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Masterful Cinema

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

. . . the "Fly a Cat Game" by this vintage Warner Bros. Looney Tune. With its imperative title--GO FLY A KIT--and a narrator as authoritative as any of a Disney Nature Documentary, KIT's virtually hypnotic demand to send a cat flying--the younger the better--is said to be responsible for more than 75% of such flings, a study by CMU Feline Flight Researchers recently revealed. The eagle-reared protagonist of this story (commonly misidentified as Pussyfoot by second-rate Looney Tune authorities) is able to navigate the sky using the Humingbird Principle (that is, a little tail swishing combined with a lot of Faith). Though the flashback part of this cartoon makes it clear that the Flying Kit's Aerodynamic Abilities are Nurture--NOT Nature--this tale's conclusion proves that they can be taught to the Next Generation. It's this Final Fact which probably is most responsible for inspiring the World's Youth to experiment over the past half dozen decades with their own private Feline Frisbees. On the one hand, this has caused the parents of large families no end of relief that this episode is about a Flying Kitten--NOT a Human Baby Flightmaster. However, this small mercy still leaves the planet's cat lovers aghast.

"Go Fly a Kit" is a very cute, yet somewhat strange, Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. Pussyfoot the kitten has been adopted by an eagle and has learned to fly using his tail. Once he grows up and makes his way in the world, he rescues a female kitty from being chased by Marc Anthony the bulldog.There is unfortunately not a whole lot of humor in "Go Fly a Kit," but here are a few amusing highlights. Pussyfoot lands on a telephone wire, where he confuses three crows who keep head-butting themselves. Marc Anthony accidentally chews on his own leg, then whimpers as he kisses it; Pussyfoot then lands on Marc Anthony's head, hence the frustrated canine repeatedly whacks his own head with a club. And watch Marc Anthony's facial expression when he realizes that the upside-down trash can with which he traps Pussyfoot is flying! "Go Fly a Kit" is not the funniest Warner Bros. cartoon by any means, but it IS worth taking a look at for its cuteness. You can find it on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4.

When I took a class about Alfred Hitchcock's movies, we talked about how a really good device in movies is when you can tell a story without words. While Chuck Jones's "Go Fly a Kit" has some narration, it consists mostly of imagery, and not surprisingly comes out very well because of that.The cartoon tells the story of a cat adopted by a mother eagle. She teaches him to fly, and after initially plummeting off the cliff, he realizes that he can twirl his tail around to achieve aviation. Well, like all children eventually must do, he has to leave home so as to make his own way in life. That's when he lands on a telephone wire and sees a bulldog chasing a female cat. So, our feline hero springs into action in a manner that I never would have imagined.I have to say that I really consider this one of the cartoons that only Chuck Jones could pull off. Aside from the facial expressions - ranging from bittersweet to zany - some of the POV shots are nearly mystifying. It just goes to show that there will probably never be another director like Chuck Jones (at least not our lifetime). I recommend this one.

Mild spoilersA love of cats appears to be the driving force behind many of Chuck Jones' greatest cartoons, and here Jones and Michael Maltese give a strong aerial angle that once again proves their mastery of compelling story-telling.An airport coffee vendor (Daws Butler) explains to a waiting passenger (Mel Blanc) the relationship between a red-furred female cat and a mysterious feline known as a flying cat. In flashback we learn of the gestation of the flying cat, an orphan cat adopted by an elderly female eagle whose own chicks have grown and left the nest. The cat and the eagle love each other like true mother and son, and the cat tries to fly - leading to one of Jones' funniest/tenderest scenes; the cat falling down the thousand-foot precipice trying to fly and the horrified eagle rushing to save him, until he uses his tail to make him fly. The cat POV shot of the mother eagle plunging earthward upon seeing her adopted son now flying, and then flattening out of the dive and soaring back upward, is a triumph not only of humorous and believable charm, but of realistic animation. The eagle claps at her adopted son's triumph, and beams to the audience in typical Jones fashion.Eventually, however, the flying cat must leave the nest - this brief scene, the cat and the eagle waving goodbye amid a magnificent sunset, reaches to the heart as well as to the discerning eye approving the artistic power of the background. The short's mood then shifts as the cat lands on a wire and drives three surprised crows to bang each other's heads, before spotting a female cat (the red cat) being pursued by a ferocious bulldog. The flying cat thus bears his claws and the real struggle of the film is on, highlighted by Jones' use of backgrounds and effects animation. Facial expressions, a Jones trademark, also come through, best shown when the bulldog attacks the flying cat and winds up chewing on his own leg - you'll die laughing upon the dog's realization of what he is chewing on. The film's climax neatly wraps up the story, but there is a surprise element in the short - given the ending, I am surprised the female cat's relationship with the flying cat is alluded to as it is.