The Leprechaun is a 1960 Felix the Cat cartoon and the 59th episode of the Felix the Cat (Joe Oriolo) series.
Felix is reading the news when his doorbell rings. He invites whoever is there to come in, and an unseen voice asks if he's Felix the investigator. Felix looks down and sees a little man enter the house through a trapdoor. Felix asks why he didn't just use the door, and he says it's bad luck for a leprechaun to go through a door. Felix is amused, and invites the leprechaun to sit down and tell him his troubles. The trapdoor vanishes as the leprechaun sits down. He tells him how last night in the Fairy Ring (a circle of mushrooms), a bunch of his fellow leprechauns were enjoying themselves, when they hear a scream and see a bulldog and short little man with a butterfly net chasing after them, with two of them getting captured by the nets, and more getting caught by rigged traps. Felix asks why they're being targeted, and the leprechaun hands Felix the notice he got—its a ransom note saying that the 15 captured leprechauns will be released if the Chief Leprechaun gives them 15 pots of gold. Felix asks why 15, and the Chief Leprechaun explains that its their law that if a leprechaun gets captured, they have to give up a pot of gold in exchange for freedom. Felix tells him to not pay anything and that he'll help him. Pleased, the Chief Leprechaun leaves through his trapdoor, telling Felix to search through the Fairy Ring. Felix starts investigating with his magnifying glass, but accidentally springs a trap. In a nearby shed, Professor and Rock Bottom are counting money with the hostage leprechauns nearby, when Rock is alerted that his trap has been sprung, and he goes out to grab Felix, now tied up in a net, and brings him back to their hideout. Felix makes a futile threat to arrest them, but Professor just laughs off the threat since the cat is trapped.
Felix calls them out on kidnapping leprechauns, but Professor merely points out that because it's their law, there's nothing illegal about making the leprechauns fork over money for their freedom, and the leprechauns admit he's correct. Felix insists that it's still not right, but Professor retorts that it's very profitable. Outside at the Fairy Ring, another group of leprechauns fell safe because they hear Felix will protect them, but Professor and Rock see them and head off to kidnap them, leaving Felix behind in the shed with the hostages. Felix wonders how to get out of the trap he's in, and one of the leprechauns recommends whistling high and low for their chief. Felix whistles, and the Chief immediately appears, and uses the fire from his pipe to burn the trap, allowing Felix to free the leprechauns, and then run off to save the others from the crooks. Professor and Rock have just finished capturing the other leprechauns with their nets and traps when Felix shows up and immediately unties them. The leprechauns all band together and chase off Professor and Rock. Felix, now wearing a leprechauns hat and holding two four leaf clovers, laughs as the cartoon irises out.
Tropes:
- There Was a Door: Felix tells this to the leprechaun when he enters through the trapdoor.
- Loophole Abuse: While the leprechauns are bound to give up their gold for freedom, it wasn't specified that they had to pay it to the person who captured them, only the one who frees them. Felix takes advantage of this in the end when he frees all the leprechauns.
- Villain Has a Point: Professor may be ethically wrong in kidnapping the leprechauns, but he is right when he points out that the leprechauns are bound by their own law to give him their gold in exchange for freedom. The leprechauns themselves back this up. Fortunately, Felix manages to find a loophole.
