Birds Anonymous

This article is about the theatrical short. For the organization, see Birds Anonymous.

Birds Anonymous
Lobby card.
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	August 10, 1957
Run time	7:00
Starring	Mel Blanc
Producer(s)	Edward Selzer
Music composed by	Milt Franklyn
Story by	Warren Foster
Animation	Art Davis Virgil Ross Gerry Chiniquy
Director(s)	Friz Freleng
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Title card

Birds Anonymous is the four-hundredth and twenty-seventh Merrie Melodies theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on February 28, 1957. It was written by Edward Selzer, and directed by Friz Freleng.

After joining a group known as Birds Anonymous, Sylvester makes a promise to the other cats that he would not eat a single bird. However, certain temptations result in him starting to lose over his addiction of eating Tweety.

Memorable quotes

Clarence: I wouldn't do that if I were you. If I were you, I put him back. It can only lead to self-destruction. It only takes one bird to start you, and before you know it, it's two birds, then three. Suddenly, without realizing it. You're the victim. Then one day, the end of the road. If you want to beat this, look us up. We will help you.

Sylvester: Fellow memberths. from now on, my motto iths "birdths itsh strictly for the birdths!"

Tweety: Oh, Mr. Puddy Tat. Don't you like me anymore?
Sylvester: I... I... I think... I think... I think you're... I think you're... DELICIOUTHS!

Sylvester: One little bird... Just one... Just one... No one will know the difference... No one, no one! Just one! Then I'll quit. I'll quit after one. Just one! Yeah! JUST ONE! I'll get one little bird! Just one! One, one!

Tweety: Like I said before, once a bad ol' puddy tat, always a bad ol' puddy tat!

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Sylvester	Mel Blanc
Tweety	Mel Blanc
Clarence	Mel Blanc

Organizations

• Birds Anonymous

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Sylvester's apartment
    • Halligan's Alley

Vehicles

• None

Production

Second lobby card.

Music

The music was composed by Milt Franklyn.

Crew credits

• Layouts: Hawley Pratt
• Backgrounds Boris Gorelick
• Film editor: Treg Brown

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: August 10, 1957 in theatres

Behind the scenes

• The title and its titular organization are a parody of Alcoholics Anonymous.
• The MPAA certificate number is 18063

Everlasting influence

• The short was featured in the third and final act of The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, during the Oswald Awards ceremony.
• Although initially unnamed, the red cat who appears in this short would be retroactively named Clarence in modern Looney Tunes comics, namely the DC Comics run.

Critical reception

In The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons, Shannon K. Garrity writes, "Mel Blanc's amazing vocal performances — it was reputedly the Warner Bros. short of which he was proudest — rank high among the many joys of this lovingly crafted, hilariously self-aware cartoon. Freleng and his team went all out to give Birds Anonymous a film noir look, with dramatic camera angles drawn by layout artist Hawley Pratt and moody backgrounds by Boris Gorelick... Above all, Birds Anoymous [sic] satirizes Warner Bros. cartoons themselves. The structure of the standard Sylvester and Tweety cartoon — and all chase cartoons — is threatened by Sylvester's resolution to walk away from the conflict and be a better cat. In the Looney Tunes world, of course, this can't be allowed."

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient	Result
Academy Award	March 26, 1958	Best Animated Short Film	Edward Selzer	Won

In other languages

Language	Name	Meaning

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • October 25, 2005: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 on DVD.
  • November 30, 2010: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Super Stars' Tweety & Sylvester: Feline Fwenzy on DVD.
  • August 12, 2014: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3 on Blu-ray.