Pizzicato Pussycat

Pizzicato Pussycat is a 1955 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Friz Freleng.^[1] The short was released on January 1, 1955.^[2]

Pizzicato Pussycat
Directed by	I. Freleng
Story by	Warren Foster
Produced by	Edward Selzer
Starring	Mel Blanc Marian Richman Norman Nesbitt
Narrated by	Norman Nesbitt
Edited by	Treg Brown
Music by	Milt Franklyn
Animation by	Virgil Ross Manuel Perez
Layouts by	Hawley Pratt
Backgrounds by	Richard H. Thomas
Color process	Color
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	January 1, 1955 (1955-01-01)
Running time	7:20
Language	English

Plot

Mr. and Mrs. Jones, a suburban couple, are puzzled by mysterious piano music in their home, long after their daughter's toy piano vanished. The music is revealed to come from the toy piano, played by a mouse. The Joneses' pet cat initially wants to prey on the mouse, but the mouse strikes a deal with the cat, promising a piano performance in exchange for his life. The cat hides the mouse and toy piano in the real piano while she pretends to play, deceiving the Joneses. Mrs. Jones calls the press, and media frenzy ensues, with scientists baffled by the cat's musical talent despite scans revealing her brain to be peanut-sized. Contracts are signed for public performances, culminating in a disastrous show at Carnegie Hall when the cat presses one of the piano's keys leading to the piano hammer inadvertently breaking the mouse's glasses, thus hindering his ability to read the notes. Exposed as a fraud, the cat and mouse revert to their usual antics until they bond over jazz music with the cat realizing that she is talented with the drums, and the mouse being inspired to play the piano with her as a duet. Upon seeing the recent events, Mrs. Jones decides to call the press again, but Mr. Jones objects, unwilling to go through the same hassle again. The couple keep the extraordinary animals a secret and enjoy the music to themselves.

Music

• "Waltz Op. 64 No. 1 in D flat major" aka "Minute Waltz" by Frédéric Chopin
• "Crazy Rhythm" by Joseph Meyer and Roger Wolfe Kahn
• "Me-ow" by Mel B. Kaufman
• "Home Sweet Home" aka "There's No Place Like Home", by H.R. Bishop
• "Liebestraum No. 3" by Franz Liszt
• "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14" by Franz Liszt