Sylvester Jr.

Sylvester J. Pussycat Jr., simply known as Sylvester Jr., is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. He was created by Robert McKimson.

Sylvester Jr.
Looney Tunes character
First appearancePop 'im Pop! (1950)
Created byRobert McKimson
Voiced byMel Blanc (1950–1986)[1]
Joe Alaskey (1998–2004)[2]
Bob Bergen (2018–present)
Eric Bauza (2019–present)
In-universe information
SpeciesTuxedo cat
GenderMale
FamilySylvester (father)
RelativesTom Pussycat (uncle)
Sylth Vester (descendant)

Biography

Junior first appeared in the 1950 short Pop 'im Pop! directed by Robert McKimson,[3] and eventually appeared in a total of 11 shorts in the Golden age. His voice was provided by Mel Blanc until his death in 1989, and later by Joe Alaskey, who died on February 3, 2016, Bob Bergen and Eric Bauza.

He is the son of Sylvester the Cat. Physically, Junior is an anthropomorphic kitten - basically a miniature version of his father, having a large head in proportion to a small body. Aside from Goldimouse and the Three Cats, his mother is never seen nor mentioned in the Warner Bros. shorts, and the only apparent trait Junior got from his mother is his ability to speak without his father's characteristic lisp, but has a smaller lisp than Sylvester does. Junior has been noted saying that he is three and a half years old.

Junior's personality reflected a degree of respect for his father, though often, when Sylvester does something embarrassing or humiliating, Junior would (melodramatically) often profess feeling ashamed or embarrassed by his father's behavior (sometimes donning a paper bag over his head) or sadly saying, in a breathy voice, "Oh, Father...", "Oh, the shame of it", or "How can I ever face the fellows in Troop 12?" He's also contradicted himself by saying he wanted a home in Claws in the Lease while in The Slap-Hoppy Mouse, he complains to his father about his "soft living" in a "chicken-chintzy outfit".

Often, Sylvester and Junior's shorts would feature Sylvester trying to capture Hippety Hopper, a baby kangaroo, to prove a point to his son. Each attempt at capture, of course, failed miserably, owing to Sylvester's invariably mistaking the kangaroo for a "giant mouse", and as such being taken completely by surprise by the kangaroo's athletic prowess, with Sylvester losing every fight, often in spectacularly humiliating fashion. In one particular ship based short Junior was able to outdo his father by capturing Hippety, playing on Hippety's playful nature. Though Tweet Dreams was the only pairing of Junior and Tweety in the Looney Tunes shorts, it was not a direct one; Junior basically served as a flashback image of Sylvester himself when he was his son's age.

Appearances

Sylvester Jr. appeared in the following shorts:

Later appearances

After the original Looney Tunes shorts, Junior would show up sporadically in later years. In the 1990s animated series The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, Sylvester has a flashback to his childhood in the episode "A Mynah Problem"; in the flashback sequence, as with Tweet Dreams, Sylvester resembled his son physically.

He also appears in Space Jam.

He is seen in one of the "Mysterious Phenomenon of the Unexplained" shorts of the Stranger Than Fiction Looney Tunes web shorts compilation DVD alongside his father on a camping trip interrupted by Bigfoot.

He appears as a boss in the third world in the video game The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout, riding his skateboard.

References
  1. "Mel Blanc Presents Listening and Learning with Bugs and Friends". Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  2. "Sylvester Jr". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  3. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 216. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
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