"Cats and Bruises" was a 1965 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng and an uncredited Hawley Pratt.
The Cinco de Mayo festival is in full swing in one of the town squares. Among the dancing and partying mice is, of course, Speedy Gonzales. Sylvester the cat decides to crash the party by donning some mouse ears (making him appear to be a giant mouse), but the fun is short-lived as Speedy figures him out almost immediately.
Between a chase into a dog pound, a butterfly net, an inflatable raft, a makeshift catapult, and a hot rod (which he forgot to put brakes on), things go as well as they usually do for the poossy gato.
While he would appear in two more cartoons, it is notable for being the final classic-era cartoon in which Sylvester has a speaking part.
Tropes appearing in this cartoon:
- Anvil on Head: The 500-lb weight Sylvester uses to propel himself up to the window ledge where Speedy is with his female companion. His success in grabbing and running off with him is short-lived, though, as the weight closes in on his skull like a Homing Boulder.
- Girls Like Musicians: An unnamed senorita in a rowboat date and on a balcony with Speedy. Complete with Standard Snippet.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Those Mickey Mouse-type ears Sylvester uses to get in on the fun don't fool the revelers for long, least of all Speedy, who sounds the alarm.
- Pun-Based Title: A play on "cuts and bruises." It's not far off the mark, especially given Sylvester's wheelchair and bandages in the final scene.
- Recycled Animation: "Canary Row," "Dog Pounded," "A Pizza Tweety Pie," "Here Today, Gone Tamale," and "The Pied Piper Of Guadalupe" all get some action here.
- Seesaw Catapult: The plank that Sylvester balances over a box and uses the weight to propel himself onto.
