I Got Plenty of Mutton

I Got Plenty of Mutton
Production company	Leon Schlesinger Productions
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	May 6, 1944
Run time	7:40
Starring	Mel Blanc
Producer(s)	Leon Schlesinger
Music composed by	Carl W. Stalling
Story by	Melvin Millar
Animation	I. Ellis
Director(s)	Frank Tashlin
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Title card

I Got Plenty of Mutton is the eighty-ninth Looney Tunes theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on May 6, 1944. It was written by Melvin Millar, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and directed by Frank Tashlin.

A hungry wolf, deprived of having his meat due to rationing, seeks an opportunity to take a sheepdog's place after the latter leaves his flock for the army. But when he discovers that a ram is standing-in for the sheepdog, he disguises himself as a female sheep in the hopes of luring one.

Memorable quotes

Killer: Ah, mon cheri. Ah, mon precious! Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ah! Where have you been in all my life? (kisses) Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ah! Oh, my sweet. my darleeng! I love you, I love you!

Wolf: Okay, okay. Look, ya dope, look. I'm not a sheep! I'm not a sheep! I'm a wolf! I'm a wolf!
Killer: So what? So am I! Awoooooo!!!

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Wolf	Mel Blanc
Killer Diller	Mel Blanc

Organizations

• The Press

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Wolf's residence
    • Sheep fields
      • Sheepdog's doghouse

Objects

• The Press newspaper
• Bone broth
• Pea
• Female sheep disguise
• Club
• Knife
• Safe
• Anti-aircraft gun

Vehicles

• None

Music

The music was composed by Carl W. Stalling.

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: May 6, 1944 in theatres

Behind the scenes

• The title is a play on "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" by George Gershwin, from his 1935 opera Porgy and Bess.
• Porky Pig and Daffy Duck do not appear in this short, but appear in the opening title cards.
• The MPAA certificate number is 9230.
• The wolf's struggle to get meat serves as commentary to meat rations in the United States during World War II.
• The short contains several gags that could be interpreted as adult-oriented innuendos:
  • The wolf's visual design appears to have some elements of male sexuality, as evident by his skinny frame and pronounced chest.
  • The wolf's disguise is a caricature of actress Dorothy Lamour.
  • Upon taking a first look at the wolf in his sheep disguise, Killer's horns become erect and turn red.
  • Killer, while being snared by the wolf's disguise does an impression of Charles Boyer's French accent.
  • Both Killer and the wolf hide inside of an anti-aircraft gun.

Everlasting influence

• The wolf of this cartoon would appear again in Booby Hatched, also directed by Tashlin.
• According to Greg Ford in a DVD commentary of this short, it contains several elements that would become notable later in Chuck Jones' cartoons:
  • The wolf can be seen a partial basis for Wile E. Coyote in the Road Runner shorts, due to him being skinny and hungry to the point where they're forced to eat scraps.
  • The conflict between the wolf and Killer Diller is similar to the one with Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, although in the case of this short, they are a wolf/ram rivalry.
  • The gag where Killer Diller does a French accent and chases the wolf in disguise could be seen as a basis for the Pepé Le Pew shorts.

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • December 23 1992: MGM/UA Home Video releases The Golden Age of Looney Tunes: Vol. 3 on LaserDisc.
  • November 14, 2006: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 on DVD.