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The mid-20th century is remembered as being America's golden era of animation, when the famous Looney Tunes cartoon characters were born. Warner Bros studios launched Looney Tunes in 1930, introducing many comic characters in a series of short cartoons.

Inspired by Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies musical cartoons, Tweety and Sylvester, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Road Runner, Foghorn Leghorn and Pepé Le Pew were some of their early characters who went on to become household names.

From humble beginnings, producing short animated films, Looney Tunes has grown into a global brand, with a $3 billion franchise that includes full-length movies, TV series, comic books, musical albums, video games and theme park rides.

Tweety and Sylvester

Innocent and trusting canary Tweety and wily cat Sylvester are two of the most enduring Looney Tunes characters. Created by cartoonist Friz Freleng in May 1939, Sylvester’s appearance evolved over the years into the black and white anthropomorphic feline we know today. He has appeared in more than 100 cartoons to date.

The determined cat always has some scheme in mind to catch Tweety, but he's the loser in every situation. Speaking with his trademark lisp, Sylvester's prone to ranting when he complains, with his trademark catchphrase being "Sakes!" - meaning, "For goodness' sake!"

Tweety's full name is Tweety Pie, but originally, he was known as Tweety Bird when cartoonist Bob Clampett created him in November 1941. The small, yellow bird with the large head and eyes was redesigned by Freleng in 1945 into the fluffy canary people know and love.

The cat and the bird first appeared briefly on screen together on 3rd May 1947, in an Academy Award-winning short cartoon, Tweetie Pie, with his name spelled differently. Sylvester was called Thomas in the cartoon, based on being a tomcat.

Both the bird and the cat looked different in their first cartoon. Tweety was also more aggressive and savvy and was a match for the cat when they pitted their wits against each other.

Bad Ol' Putty Tat!

The famous duo transformed into the characters we know today in their next outing together, the short animated film, Bad Ol' Putty Tat, released on 23rd July 1949. The bird's character, originally created by Clampett, had become more naive and vulnerable by this time.

His birdhouse was at the top of a tall wooden pole, with a "do not disturb" sign outside. Barbed wire spiralled up the pole to protect him and Sylvester injured himself while trying to scale it. Determined as ever, Sylvester tries again to get to Tweety's house by bouncing high on a trampoline, but the fluffy little bird fights back - with the help of a stick of dynamite!

Sylvester then tries a different tack and disguises his finger as a female Tweety bird to try and lure his prey out. However, Tweety is smart, realises he's being tricked and ends up getting the foolish cat to bite his own finger!

Frustrated, Sylvester turns Tweety into a badminton shuttlecock in a makeshift game - but the cat is blown up by another stick of dynamite! Finally, the cat builds a new birdhouse as a trap and fools Tweety into walking in, but once again, Sylvester comes worse off, injuring himself by crashing into a brick wall. Whatever he does, all his plans to catch Tweety are foiled.

Character development

During the era known as the golden age of animation, which concluded in 1962, Tweety and Sylvester appeared in 46 cartoons together. The premise remained the same - the cat tried to catch the bird, but an obstacle always stood in his way. However, the plot never became boring, because the clever animation and slapstick humour kept kids excited to see what would happen next.

Tweety moved from his outdoor home into his gilded birdcage in Granny's living room. She was Tweety's protector, along with her bulldog, Hector, sometimes accompanied by other bulldogs. On occasion, other cats would be after Tweety, but even though they thwarted Sylvester's efforts, they didn't catch the bird either. Tweety's famous catchphrase was, "I tawt I taw a puddy tat! I did, I taw a puddy tat!"

Whatever devious plan Sylvester dreams up, of course, Tweety survives, although he can be a little naïve, initially falling for some of the cat's ruses – perhaps if Sylvester invested in some trainers he’d have a bit better luck!

Voices

Different actors have provided Sylvester and Tweety Pie's voices over the years, but amazingly, American comedian, radio personality and voice actor Mel Blanc provided the vocals for BOTH characters from 1945 until 1989!

Blanc enjoyed a 60-year career, over which time he provided the voices of some of Hollywood's most famous cartoon characters including Road Runner, the Tasmanian Devil, Foghorn Leghorn, Wile E Coyote, Pepé Le Pew and many more. He provided their voices until his death in 1989, at the age of 81.

His demise left a huge gap in the franchise, as he voiced so many of the Loony Tunes. In the past three decades, two other actors, Joe Alaskey and Jeff Bergman, have each provided Tweety and Sylvester's voices, sharing the honours with a multitude of other voice actors over the years.

Since 2018, Canadian-born comedian and animation artist Eric Bauza, 40, has been the voice of the bird and the cat. Their most recent appearance has been in the US animated web TV series Looney Tunes Cartoons, beginning in May 2020.

They are also set to star in a new Warner Bros' film planned for 2021, Space Jam: A New Legacy, which mixes live action with animation. The long-awaited sequel to the 1996 film Space Jam will feature many NBA players in cameo appearances, including the Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson and the Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis. The planned release date is 16th July.