"Tweetie Pie" is a 1947 Looney Tunes cartoon, starring Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird. It was the first time that Sylvester and Tweety starred together, although each had appeared in previous Looney Tunes shorts.
In this one, as usual, Sylvester—actually called "Thomas"—is trying to eat Tweety. Syl—uh, "Thomas" first catches Tweety outside on a cold, snowy day, but Tweety is saved by Thomas's owner, an attractive young woman (as opposed to the elderly Granny from the later shorts). The woman takes pity on cute little Tweety and takes him inside. Thomas constructs several elaborate towers to get to Tweety's cage, which is hanging on the ceiling. Tweety always cuts them down, however, and Thomas's owner whacks him with a broom for trying to eat Tweety. Eventually, Thomas constructs an elaborate Rube Goldberg trap with which to lure Tweety out of his cage.
"Tweetie Pie" was directed by Friz Freleng. Won the 1947 Oscar for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, the first Looney Tunes short to earn the award and breaking MGM's four-win streak with Tom and Jerry.
"Tweetie Pie" provides examples of:
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Sylvester is called "Thomas" for starters. Also, he's mute, save for the occasional "ouch!", and he occasionally yowls like a real cat.
- The Faceless: The face of Sylvester's owner is never seen.
- Harmless Villain: Sylvester, as usual.
- Oh, Crap!: Sylvester when Tweety pulls out a needle to poke his palm with after the cat manages to trap him in a cup.
- Rube Goldberg Device: After repeatedly failing to climb to Tweety's birdcage, Sylvester builds an elaborate Rube Goldberg device to lure Tweety out of his cage and drop a bowling ball on his head. Somehow, the bowling ball falls on Sylvester's head.
- Running Gag: The owner whacking Sylvester with a broom for trying to eat Tweety. The short ends with Sylvester throwing the owner's broom into the fire, only for Tweety to start whacking him with a shovel.
- Spell My Name With An S: The title spells his name as "Tweetie Pie", but later shorts would spell it as "Tweety Pie".
