Watch An Itch in Time For Free

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

'An Itch in Time', as with all Looney Tunes cartoons had much potential from the get go.There are many reasons why, with it being directed by Bob Clampett, having music by Carl Stalling, featuring the voices of Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan and that it featured Elmer, always amusing and watchable whose partnership with Bugs is legendary. It was also interesting as to what it would do with a slightly limited concept.Luckily, 'An Itch in Time' works really well and lives up to its potential. For me, its only disappointment is Elmer (looking closer to his familiar character design than his portlier look in his previous cartoons) having very little to do, as a character he's side-lined and too much of a plot-device and his material is not as inspired as that of the flea's and particularly the dog's.On the other hand, the animation as ever is of very well done quality. It's very lush and vibrant in the colours, it's rich and meticulous in background detail and all three characters are drawn well. There are also some really imaginative visuals in the gags, which play a large part as to why they work as well as they do, and the animation of the inside of the dog's fur equally so.Carl Stalling's music score is outstanding, once again a perfect demonstration as to why of the regular Looney Tunes composers he was my personal favourite. The orchestration is so sonically rich and beautiful as well as used so cleverly, it's high voltage in energy and character and it adds so much to what is going on. What Stalling also excelled in was incorporating pre-existing material and putting his own spin on it, here particularly standing out was a wonderfully upbeat "Food Around the Corner" (complete with some very inventive animation).Bob Clampett's direction is delightfully wacky, in a way that only he could be, and what could have easily have been limited material considering the concept turned out to be enormously entertaining. Dialogue is witty, with the dog boasting the best lines, and the gags are hilarious, visually imaginative (especially the dog's reactions) and Clampett's wackiness is apparent constantly in the flea's brutal but thankfully never gratuitously sadistic treatment of the dog.The other two characters carry 'An Itch in Time' strongly. The flea is cute, antagonistic and suitably obnoxious, without being overly so, but it's the dog that steals the show. The voices are spot-on, especially from a supremely talented Mel Blanc once again in multiple roles, particularly colourful as the dog.On the whole, a great Bob Clampett-directed cartoon though another case of the supporting characters making more of an impression than the most famous character. 9/10 Bethany Cox

One of the many Merrie Melodies cartoons that entertained American moviegoers during WWII, Bob Clampett's "An Itch in Time" portrays a hobo flea settling on Elmer Fudd's dog. The little guy turns into a real sadist while making a home on the dog's back, but Elmer warns the dog: "One more scwatch and I'll give you a bath!" Meanwhile, the flea is setting up dynamite on the dog!* And that's not the end! I noticed that in one scene, Elmer is reading a comic book featuring Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig. Obviously, Elmer and Bugs frequently co-starred but Elmer never co-starred with Porky (unless you count the very short "Any Bonds Today?"). But to me, the thought of Elmer reading about these other famous characters from his same genre stresses the metaphysical nature of his world, as though he knew of their existence within his universe even though they don't appear in this cartoon.Of course, I'm probably going too far in my analysis. I'm sure that the cartoon was intended as pure entertainment, and it certainly entertains. As for the "I might get to like this" line, it sounds as though that was something that the censors wouldn't have allowed but somehow missed; I, for one, don't actually know what it was supposed to sound like. Was it something sexual? As for the end, had I thought that I'd seen everything, I would have been tempted to look for more, rather than do what the cat did (although it was a neat trick).*The guys behind these cartoons sure had a thing for TNT, didn't they?

Wonderfully directed by Bob Clampett, "An Itch in Time" is an entertaining Warner Bros. cartoon that is quite full of the kind of elaborate sight gags one would expect from Clampett. (He was, after all, the man who put the word "looney" in Looney Tunes.) The plot concerns a pesty little hillbilly flea with a voracious appetite. After spotting Elmer Fudd's dog, the flea believes he has just found his next meal.There are several memorable scenes from "An Itch in Time" that I shall now relate. First off, how could anybody forget the delightful little song "There'll Be Food around the Corner," sung repeatedly by the flea in his high-pitched voice? With the aid of a telescope in search of food, the flea stumbles upon a close-up of the dog's rump and lets out a wolf whistle! Elmer's flea powder sprinklings on the dog turn out to be a snowstorm for the flea. When Elmer catches his cat scratching the dog, both pets quite humorously cower in front of him (with a great sound effect) and helplessly look upward at him with large eyes. When Elmer and the dog slip on a bar of soap, they both respectively resemble Santa Claus and a reindeer as they are covered with soap bubbles. Even the sight of Elmer laughing at a Looney Tunes comic book is memorable! "An Itch in Time" can be found on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3, with a very entertaining audio commentary by Warner Bros. animator Bill Melendez and contemporary animator John Kricfalusi. If I only had one concern for this film, I really feel that it was not necessary for the cat to shoot himself in the head at the very end after being a witness to all of Bob Clampett's craziness.

`An Itch In Time' is one of a string of home runs Bob Clampett hit for WB in the early 1940s, including `Horton Hatches The Egg' and `Tortoise Wins By A Hare.' Soaked in manic timing and exaggerated mayhem, it's basically the saga of a flea who's busy breaking ground for a new home, and the dog whose ground is being broken. Because master Elmer will give him a dreaded flea bath if he so much as scratches, the unlucky canine is forced to endure an upward spiral of torment as the homesteading flea uses pick-axes and power tools to clear the `land.' Ultimately, the little monster lights the fuse to a small mountain of high explosives he's piled onto his victim's backside! There's a tremendous explosion, and the hapless pooch covers his eyes as his rear end erupts in a blazing Fourth of July display! That really has to hurt, and the dog takes flight, but soon he stops the action and says with a merry smile, `You guys better cut it out, 'cause I think I'm starting to like it!' For years this kinky confession was censored, but current prints have restored the clip, so now viewers can enjoy it in its original devilish glory. Still cut, however, is the closing gag in which the cat blows his brains out after he laments, `Now I've seen everything!' This was a common gag at WB, but it has since been purged from this cartoon and several others, including `Horton.'