Canned Feud (Looney Tunes)

"Canned Feud" is a 1951 Looney Tunes short directed by Friz Freleng. In this short, Sylvester tries to get a can opener from a mouse to open cat food while his owners, Sam and Violet go on vacation to California.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Much like "Mexican Cat Dance", this cartoon is a Sylvester torture short, as all he wanted was the canned goods from the cabinets to survive when trapped indoors at home when then owners are away, but an outright sadistic mouse snatches away the can opener that can open the nourishments. This is unlike his other cartoons, where Sylvester usually inflicts harm against Tweety, Speedy Gonzales, Hippety Hopper or other mice characters and deserves his comeuppance, but here he is completely innocent of his actions yet gets tormented to no end.
 * 2) When Sylvester realizes his owners went on vacation for two weeks and forgot him, he tries to find all of his canned food but has no can opener, so the aforementioned mouse teases him of giving him the can opener, only to take it away.
 * 3) Speaking of which, the mouse in this short is unlikable, as he constantly torments and tortures Sylvester as he tries to get the can opener from him, but prevents the cat and tries to make Sylvester starve all for his own entertainment.
 * 4) *On that topic, the mouse comes off as a Jerry Mouse knockoff, but with none of his charm or likability. In fact, the mouse can literally rival Jerry Mouse's flanderized persona from the Gene Deitch-era.
 * 5) The cartoon feels like a rejected Tom and Jerry cartoon but with Sylvester and an unnamed mouse in Tom and Jerry's places.
 * 6) Plot hole: Why didn't the owners leave food for Sylvester in the first place? Although, it is heavily implied at the start of the short where his owners were in a hurry when leaving on a vacation to California and outright forgot about Sylvester.
 * 7) The gags in this short are not funny, but mean-spirited, horrible, and outright sadistic even by Golden Age-era Looney Tunes standards, such as Sylvester getting electrocuted, as well as him being trapped in a vacuum cleaner, with the mouse worsening the situation by putting hot coals in it out of SADISM...
 * 8) Horrible ending: The ending is the equivalent of a kick to the groin, as by the end Sylvester finally gets the can opener, only to realize the mouse has now locked up the cabinet containing all of the cans. Sylvester then cries in defeat and faints.
 * 9) The mouse never gets his comeuppance for literally starving Sylvester.

Good Qualities

 * 1) Sylvester is the only likable character in this short.
 * 2) Mel Blanc does a good job with the voice work, as usual.
 * 3) As with the earlier "Looney Tunes" shorts, Carl Stalling's musical score is amazing to listen to, and fits the onscreen action nicely.
 * 4) Decent animation for its time.
 * 5) The mouse gets his punishment in "Stooge for a Mouse"; however, given the fact that he was portrayed more sympathetically in that short, as well as "Rhapsody Rabbit", unlike over here, and this short takes place after those two cartoons, this really isn't much saying.