Sylvester shouldn't have taken off his dog mask...
Muzzle Tough is a 1954 Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng and starring Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird.
Granny is moving into a new home, and as Sylvester sleepily watches the movers bring in her stuff, he perks up after noticing a bird cage with Tweety inside. Thinking he's found a free meal, Sylvester follows them inside, only to find Granny's other pet, Hector the bulldog, guarding the premises. To get to the little yellow bird, Sylvester tries various disguises, including a lamp, a bearskin rug, a mover, and finally, a beautiful female dog... which works a little too well.
Tropes present in this short:
- Ass in a Lion Skin: Near the end of the cartoon, Sylvester disguises as a cute female dog to pummel Hector and get to Tweety. A dog catcher ends up capturing him and taking him to the pound.
- Bowdlerization: On ABC, two scenes were cut:
- The scenes of Sylvester disguising himself as a lamp, only to get an electrical shock when Tweety plugs the cat's tail into an outlet, followed by Hector getting zapped as well when he bites down on the cat's tail.
- Granny shooting a pistol at Sylvester, who is hiding in a bearskin rug.
- Comically Missing the Point: At one point, Sylvester tries to catch Tweety by hiding underneath a bearskin rug. Tweety calls for help, and Granny shoots the "attacking bear" with her aforementioned gun, to which Sylvester beats a hasty retreat unseen by Granny as she continues blasting away. Granny then snarls, "You durn, old bear! Playing possum for thirty years!"
- Color Failure: After realizing that he just took off his dog disguise in front of a van full of dogs, Sylvester and his costume turn white before he passes out.
- Downer Ending: At the end, as Sylvester is being taken away to the pound, Tweety thinks he's rid of his nemesis and all other cats for good, only to discover several other cats in the house posing as lamps, all intending to get at Tweety.Tweety: Of course, I could be wrong.
- Expressive Mask: Sylvester's female dog disguise includes a full-head Latex Perfection mask that moves perfectly with his facial features.
- Full-Body Disguise: Sylvester disguises himself as a female dog to pummel Hector in his final attempt to steal Tweety. His costume is so realistic that a dog catcher nabs him!
- Gone Horribly Right: Sylvester's female dog disguise is so convincing that a dog catcher nabs him.
- Lampshade Wearing: Sylvester puts on a lampshade to disguise himself as a lamp to get past Hector. Then Tweety decides to plug in the "lamp" and sticks Sylvester's tail into the outlet.
- Misspelling Out Loud: When Sylvester, disguised as a female dog, gets captured by a dog catcher, he protests that he's not a dog, but a cat in a dog costume, and spells it for emphasis: "K-A-T, cat!"
- Piano Drop: Sylvester disguises himself as one of the moving van employees as a way to get inside to Tweety. Unfortunately, he is given a grand piano to carry all by himself. Tweety helps him find his way upstairs... right out the third-floor window. Sylvester finds himself at the bottom surrounded by the destroyed piano, with the requisite piano keys for teeth.Tweety: Ooh, that wast step was a wuwu!
- This Is Gonna Suck: In his final attempt to get Hector out of the way so he can steal Tweety, Sylvester disguises himself as a female dog and tries to lure him out so he can pummel him, but is caught by the dog catcher. Sylvester demands to be let out, taking off his rubber dog mask, only to be confronted and attacked by a dozen angry dogs. Seeing the predicament he's in, Sylvester turns white and melts down...
