Feline Follies is an animated short film released in 1919.[1] It is the first appearance of the character that would soon be christened Felix the Cat, here referred to as "Master Tom."
Synopsis[]
Master Tom works as the watchman of a house, protecting it from the mice that hide in it’s holes.
One afternoon, while his owner isn’t home, Tom decides to go out for a date, irresponsibly. While the house is unwatched, the mice appear and start a feast. They eat all the food, drink all the milk and make a huge mess. Meanwhile, Tom and his girlfriend, Miss Kitty White, enjoy the day together, with music and kisses.
Later, the cat comes back home and goes to sleep. Next day, the hostess comes back home and gets shocked and revolted with the mess. Then, she decides to kick Tom out of the house.
Helpless and depressed, the cat goes after his girlfriend just to find out that she got pregnant and that he’s now father of seventeen young kittens.
Desperate and hopeless, Tom runs away and finds a gas outlet. Seeing no sense or bright in his life, poor Tom kills himself with it.
Trivia and Copyright status[]
- This marks the first appearances of Felix The Cat.
- This short was copyrighted in the US as "Paramount Magazine No. 3851" on August 11, 1919[2] and the copyright was renewed on December 5, 1946.[3] The copyright expired on January 1, 1975, under the terms of the Copyright Act of 1909, and is thus now in the public domain (which was reinforced by the subsequent Copyright Act of 1978).
- It is available on Bosko Video's Presenting Felix the Cat VHS and DVD compilations and on Disc 2 of the Felix the Cat: Golden Anniversary Edition DVD set as a bonus feature.
Video[]
Gallery[]
Feline Follies/Gallery
Transcript[]
Feline Follies/Transcript