colbj-49411 As a young child Looney Tunes was on every day at 5pm. I rarely missed it. However, there were a few cartoons from WB that I really disliked. At the top of that short list was 'It's Hummer Time'. If it came on I'd either leave the room, or change the channel.As with most of the cartoons made from this period, it's wonderfully animated and beautifully scored. The problem is the disturbing storyline between the dog, cat and hummingbird.A dim-witted cat, pursuing a smart a** hummingbird, disturbs the rest of a large aggressive bulldog. In most cartoons the bulldog would simply belt the cat for this indignity and that would be it. Not in this case. To the tune of a rather appropriate choice of angry and aggressive music called 'Powerhouse', he drags the cat, who screams for mercy, to an elaborate torture sequence. The cat then blithely accepts his sadistic fate.Maybe this would be ok if it happened just once, but it happens several times, as the Hummingbird tries and succeeds in getting the cat in continual trouble with the dog. Eventually the bird get the best of the cat and dog and the cartoon ends. How hilarious. Like most rational people you'd be happy to see the bird, clearly a nasty sociopath with no redeeming qualities, turned into a bird pie. Unfortunately, this doesn't eventuate.I can only conclude that the main writer thought that senseless violence, no matter its form, is always funny. Well, it isn't.

TheLittleSongbird Robert McKimson's cartoons are always entertaining to watch, and when they are on top form they positively deliver. It's Hummer Time is one of his cartoons that I've always enjoyed the most. The animation is bright and colourful with everything lovingly drawn and careful in detail. The music adds so much character to everything and like the best of the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons have a sense of humour of their own. As well as being energetic and characterful, it is also lovely music to listen to. The writing is deliciously manic with lots of freshness and wit, and the inventive and cleverly timed gags match perfectly. The "thinker" sequence with the bulldog is comedy gold. The story is simple but thanks to the zippy pace it is never dull, and it is nice to do something a little different with an idea that would easily pass for a cartoon with Sylvester and Tweety and sort of parody it also. The characters are not among Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies' most memorable but they are huge fun to watch and all have moments to shine. Mel Blanc's vocal characterisations as always are spot on. So overall, colourful and immensely enjoyable, one of McKimson's best and like McKimson perhaps undervalued(especially when compared to the best work of the more revered animation directors Jones, Clampett and Freleng, all geniuses in their own right). 10/10 Bethany Cox

carryall It's Hummer Time (1950) is one of the best shorts directed by the heavily criticized Robert McKimson. It features an unnamed cat who tries to catch a little, but very clever hummingbird, and often runs into a vicious and sadistic bulldog who bullies him in various ways. The cartoon is often remembered by the popular quotes of the cat "No, not happy birthday" or "No, please, not the Thiiinker", and its reference to Tweety "I Tought I taw a Puddy Tat".Why I think this is an excellent cartoon is the great timing and the musicality which rarely can be seen in McKimson's filmography. I always thought his shorts from 1950 (along with other great ones like "A Fractured Leghorn", "Hillbilly Hare", "Boobs in the Woods", "What's Up Doc?" or "Dog Collared") are the peak of his career as a director, and it's too bad he started to slump after this year with losing Warren Foster, his story-writer.The cartoon itself seems to be a Tweety parody, and the whole thing is done in Friz Freleng's style. There are a lot of scores here: "Ain't we got fun", "I'm looking over a four leaf clover" or Raymond Scott's popular "Powerhouse" and many others. The timing is very precise, it made even the weaker gags better, and I was rather satisfied with the ending. The hummingbird itself is very much like the early clampettish Tweety, that's another strong point.I'm a bit baffled why this cartoon haven't been added to the Golden Collections yet (much better than its weak and unfunny successor "Early to Bet" which was on the 1st volume), but maybe next time. Recommended to watch it on the Looney Tunes website.10/10

Lee Eisenberg Maybe I would have liked "It's Hummer Time" more had they cast Sylvester and Tweety. Still, the hummingbird and anonymous cat do some neat things. The cat keeps trying to catch the hummingbird, but always awakens a nearby bulldog, who proceeds to put the feline through increasingly nasty punishment. But the bird turns out not to be quite what he seems.I think that the best part was "The Thinker". Like the "books come to life" series and the Bugs Bunny-Elmer Fudd pairing "What's Opera, Doc?", it exposes children to high culture. All in all, this cartoon is worth seeing, if only once. Available on the Looney Tunes website.