. . . into Sylvester, Fat Cat for this "Merrie Melodies" outing, SATAN'S WA!T!N'. While any religious fan of animated shorts already knows where all Fat Cats end up (remember the Camel & the Eye of a Needle), the "Nones" may want to know that it's just the opposite of the canine end-of-the-line destination revealed by the title of the feature cartoon ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN. Mischievously, the guys drawing SATAN'S WA!T!N' picture their title character as a giant bulldog. Though this modern parable is bound to hit too close to home for the mental peace of any One Per Center types, it could well provide an answer to something that's been nagging at the brains of 99 Per Centers for eons: WHY do so many Rich Folks expire with the millstones of millions (or, nowadays, billions) of ill-gotten gains still Noosed around their necks? Sylvester, Fat Cat provides an answer, as he squanders his first eight lives in Trivial Pursuits, knowing he still has many--some--one life left to live (with each life worth about six human years). Just as the vast majority of Human Fat Cats retreat into figurative bank vaults as the sands in their hour glasses trickle away much faster than they're willing to acknowledge (even to themselves), Fat Cat Sylvester seeks refuge in a LITERAL bank vault when he's down to his Last Life (but his Own Private Hidey-Ho is blown up immediately--along with himself--by human bank robbers!). Warner Bros. moral for Fat Cats here? It's always later than you think: Seize the Day, Give It Away!!

The premise for Satan's Waiting' is a great one, and one of the most unique for a Sylvester and Tweety cartoon. On the most part, Satan's Waiting' is very good and executes this premise remarkably well. One thing did stop it from being even better and that was the ending, the cartoon just to me ended suddenly with no real payoff. The animation is excellent though, very characteristic of 1950s Fritz Freleng. The whole cartoon is very crisply designed, the colours are bright making the imagery in Hell quite vivid- but the depiction of Hell shouldn't scare kids too much- and everything looks smoothly drawn. As always, Carl Stalling's music score is very sumptuously orchestrated and rhythmically lively with clever use of sound effects, enhancing the action in a way that few other "cartoon short" composers did better. The dialogue is constantly amusing and never really less than that but the gags make the bigger impression, they're not rushed or drawn out and most importantly they're funny. Highlights do have to be Sylvester's death scenes, which are remarkably inventive and done in a hilarious but tasteful way. Tweety does just fine and the supporting characters entertain and serve a point but Sylvester is the standout character here, he's always been interesting as well as the funnier character of the duo and here is no exception. The Sylvester and Tweety cartoons does a great job also making Sylvester easy to sympathise with, and I did feel sorry for Sylvester, more so than most Sylvester and Tweety cartoons. Mel Blanc was always consistent as a voice actor, giving multiple characters a different personality for each, and he sure doesn't disappoint here. All in all, great premise, very well executed though more could have been done with the ending. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Directed by Friz Freleng, "Satan's Waiting'" is a good Tweety/Sylvester cartoon in which "Sly" uses up all nine of his lives from senseless accidents in trying to capture Tweety. The end result is nine Slys who just get to sit around in Hell.Only one scene in "Satan's Waiting'" that I consider a highlight: Tweety looks hilarious with his naked fanny, for which Sly "brings back his feathers"."Satan's Waiting'" is a cartoon that boasts some bright colors and a nice use of light & shadow, but I imagine that its depiction of Hell might be a little too much for a little kid to take.

This time, we get to see what presumably befalls Sylvester every time that he fails to catch Tweety. After the slobbery cat plummets to his death and his ghost goes to Hell, the Devil (in the form of a bulldog) encourages the rest of his now eight lives to continue chasing Tweety. Guess what happens each time! "Satan's Waiting'" was certainly a much grimmer version of this series than I've usually seen (the perfect one for Halloween). I wonder whether or not religious fundamentalists lashed out at this cartoon for making light of the Devil. Then again, religious fundamentalists probably don't watch the Looney Tunes to begin with. The end reminded me a little bit of the "Twilight Zone" episode about the bookworm who gets all the necessary to read...with a twist.Worth seeing.