Sick Product of a Sick System

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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.

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.

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.

Mild spoilersA 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.