRocky and MugsyMinah BirdInkiBeansLittle KittyHam and ExOliver OwlPiggyGabby GoatBuddyHoneySlowpoke RodriguezThe Three BearsFoxyK-9A. FleaConstruction WorkerFrisky PuppyRalph MouseHoney BunnyRoxyThe Martin BrothersRalph PhillipsClyde BunnyFauntleroy FlipDr. I.Q. HiGruesome GorillaSloppy MoeHatta MariThe WeaselWiloughbyThe Two Curious PuppiesCool CatBabbit and CatstelloInstant MartiansBobo the ElephantColonel RimfireSmokey the GenieJose and ManuelMerlin the Magic MouseConrad the CatAngus MacRoryBanty RoosterThesShameless O'ScantyThree Little PigsTom TurkeyGoopy GeerNelly the GiraffeAla BahmaDr. LorreCottontail SmithBunny and ClaudeClaude HopperThe Hep CatThe Drunk Stork
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