The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries

The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation which aired from 1995[2] to 2000 on Kids' WB. The final episode, containing the segments "The Tail End" and "This Is the End", never aired on Kids' WB, and remained unaired until December 13, 2002, when the show aired in reruns on Cartoon Network.[3][4] 52 episodes were produced.[5]

The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries
Created byTom Minton
James T. Walker
Based onLooney Tunes
Developed byFay Whitemountain
Directed byJames T. Walker
Karl Toerge
Lenord Robinson
Al Zegler
Charles Visser
Robert Alvarez (timing)
StarringJoe Alaskey
June Foray
Frank Welker
Theme music composerRichard Stone[1]
Composer(s)J. Eric Schmidt
Gordon Goodwin
Richard Stone
Cameron Patrick
Steve Bernstein
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)Jean MacCurdy
Producer(s)Tom Minton
James T. Walker
Michael R. Gerard (Season 1)
Running time22 minutes
Production company(s)Warner Bros. Animation
DistributorWarner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original networkKids' WB
Original releaseSeptember 9, 1995 (1995-09-09) 
December 13, 2002 (2002-12-13)

Plot

The show follows Looney Tunes characters Sylvester and Tweety, and their owner Granny, along with bulldog Hector (Mr Bees) (who appeared in several cartoons alongside Tweety, Sylvester and Granny but was in the series given a new design similar to that of Marc Antony), as they solved mysteries, even with Sylvester still trying to eat Tweety in the middle of solving the mysteries, but Hector acted as a bodyguard for Tweety, and would even beat Sylvester up (usually out of shot, but sometimes behind a blind). The first season was dedicated to the memory of Friz Freleng, Warner Bros. animator and the original creator of the Sylvester and Tweety pairing. Freleng had died of natural causes at age 88 only months before the series premiere. Originally, the series during the first season consisted one case per episode, meaning a full-length story. Starting with the second season, the series now consists of two 11-minute stories, meaning two cases per half-hour.

Other Looney Tunes characters make cameo appearances, including Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, the Tasmanian Devil, Pepé Le Pew, Beaky Buzzard, Babbit and Catstello, Hubie and Bertie, Foghorn Leghorn, Witch Hazel, Michigan J. Frog, Rocky and Mugsy, Marvin the Martian, Hippety Hopper, Gossamer, Count Blood Count, Sam Sheepdog, Cecil Turtle, Nasty Canasta, the Crusher, Pete Puma, Merlin the Magic Mouse, the Goofy Gophers, Hugo the Abominable Snowman, and latter-day Warner cartoon star Cool Cat who appears in some form in most of the episodes. Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner do not appear in this series. However, Colonel Rimfire, Cool Cat's nemesis, did appear in the series.

The final episode of the series never aired on Kids' WB (in which, after decades of trying, Sylvester finally succeeded in eating Tweety, but it turns out to be a dream), but did air on Cartoon Network in 2002.[6]

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
113September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09)February 17, 1996 (1996-02-17)
28September 7, 1996 (1996-09-07)February 22, 1997 (1997-02-22)
313September 13, 1997 (1997-09-13)May 16, 1998 (1998-05-16)
413September 19, 1998 (1998-09-19)May 1, 1999 (1999-05-01)
55September 18, 1999 (1999-09-18)December 13, 2002 (2002-12-13)[7]

Characters

  • Sylvester (voiced by Joe Alaskey) – Sylvester acts as narrator throughout the episodes, and continually tries to devour Tweety for his supper, though he is always thwarted by Hector or Tweety's craftiness. Despite their never-ending feud, the pair manage to get along for the most part, and Sylvester will defend Tweety when someone else tries to harm the canary. Sylvester also unwittingly discovers many clues, claiming as the narrator to have knowledge of the case (though this is probably bluster). Besides chasing Tweety, Sylvester often explores the surroundings, leading him to sometimes be in awkward situations (i.e. being chased by a male cousin of Pepe Le Pew, Pitu Le Pew or using Granny's umbrella to pierce a villain's blimp). Through these situations, the baritone and tenor singing, lisping Tuxedo cat endures all manner of pain and suffering, but comes out none the worse for wear. Sylvester is allergic to wool and is jealous of Tweety.
  • Tweety (voiced by Joe Alaskey) – A cute but sadistic yellow canary. Tweety is often trying to escape Sylvester by foiling him through either his flying, clever timing, or his bodyguard, Hector. Tweety usually stays with Granny and is responsible for some major clues. Despite his feud with Sylvester, the pair will team up if Granny is threatened and can work together very well. Tweety also serves as a source of ironic humor at times, usually in reference to Sylvester's foiled attempts to eat him. The show also harks back to Tweety's earlier shorts by Bob Clampett (in fact, Tweety meets his old self in the episode Seeing Double, depicted as a separate character called Orson, Tweety's prototype) and he is not above malice towards "dat bad old putty tat".
  • Granny (voiced by June Foray) – A practical old fashioned world-renowned detective, Granny travels the globe with Sylvester and Tweety, attending events such as races or canary contest and is often called upon by the locals to solve a crime. However, there have been attempts to frame Granny, causing some difficulty in finding clues. She is overprotective of Tweety, and will not hesitate to give Sylvester a good whack on the head. She sometimes calls upon the cat to investigate clues or defend the group while they sleep, though, showing signs of obvious trust. Granny is good natured mostly, but can become stern. With Granny as the main detective of the show, she bears similarity to Miss Marple.
  • Hector (Mr Bees) (voiced by Frank Welker) – Granny's pet bulldog and Tweety's bodyguard. Hector keeps Sylvester from eating the canary and will often beat him up if he gets in his way. Hector will defend Granny, Tweety or even Sylvester if threatened, but is not above stealing food or trying to please others.

Home media

On September 9, 2008, Warner Home Video released The Complete First Season of The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries on DVD in Region 1. This release comes exactly 13 years since the premiere of the show. No further DVD releases have been announced.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 13 September 9, 2008

Awards and nominations

The series was nominated multiple times for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category Special Class Animated Program. The series won two Annie Award in the category of voice acting for June Foray in the role of Granny.

References

  1. "BMI - Repertoire Search". archive.is. 10 April 2013. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013.
  2. Mendoza, N.F. (October 22, 1995). "WB Raises the Animation Ante". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  3. "Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries: The Tail End / This Is the End - TV Tome". web.archive.org. 27 April 2004.
  4. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 819–820. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  5. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 306. ISBN 9781476672939.
  6. TV.com. "Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries: The Tail End / This Is the End". TV.com.
  7. "The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries (a Titles and Air Dates Guide)". Web.archive.org. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
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