The Gold Silkworms is a 1960 Felix the Cat cartoon and the 44th episode of the Felix the Cat (Joe Oriolo) series.
Rock Bottom is watching TV when he calls Professor to tell him Felix is talking about bugs on it. Felix reveals he's experimenting with insects. He shows off a bunch of them, and then gets to his giant silkworms, which he developed in ten days and is capable of spinning gold thanks to Felix feeding it goldenrods, which makes them spin gold cocoons that are put into an aging room, and then a hatching room, where they become moths to lay eggs for more worms—and then the empty cocoons are melted down into solid gold bricks to help build an orphanage. Professor and Rock are shocked at Felix giving away all that gold to poor kids and resolve to "save him from himself", and they disguise themselves as bugs and go to the aging room. Felix catches them with his bug spray, and threatens to call the police, but Professor grabs some of the gold silk and lassos him up into a cocoon.
Professor and Rock reveal their plan to Felix, and take over the Golden Silkworm concession. Rock throws Felix near the other cocoons, and he and Professor get to work. They observe the process unfolding before them, and Professor orders Rock to lock every door to keep the gold from leaving, and then starts whipping the silkworms to speed up gold production. Felix's cocoon ends up on the conveyor belt and makes it to the hatching room, with the heat from the lamps freeing him from the cocoon. As Professor and Rock look over the piles of gold around them, Felix gets a friendly spider to grab some gold silk, and Felix also sicks some hornets and tumblebugs on them. They get thrashed around by the bugs, and the spider ties them up in its web. Felix laughs as the cartoon irises out.
Tropes:
- Artistic License – Biology: The giant silkworms do not resemble actual silkworms, but look more like typical cartoon flies with yellow bodies. Then after pupating, the adult moths are drawn to look more like butterflies (i.e. with slim bodies and clubbed antennae, compared to moths typically having plump furry bodies and feathery antennae).
- Some Truth in Television is used here, as giant silk moths are indeed large and are colored spectacularly (such as the Luna Moth), but still posses typical moth traits (such as the aforementioned feathery antennae).
- Cartoon Bug-Sprayer: Felix uses one to spray Professor and Rock, mistaking them for outside bugs.
- Visual Pun: One of the bugs Felix has is a "Gypsy Moth" who tells fortunes.
