|
Gay Purr-ee
UPA / Warner Brothers, 1962 (Color, 86 minutes)
Charming animated feature about a country cat (Mewsette) who runs away from the farm to find romance, culture and excitement in the big city (Paris). Her boyfriend (Jaune Tom) and his buddy (Robespierre) figure out where
she's gone and chase after her. But before they can find her, she meets a villain cat (Meowrice) and his partner in crime (Mme. Rubens-Chatte) who want to glamorize her and sell her to Mr. Phttt who lives in Pittsburg and who wants to buy a wife. They
lead Mewsette to believe that they are going to teach her how to be sophisticated and glamorous. Jaune Tom and Robespierre eventually arrive in Paris, but have no idea where to begin looking for Mewsette. Will Jaune Tom be able to rescue Mewsette before
she's shipped to America?
|
|
Crew
Executive Producer: Henry G. Saperstein
Associate Producer: Lee Orgel
Production Manager: Earl Jonas
Directed by: Abe Levitow
Written by: Dorothy & Chuck Jones
Additional Dialogue: Ralph Wright
Music by:
Lyrics by:
Music Arranged and Conducted by: Mort Lindsey
Vocal Arranger: Joseph J. Lilley
Production Design: Robert Singer, Richard Ung, "Corny" Cole, Ray Aragon, Edward Levitt, Ernest Nordli
Art Director: Victor Harboush
Animation: Ben Washam, Phil Duncan, Hal Ambro, Ray Patterson, Grant Simmons, Irv Spence, Don Lusk, Hank Smith, Harvey Toombs, Volus Jones, Ken Harris, Art Davis, Fred Madison
Sequence Director: Steve Clark
Music Editors: George Probert, Wayne Hughes
Camera: Roy Hutchcroft, Dan Miller, Jack Stevens, Duane Keegan
Filmed in Technicolor
Editorial Supervision: Ted Baker
Editors: Sam Horta, Earl Bennett
Filmed: Judy's part recorded in November 1961 (Judy was 39 years old)
Released: November 1962
|
|
Cast
... voice of Mewsette
... voice of Jaune Tom
... voice of Robespierre
... voice of Meowrice
... voice of Mme. Rubens-Chatte
with
... Narrator and voice of Sleeping Cat at train station
... voice of Bulldog
... Vocals
|
|
Musical Program
[0:00] : "Take My Hand, Paree" (excerpt sung by Judy Garland) / "Mewsette" (excerpt sung by Chorus) / "Little Drops of
Rain" (sung by Judy Garland) / "Paris Is a Lonely Town" (sung by Judy Garland) / "Roses Red, Violets Blue (sung by Judy Garland and Chorus)
[0:04] (sung by Robert Goulet)
[0:10] (sung by Judy Garland)
[0:21] (sung by Judy Garland)
[0:30] (sung by Paul Frees and The Mellow Men)
[0:37] (sung by Paul Frees)
[0:46] (sung by Robert Goulet, Red Buttons and The Mellow Men)
[0:51] (sung by Judy Garland)
[0:53] (sung by Judy Garland)
[1:11] (sung by Judy Garland)
[1:23] (sung by Robert Goulet, Judy Garland and Chorus)
|
|
Notes
Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg (who gave us "Over the Rainbow", among many other great songs), wrote the songs for Gay Purr-ee. Harburg had this to say about Judy: "Judy is still a fast learner. When Harold Arlen and I
worked with her on the score for Gay Purr-ee, she sat down at the piano with Harold and began singing along. She was almost a line ahead of him. She is so attuned, has such an affinity for music and lyrics, you don't have to tell Judy
anything."
Gay Purr-ee was Judy's only animated film.
See for purchasing information.
See for more information on this and other classic films.
|
|
Critical Response
The little cat who is the heroine of this improbable feature-length animated cartoon is named Mewsette. She comes to the big city (Purr-ee) where she meets the evil Meowrice, a shabby tabby if ever there was one. He takes
her to the Mewlon Rouge, and the Felines-Bergere, and shows her Meowmartre, but he is a vile cat-napper, and means to mail Mewsette off to some old fat cat in Pittsburgh. (Why not the Cat's Kills, or Kitty Hawk, or Katonah, or even Pussburgh?) But
Meowrice is foiled by Mewsette's old swain from the farm, and it ends purrfectly blissfully.
The visual style is van Gogh out of Magoo. There are songs with lines like 'The chestnut, the willow, the colors of Utrillo', voiced with varying competence by Judy Garland and Robert Goulet. There seems to be an effort to reach a hitherto undiscovered
audience - the fey four-year-old of recherche taste."
- Newsweek
|
|
Supplemental Material
(more coming!)
|
|
Visitor Reviews
Gay Puree is a hit! It was time for Judy to act when you couldn't even see her! Many other people can do voices but she showed them all! I loved the movie! But of course, their are some things I do like, and some things I
don't like about this picture. Some things I did like were how Judy can sing and do a voice for a cat that sings. Plus, Judy voice went right with Musettte's Voice. I can understand talking, but singing! She must of had a lot of practicing to do to make
her singing match with Musette's mouth! Also another thing about her singing. Her performence of "Little Drops of Rain" was sensational! It was a very smooth performence. Not just that song but all the other songs she sang were some of the best singing
I've ever heard from her. Also her acting was also wonderful.
The only thing I didn't like about this picture is the art in the Farm part of the movie. I thought that some of the drawings when the story took place at the farm looked like a child's drawing. Besides that the film was marvelous. The Art, Singing, and
acting were all wonderful. It would be rated by me as a four out a 5 star film. Which is a pretty good recomendation! So go out to the store and buy one of the greatest Cartoon Movies of all time!
- Review by John
|
|
|
