. . . seems to be the main lesson of Warner Bros.' animated short, THE UNEXPECTED PEST. Just when you think there's no more dirt to be dug up about a particular rat, it turns out that their Pops may have assassinated JFK. Some will argue that just because the longest-serving Rodent Speaker of the House reveals that he's been a serial Child Molester all along, doesn't automatically mean that the rest of the Mouse Leaders were (or are) Chesters themselves. Sylvester decides to make a pact with the Devil Mouse to keep his spot on a Comfy Sofa in PEST. Naturally, the rodent double-crosses him, because pathological lying is a Rodent's Nature. With PEST, Warner is warning America NOT to crawl into bed with a rat, no matter how much Security seems to be offered. Sooner rather than later the rodent will stab you in the back, forcing you to hobble away from the only Homeland you've ever known on crutches, just like Sylvester here. You may think that the Rodents are speaking your language, but they're actually only interested in squirreling away America's wealth for themselves, like pack rats!

Looney Tunes, Sylvester and Robert McKimson are a good mixture, the Looney Tunes cartoons are childhood favourites that a vast majority of the time hold up very well and are even better from an adult perspective, Sylvester is a great funny character who can work equally well with another character or on his own and Robert McKimson(while somewhat in the shadow of Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett and Fritz Freleng) has been responsible for lots of fun cartoons and some classics also. The Unexpected Pest doesn't see either of them at their best, with a predictable set-up and a few gags that while nice we've seen many times already and since(ie. throwing objects from a great height, getting hands caught in mouse-traps). The beginning sets the cartoon well but there isn't really anything that wows, it's really when the mouse comes on the scene when The Unexpected Pest comes to life. The animation is very good though, simple but colourful and careful in design, while the music score keeps the energy levels high and brings much character to the proceedings. While you have seen some of it before, that doesn't stop The Unexpected Pest from being strong amusing entertainment, with nicely timed gags and very witty dialogue(Sylvester gets the best lines). The set-up is predictable, but the execution of the actual story is neat and is paced well with some nice twists. The ending works especially well, with a turning-of-the-tables sort of situation. The mouse is a fun character as well as cute, Sylvester as ever is the one who steals the show. Mel Blanc's vocals are superb, every single character he voiced came to life and largely because of him. He was one of those few voice actors who could voice more than one character in the same cartoon and not only give them different personalities and such but also make them funny and memorable. To conclude, familiar but neat and amusing. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Directed by Bob McKimson, "The Unexpected Pest" could hardly rate among the top Warner Bros. cartoons featuring Sylvester the cat, but it is still entertaining. Sylvester's owners make it a requirement that he consistently catch mice in order for them to consider keeping him around the house. Sylvester eventually finds a mouse that he can repeatedly chase around (and subsequently dupe his owners into believing he is chasing a different mouse each time), until the mouse grows tired of being a slave to the slobbering feline."The Unexpected Pest" unfortunately does not boast many laughs, but here are a couple. While loafing on the couch, Sylvester gives a rather funny "Eeyew!" reaction upon spotting his owner staring at him. He is also funny when he yells upon getting his hand caught in a mousetrap and when he gets crowned on the head by an iron. Enough said.

Poor Sylvester: his owners sure are cold people. Listen to this: Sylvester is shown sleeping on the couch. The father comes home, spots the wife and says to her, "Marsha, why do we have to put up with that dirty old cat,. scratchin' up the furniture and makin' a mess out of the house?" She answers, "Well, John, we got him to get rid of those mice, remember?""Yeah, but there hasn't been a mouse around the house in months.""Yes, that's right. Well, I'll the society tomorrow and get rid of him."Wow, talk about a pet feeling loved in his house! Sylvester freaks out. "Sufferin' succotash," he says, "I have to get a mouse to keep my happy home."The problem is that there are no mice in house, but our hero spots one outside among the garbage cans. "A lifesaver!" he exclaims.The rest of the cartoon builds on this premise, and then adds a twist near the end when the mouse gets tired of playing "slave" to Sylvester and wises up. It turns out he's a pretty funny mouse. Overall, this is a pretty decent effort with some cleverness, although there are a couple of gags used in previous cartoons, like the mouse dropping dishes from a high ledge and having the cat trying to catch them. However, that might not have been Looney Tunes but a Tom & Jerry. Whatever, this is entertaining overall as most Sylvester stories tend to be. I still prefer to see him paired with Tweety, though.