Two Gophers from Texas
| Two Gophers from Texas | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies (Goofy Gophers) series | |
 The Goofy Gophers take "Little Snookie" on a long walk up a hill...just before sending him down the other end. | |
| Directed by | Arthur Davis |
| Produced by | Eddie Selzer (uncredited) |
| Story by |
Bill Scott Lloyd Turner |
| Voices by |
Mel Blanc Stan Freberg (uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by |
Don Williams Basil Davidovich J. C. Meléndez Emery Hawkins |
| Layouts by | Don Smith |
| Backgrounds by | Philip DeGuard |
| Studio | Warner Bros. Cartoons |
| Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date(s) |
January 17, 1948 (original) March 31, 1956 (reissue) |
| Color process |
Cinecolor (original) Technicolor (reissue) |
| Running time | 6 minutes 49 seconds |
| Preceded by | The Goofy Gophers |
| Followed by | A Ham in a Role |
Two Gophers from Texas is a 1948 Merrie Melodies short starring the Goofy Gophers directed by Arthur Davis and produced by Eddie Selzer. Mel Blanc voiced the unnamed dog and Mac, while an uncredited Stan Freberg voiced Tosh. The title is a pun on Two Guys from Texas, a comedy released earlier that year from Warner Brothers, although the short has nothing to do with Texas. It would be the last Goofy Gophers cartoon produced before Davis' unit was disbanded, and the first time the Gophers would appear brown and tan.
Plot
An unnamed dog based on John Barrymore (who also appeared in The Goofy Gophers) is reading a book and decides to seek wild game, which happens to come in the form of the Goofy Gophers. After trying to get them, only to see the gophers dive into their hole and then overrun the hole and off a cliff, the dog (upside down, hanging off a tree) discovers four ways to get a gopher:
- No. 1: The canny hunter will remember that gophers possess an enormous curiosity concerning strange or unfamiliar objects: To this end, the dog places a spring with a punching glove attached to it in a chest. When the Gophers, after deciding to ignore the "Do Not Open until Xmas" sticker, open it, they "see" jewelry in it and take the chest with them. The dog takes the chest away from the Gophers and opens it, only to be punched below his chin, as he bounces like a pogo stick.
- No. 2: Gophers are quite fond of fresh vegetables which can therefore be used as bait that would attract them: The dog, knowing that the gophers are vegetarians, plants a row of radishes in the ground along with a turnip at the end of the row that is booby-trapped to an overhanging rock tied around a nearby tree, which the dog tests with a ball, triggering the trap successfully. Naturally, the Gophers pick up all of the radishes, and after initial trouble, take the turnip—but the trap is not triggered this time. The dog then holds the string, but triggers the trap and says to himself "Oh,No." before he is crushed.
- No. 3: The gopher is a sentimental little creature whose feelings may be played upon to your advantage: The dog, calling himself Snookie, places himself in a booby-trapped carriage, with his cries quickly noticed by the Gophers. After discovering the booby trap under the dog (which includes a gun, rifle, bomb, and grenade), the Gophers push the carriage up a hill, and then release the carriage with the dog in it down the cliff on the other side, leaving the dog howling as he goes over several hills (we see a sign that reads "Next time try the train") and vertically down a second cliff, where he crashes. As the dog claims that the Gophers missed his inner strength, the dog then falls down, stiff as a board.
- No. 4: If all else fails, (and it has,) you must utilize the gophers' love of music: The dog begins playing what amounts to a one-man band of music, drawing the Gophers' attention as they start dancing to the music. The dog unsuccessfully tries to crush them with cymbals and a banjo that also doubles as a gun, but does drag them to the drums using a trumpet. As the dog tries to crush the gophers on the drums, they evade him and the dog and Gophers end up in the piano, where the Gophers have the dog "trapped like a rat in a trap", as the Gophers then hop all over the piano keys. Hammers attached to various keys hit the dog in his rear end as the cartoon concludes with the dog regretting having ever read the book.
Availability
This cartoon was included on volume 4 of the Golden Age of Looney Tunes laserdisc series, released in 1993. It has not been released on DVD.