The Trip Back From The North Pole is a 1961 Felix the Cat cartoon and the 117th episode of the Felix the Cat (Joe Oriolo) cartoons.
The episode starts with a zookeeper reading a letter from Felix, saying he's on the way with a walrus, but had a little trouble with hijackers who are now in jail. Up North, Professor and Rock are freezing their butts off in an igloo prison, but they quickly realize that the prison they're in has flimsy icicle bars, and they break free so they can go after Felix and collect the 10,000$ reward he will get the walrus he has. Meanwhile, Felix and Walter Walrus are riding a fan propelled ice sled, and the big guy gets hungry. Felix decides to stop and go fishing, sawing a hole in the ice and nabbing the walrus some fish. Felix tries to fish one for himself, but he sees some polar bears nearby, and hopes they won't bother him—only for one of them to nab him and reveal that they're Professor and Rock in disguise. They throw Felix in the fishing hole, and Felix calls for Walter to help, but he's already asleep from all the fish he ate. Professor gives Felix some bubblegum to chew on, and they shove Felix underwater and seal off the hole in the ice, intending to drown him. Felix struggles to get out, but gets creative by using the bubblegum he got to create a makeshift helmet, and swims off. Meanwhile, Professor and Rock have hijacked the sled and are on their way to sell the walrus to the zoo.
Felix continues swimming, scaring a fish with his bubblegum helmet. He ponders how to get out of the ice, and sees a sawfish nearby, using it to cut open a hole in the ice sheet. Felix sees the tracks the sled has left, and turns the sheet of ice he cut into a makeshift sled so he can slide after the crooks. Up ahead, Rock and Professor encounter a mountain of ice that the sled can't cross, and are forced to carry the walrus over it. Professor climbs up the slope to show Rock it's easy, but slips and slides back down. Just then, Rock sees Felix heading their way, and the cat plows through him on his ice sled. Professor chastises Felix for knocking over Rock, but points out that he's trapped and that nobody can get over the ice mountain. Felix hops on his sled and gets creative—he pushes a button that turns the propeller on his sled into a rotor, making it into a helicopter. Felix leaves Professor and Rock and flies away with the sleeping Walter Walrus, laughing as the episode irises out.
Tropes:
- Cardboard Prison: Professor and Rock are trapped in an igloo in the arctic. Once Professor realizes the bars are made out of ice as well, he orders Rock to whip out his pickaxe and break them free.
- Deus ex Machina: Felix's propeller sled abruptly gets the ability to become a helicopter in the ending.
- Full-Body Disguise / Latex Perfection: Professor and Rock Bottom's polar bear disguises, even though they are brown instead of white.
