Cat and Dupli-cat is a 1967 Tom and Jerry cartoon and the twenty-fifth short directed and produced by Chuck Jones.
Plot
Tom is rowing on a bucket amongst some docks using a broomstick under the crescent moon (which doubles as the "C" at the beginning of the title), singing the Neapolitan ballad "Santa Lucia" the whole way in an operatic baritone voice throughout the credits. (See Song Lyrics Below) As he reaches the docks, he finds Jerry rowing in a small cup and mimicking him.
Tom picks up the cup, steals some tea, sugar, and a spoon from a nearby cruise ship, and covers Jerry with both before he can finish. Tom then begins to drink the Jerry-tea, but an unnamed orange cat (referred to as Dupli-cat) pulls on Tom's tail, points at an empty plate, and holds his hand out as if to say, "Mine." Tom gives him the teacup, and then Dupli-cat pulls on Tom's tail again; Tom then returns the spoon. He then innocently sits on the pillar until he hears Dupli-cat sipping the tea, and then after a few seconds, perhaps the most vivid display of rage throughout the series is seen: Tom blows his top.
He enters the ship and sees that the teacup has been sipped clean. He walks through the cruise ship, and then sees Dupli-cat running through an opening in the wall, seemingly a reflection of him. Tom continues walking back and forth, and the two cats mimic each other, as if in a mirror, in numerous ways. Tom catches on when he moves to the other side, then Dupli-cat makes a horn voice, announcing "Choo Choo!" Surprised, Tom says "Woo woo?!" Dupli-cat raises his head when Tom does not, and then tricks Dupli-cat into opening his mouth: Jerry is in it. Tom walks away and then stops with realization.
The two cats chase across a pier, and Dupli-cat holds out Jerry for Tom to take; it's a trap: Tom holds out his hand as he approaches Dupli-cat, who stomps on a trap-door and Tom falls through it. He angrily climbs up the ladder and Dupli-cat resets the trap-door, knocking Tom back down into the water.
Dupli-cat then prances along the pier and Tom is shown to be doing the same on a lower layer. He snaps a loose board in the pier and it hits Dupli-cat, shunting him back into another one of the pillars. Jerry sighs with relief until Tom grabs him. Tom then runs along the pier, but fails to see another pillar and runs into it. Dupli-cat steals Jerry and ties him to his tail, followed with Tom's fingers together around the pillar. Tom moves his fingers up and down the pillar and makes it come loose and fall on top of Dupli-cat with great gusto, he falls through the pier and slowly sinks into the water as Tom grabs Jerry from him.
Tom and Dupli-cat perch on separate ships; Dupli-cat throws a bottle of champagne at his rival, knocking him out. Some of it falls on Jerry and inebriates him, thus he slowly begins a change of behavoir as the effects begin to kick in. The two cats then grab the mouse one grab after the other back and forth, but Jerry drifts up to an outcropping and lands gracefully.
In an uncharacteristic display of bravado, Jerry (who seems annoyed in a drunk-like manner now after the champagne, as the cats fight over him) tricks the two into poking their heads close to each other, and then ties the two cats by their whiskers and tails to a dock post. Jerry, singing "Santa Lucia" once again, drunkenly stumbles off, letting off bubbles as he hiccups, some of which form "THE END."
Characters
Songs
Notes
- It was directed and written by Chuck Jones, with Maurice Noble and Michael Maltese also in charge of direction and story respectively.
- This is the second time that Tom sings in an operatic voice. The first was The Cat Above and The Mouse Below. American baritone Terrance Monk reprised his singing voice from the earlier short.
- Dallas McKennon (credited as Dale McKennon) provides Jerry's falsetto singing.
- This is the last short where Tom loses with another cat. The others are Sufferin' Cats!, A Mouse in the House, Smarty Cat, Casanova Cat, Jerry's Cousin, Saturday Evening Puss, Tennis Chumps, and Catty-Cornered.
Gallery
Main Article: Cat and Dupli-cat/Gallery
Errors
- In the mimicking scene, at one point Tom crosses the doorway from the left and the other cat from the right, despite the fact that for this entire scene, they should be on the same side of the doorway.
Availability
.jpg "No Mice Allowed DVD (front side).jpg (1.58 MB)")
