The end of a Looney career for Chuck Jones
Father of the Bird is a 1997 Looney Tunes short starring Sylvester the Cat in one of the few instances where he’s not paired up with another well-established character. It is directed by Stephen A. Fossati (who also worked on the story) and produced by Chuck Jones in what would be his final Looney Tunes production.
While looking for food, Sylvester comes across a little blue bird that has just hatched from an egg who believes that the puddy tat is its mama (and later papa). Despite initially dismissing the bird as a nuisance and believing that it doesn’t make sense for a cat to adopt a bird, he ends up having to try and protect it from harm, only to end up in danger himself.
Tropes that appear in this short:
- Adopt the Food: After going through a lot of trouble and nearly eating it, Sylvester decides to adopt the bird after it calls him “papa”. Much to his annoyance, he ends up having to do the same with a bunch of other little birds that are also calling him “papa”.
- Anvil on Head: After being launched from a telephone line, Sylvester ends up in a construction site where he launches a conveniently placed anvil high in the sky. He expects to get crushed by it immediately, but it doesn't happen and he then turns his attention to trying to get the bird out of a bulldog. It isn’t until Sylvester falls off a train that the anvil finally comes crashing down on him.
- Badly Battered Babysitter: Sylvester is tasked with making sure a baby bird stays safe. He ends up enduring a lot of injuries while the bird escapes unscathed in the process.
- End of an Age: Twofold. Not only would this be the final Looney Tunes project that Chuck Jones worked on, serving as the capstone to a career that started in 1933 when he worked as assistant animator for Termite Terrace, but it’s the final Looney Tunes project to use traditional cel animation.
- Interspecies Adoption: The short ends with Sylvester not only adopting the baby bird, but also several similar-looking and acting birds as well.
- No Name Given: While Sylvester derisively calls the baby bird “Cornbread” at one point, it’s never given a proper name throughout the short.
- Predator Turned Protector: In spite of his initial disbelief of the idea of a cat looking after a bird, he still takes it upon himself to ensure the bird’s safety.
- Railroad Tracks of Doom: Near the end of the cartoon, the baby bird finds itself on a railroad track with Sylvester catching up to it. A train approaches as Sylvester is running towards the baby bird, but instead of getting hit by it, he finds himself on top of the train. Shortly thereafter, Sylvester slams into the entrance of a tunnel and falls off. After getting crushed by the anvil from earlier, another train runs over Sylvester.
- Recycled In Space: It’s basically a Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot cartoon with Sylvester and a baby bird in the respective roles.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: The baby bird who Sylvester has to look after.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Sylvester decides he's had enough of trying to go after the baby bird after all the mishaps he endured doing so and tries to get out of its life. It doesn't last long as the baby bird has taken to calling him "papa".
- Spiritual Antithesis: To Sylvester’s debut short Life with Feathers. Whereas his debut involved him attempting to avoid a suicidal bird that’s trying to force the puddy tat to eat him, this one features Sylvester throwing himself in harm’s way to prevent a baby bird from being harmed despite wanting to eat it earlier.
- Title Drop: At the end of the short:Sylvester: Sufferin' succotash. Me, father of the bird. Preposterous!
