Notable for introducing the first new characters in the brief (1967-69) era of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts cartoons, “Cool Cat” debuted the eponymous feline and his predator, the bumbling Briton Col. Rimfire, in a variation of the Bugs Bunny-Elmer Fudd hunting romps. The only difference here is that Cool Cat is blissfully unaware that Col. Rimfire is pursuing him. Even more peculiar, the feline star mistakes the colonel’s vehicle – a metallic pink elephant on wheels – for being a real pachyderm and he has a running one-way conversation with the machine.
In many ways, “Cool Cat” is a product of its times. The animation has the flatness of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons that dominated television in the 1960s, but its colors present a brightness that was in keeping with the era’s pop art designs – he’s carrying a purple parasol when he enters the cartoon. Even his choice of clothing with a green necktie and matching beret declare that he is, indeed, a cool cat.
As a tiger who is effortlessly in control, Cool Cat has a laid-back, unruffled hipster vibe not previously seen in the frenetic and sarcastic Warner Bros. characters. Larry Storch took over the voice characterization job from Mel Blanc and he perfectly captured the smooth line deliveries of Cool Cat and the upper-crust English anxiety of the decidedly uncool Col. Rimfire.
But a good idea for a cartoon doesn’t necessarily result in a satisfactory production, and “Cool Cat” suffers from sluggish pacing and painfully dull gags. William Lava’s dinky music score is eons removed from the melodic imagination that Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn brought to the Warner Bros. Golden Age. Sadly, that mediocrity was typical of the studio’s creations during this period. Years later, Mel Blanc offered a rare criticism of his former employers by slamming the “shoddiness” of this period’s work.
Director Alex Lovy tried to cut corners by recycling the background from the 1961 Road Runner short “Zip ‘n Snort” when Col. Rimfire falls from a cliff into a gorge – but the gag doesn’t work because this cartoon takes place in a lush jungle and the gorge belongs to a rugged Southwestern landscape. Even worse, the colonel has two consecutive descents – it wasn’t funny the first time and was even less amusing the second go-round. In fairness, there is one funny recycled joke when the colonel first spots Cool Cat and declares to the viewer, “I tawt a taw a puddy tat.”
The Cool Cat character would appear in five additional cartoons before disappearing when the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts operation ceased. Perhaps the character could have gained traction if more time and a bigger budget was available. Unfortunately, it wound up a belated footnote in the Warner Bros. animation history.