Cartoon a Day: Heaven Scent

Heaven Scent
1956
Directed by Chuck Jones
Available on: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 6

It's about time Pepe Le Pew made an appearance here on "Cartoon a Day." Pepe is a favorite character for many, but if I am reading things correctly, he only appeared in 16 shorts.

The premise of the Pepe films are almost all the same. A cat somehow gets a white stripe down her tail and ends up being pursued by the lovestruck Pepe. In "Heaven Scent," the cat purposely paints the stripe in order to escape the nasty dogs of the neighborhood.

This isn't the greatest of the Pepe films, but it has several elements that work very well. The character of Pepe just seems to exist in his own world. He is completely oblivious to the fact that his advances are not wanted, or that he stinks. The way he walks, or more accurately the way he bounds, has always cracked me up. It's just another element that brings you into his little world where he is the most desired creature on the planet.

I think the backgrounds also help bring you into his world. They are done in a unique style. Lots of thin lines, blobs of color and odd angles. It's similar to what can be seen in some of the later Road Runner shorts, also directed by Chuck Jones. The backgrounds are this sort of romanticised view of Pepe's surroundings. It's like they are not reality, but what he sees in his mind.