Go Fly a Kit (1957) User Reviews (10)

The Cat Who Thought He Was A Bird

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 10 August 2007]

Most of this cartoon is told in flashback. It's a goofy premise (hey, it's a cartoon) about a cat who was raised by a big momma bald eagle. He uses his tail as a propeller and learns how to fly. Like all birds, one day it's time to fly the coop and go out in the world on his own.

Soon after he saves a female cat from a big Spike-like bulldog, the kind is always shown in cartoons, it seems. He wins her heart with his flying ability and gives the big dog a "shave" from above as well as a few other things to the big - and humorous - canine.

There is some really nice artwork in here with excellent colors.

The two best-known voices in cartoon history - Mel Blance and Daws Butler - are listed on the IMDb title page but it doesn't say who the narrator is, and he did 99 percent of the talking here.

The Love Of The Flying Cat

[stp43 · 3 October 2003]

Mild spoilers

A love of cats appears to be the driving force behind many of Chuck Jones' greatest cartoons, and here Jones and Michael Maltese give a strong aerial angle that once again proves their mastery of compelling story-telling.

An airport coffee vendor (Daws Butler) explains to a waiting passenger (Mel Blanc) the relationship between a red-furred female cat and a mysterious feline known as a flying cat. In flashback we learn of the gestation of the flying cat, an orphan cat adopted by an elderly female eagle whose own chicks have grown and left the nest. The cat and the eagle love each other like true mother and son, and the cat tries to fly - leading to one of Jones' funniest/tenderest scenes; the cat falling down the thousand-foot precipice trying to fly and the horrified eagle rushing to save him, until he uses his tail to make him fly. The cat POV shot of the mother eagle plunging earthward upon seeing her adopted son now flying, and then flattening out of the dive and soaring back upward, is a triumph not only of humorous and believable charm, but of realistic animation. The eagle claps at her adopted son's triumph, and beams to the audience in typical Jones fashion.

Eventually, however, the flying cat must leave the nest - this brief scene, the cat and the eagle waving goodbye amid a magnificent sunset, reaches to the heart as well as to the discerning eye approving the artistic power of the background. The short's mood then shifts as the cat lands on a wire and drives three surprised crows to bang each other's heads, before spotting a female cat (the red cat) being pursued by a ferocious bulldog. The flying cat thus bears his claws and the real struggle of the film is on, highlighted by Jones' use of backgrounds and effects animation.

Facial expressions, a Jones trademark, also come through, best shown when the bulldog attacks the flying cat and winds up chewing on his own leg - you'll die laughing upon the dog's realization of what he is chewing on.

The film's climax neatly wraps up the story, but there is a surprise element in the short - given the ending, I am surprised the female cat's relationship with the flying cat is alluded to as it is.

Jones' best Feline Cartoon EVER!

[ja_kitty_71 · 10/10 · 4 August 2007]

Along side Max Fleischer, former Disney animator David Hand and Japan's Hayao Miyazaki, Chuck Jones is one of favorite animators, and this short is one of my favorite shorts from the late '50s. I thought it was a sweet story about a flying kitten who was raised by an old woman eagle with a maternal instinct, and when he leaves the nest and sets forth into the world, he falls in love with a cute little girl kitten after saving her from a very mean bulldog.

I just love the backgrounds with their vivid colors. My favorite scenes are when our hero (The Flying Kitten) wants to join a chorus of blackbirds (tweet, tweet, tweet, meow). But when they see him they are so frightened that they bump right into each other even when they fly away. And also when our canine nemesis try to pounce on our hero; but our hero is too quick for him, during the struggle he use his propeller-like tail to get away and the dog found himself biting his own LEG!

All in all, I love every bit of it. It has got tenderness, the love he shares with his adopted-mother and his sweetie and sorrow, when he says goodbye when he leaves: first home and when he flies south every Fall (being part-bird). But every spring, he comes back and his girl would wait at the airport for him, just like the myth of Persephone and the origin of the seasons.

Ah, kitty love!

[slymusic · 22 August 2007]

"Go Fly a Kit" is a very cute, yet somewhat strange, Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. Pussyfoot the kitten has been adopted by an eagle and has learned to fly using his tail. Once he grows up and makes his way in the world, he rescues a female kitty from being chased by Marc Anthony the bulldog.

There is unfortunately not a whole lot of humor in "Go Fly a Kit," but here are a few amusing highlights. Pussyfoot lands on a telephone wire, where he confuses three crows who keep head-butting themselves. Marc Anthony accidentally chews on his own leg, then whimpers as he kisses it; Pussyfoot then lands on Marc Anthony's head, hence the frustrated canine repeatedly whacks his own head with a club. And watch Marc Anthony's facial expression when he realizes that the upside-down trash can with which he traps Pussyfoot is flying!

"Go Fly a Kit" is not the funniest Warner Bros. cartoon by any means, but it IS worth taking a look at for its cuteness. You can find it on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4.

tail-spin takes on a new meaning

[lee_eisenberg · 8/10 · 14 August 2007]

When I took a class about Alfred Hitchcock's movies, we talked about how a really good device in movies is when you can tell a story without words. While Chuck Jones's "Go Fly a Kit" has some narration, it consists mostly of imagery, and not surprisingly comes out very well because of that.

The cartoon tells the story of a cat adopted by a mother eagle. She teaches him to fly, and after initially plummeting off the cliff, he realizes that he can twirl his tail around to achieve aviation. Well, like all children eventually must do, he has to leave home so as to make his own way in life. That's when he lands on a telephone wire and sees a bulldog chasing a female cat. So, our feline hero springs into action in a manner that I never would have imagined.

I have to say that I really consider this one of the cartoons that only Chuck Jones could pull off. Aside from the facial expressions - ranging from bittersweet to zany - some of the POV shots are nearly mystifying. It just goes to show that there will probably never be another director like Chuck Jones (at least not our lifetime). I recommend this one.

"What the heck's that cat doing up there?"

[utgard14 · 9/10 · 27 September 2015]

Adorable story, told through flashback, about a kitten raised by an eagle who grows up with the ability to fly. One day while flying around he spots a female cat being chased by a bulldog and rescues her. The two fall in love and, well, just watch and see. It's charming in every way. Not the funniest Looney Tunes short but it is smart and endearing. One of the many classics from the great Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. The animation is excellent with well-drawn characters, backgrounds, and action. The colors are bright and lush. Milt Franklyn's evocative, lively score is among his best work. It's a real gem for fans of Chuck Jones; a heartwarmer if there ever was one.

Very sweet

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 12 August 2013]

Not one of Chuck Jones' classics, with the cartoon ending on rather an odd note and it's not as razor-sharp or witty as some of his other work. But Go Fly a Kit still an interesting and completely endearing cartoon, and well worth watching, not just for curiosity. The animation is superbly drawn and vividly coloured, Go Fly a Kit also does wonders telling the story through the visuals. The music from Milt Franklyn doesn't disappoint either, being a pleasing mixture of sensitive and energetic, full of character and orchestrated beautifully. While you miss the hilariously witty dialogue that you are used to, there is still some nice subtle humour. The gags are more restrained than usual but timed well and amusing, but much of the best of the humour comes from the facial expressions, Marc Anthony's expression of shock and realisation that he was biting on his own leg is priceless stuff. Go Fly a Kit is more a cartoon this said that takes on a heart-warming, tugging-on-the-heartstrings touch. It does so in a very sweet and moving way, and the cartoon has a lot of heart and warmth and doesn't dissolve into schmaltz too much. The story is told mostly in flashback but is always easy to understand, and while it's not a cartoon that has rapid-fire pacing Go Fly a Kit is never dull. The characters are very likable and carry the cartoon very well, Marc Anthony the bulldog being the most memorable. The voice work is fine, though not the best work of either Mel Blanc or Daws Butler. All in all, very sweet and well-done. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Where do you get these ideas

[boblipton · 7/10 · 18 August 2002]

Odd little cartoon, even for Chuck Jones, about a cat, raised by eagles, who flies by whirling his tail around. Sort of like a reversed Pepe Le Pew, full of cute little bits and a large bulldog to torment. A treat for cat lovers.

A likable curio that's a bit too short on laughs

[phantom_tollbooth · 6/10 · 9 January 2009]

Chuck Jones's 'Go Fly a Kit' is a sweet little cartoon which is just a little too short on laughs. It's often considered to be a solo outing for Pussyfoot, the kitten from Jones's masterpiece 'Feed the Kitty', but the kitten here is clearly a different cat in both design and character. Confusingly enough, Marc Anthony (the bulldog from 'Feed the Kitty') or a dog who looks very much like him, appears as the main antagonist of 'Go Fly a Kit'. Regardless of who these characters may be, 'Go Fly a Kit' aims squarely at the heartstrings rather than the funny bone. There are a few chuckles as we see the flying cat's engaged in battle with the bulldog (the bulldog's eventual fate is priceless) but the story of the cat's childhood and subsequent romance get a little too schmaltzy and the ending is far from satisfactory. This odd tale of a flying cat is typical of writer Michael Maltese's experimental scripts of this period which included the story of a minuscule elephant ('Punch Trunk') and, more famously, a singing frog ('One Froggy Evening', a Jones masterpiece). However, 'Go Fly a Kit' falls short and Jones only manages to create a likable curio that is worth a look but doesn't stand up to repeated viewings.

Kids all over the world have been inspired to play . . .

[oscaralbert · 8/10 · 5 May 2016]

. . . the "Fly a Cat Game" by this vintage Warner Bros. Looney Tune. With its imperative title--GO FLY A KIT--and a narrator as authoritative as any of a Disney Nature Documentary, KIT's virtually hypnotic demand to send a cat flying--the younger the better--is said to be responsible for more than 75% of such flings, a study by CMU Feline Flight Researchers recently revealed. The eagle-reared protagonist of this story (commonly misidentified as Pussyfoot by second-rate Looney Tune authorities) is able to navigate the sky using the Humingbird Principle (that is, a little tail swishing combined with a lot of Faith). Though the flashback part of this cartoon makes it clear that the Flying Kit's Aerodynamic Abilities are Nurture--NOT Nature--this tale's conclusion proves that they can be taught to the Next Generation. It's this Final Fact which probably is most responsible for inspiring the World's Youth to experiment over the past half dozen decades with their own private Feline Frisbees. On the one hand, this has caused the parents of large families no end of relief that this episode is about a Flying Kitten--NOT a Human Baby Flightmaster. However, this small mercy still leaves the planet's cat lovers aghast.