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Tweety's Circus is a 1955 Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng.

Plot[]

A carefree Sylvester walks into the circus singing his theme "Meow!" He visits the various animal exhibits. There, upon seeing the lion exhibit, the unimpressed puddy tat immediately expresses his displeasure over the large feline's billing. However, Sylvester is far more interested in Tweety, and a chase begins.

Tweety runs into the big top, where the lion, now uncaged, is waiting to maul Sylvester for his earlier remarks.

Sylvester tries beating what he thinks is a fire hose to free Tweety, unknowing that the "hose" is an elephant's trunk. The elephant grabs Sylvester with his trunk and, after crushing his chest, throws the battered puss into the lion's cage, where the lion finishes the job.

Other run-ins with the lion, elephant, and other animals, all end with Sylvester getting the worst of things, and all involve him exploiting his abilities. First, as a high diver, Tweety directs the elephant to drink all the water before Sylvester lands. Next, as a fire eater, the lion makes Sylvester eat the fire. Then, as a high-wire walker.

Sylvester finally gets rid of the lion, only to unwittingly lock himself in a cage with even more lions. Tweety immediately takes a hat and cane and becomes a carnival barker. "Huwwy! Huwwy! Huwwy! Step wight up for da gweatest show on Eawth! Fifty wions and one puddy tat!" A loud roar erupts, and with Sylvester presumably having met his fate, Tweety changes his spiel: "Step wight up! Fifty wions, count 'em, fifty wions!"

Availability[]

Streaming[]

Censorship[]

  • The ABC version of this cartoon edits two scenes [1]:
    • The part where Sylvester beats the lion with a mallet had the beatings cut from six to one, much like in the ABC version of the 1955 Freleng cartoon "Roman Legion-Hare".
    • The part where Sylvester hides from the lion by impersonating Flamo the fire-eater by swallowing a flaming stick was cut.
  • The CBS version edited out the same scenes as ABC, only the CBS version cut the scene of Sylvester beating the lion more severely; instead of reducing the hits, CBS just cut the part entirely.[citation needed] (September 2017)
  • The syndicated Merrie Melodies Show leaves in the fire-eating part, but, like ABC, reduces the part where Sylvester beats the lion. Unlike ABC, The Merrie Melodies Show version halved the beatings from six times to three.[citation needed] (September 2017)

Notes[]

  • This was the last Merrie Melodies short to use the 1945-55 opening rendition of Merrily We Roll Along, as well as the 1941-55 ending rendition.
  • The high dive scene features Tweety in a twist on the Canyon Fall Gag (landing into a water-filled tub at the bottom of the ladder). It is one of the few intentional executions of such a descent.
  • The cartoon's restored ending card from HBO Max uses the 1959-60 ending card, rather than the original 1955-56 ending card. This error would also be present for the newly restored versions of "Hare Brush" and "Tugboat Granny" as well.

Gallery[]

External Links[]

Preceded by
Sandy Claws
List of Tweety cartoons
1955
Succeeded by
Red Riding Hoodwinked
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