Satan's Waitin' (1954)

Why so much hype?

A Disappointing Continuation

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

. . . into Sylvester, Fat Cat for this "Merrie Melodies" outing, SATAN'S WA!T!N'. While any religious fan of animated shorts already knows where all Fat Cats end up (remember the Camel & the Eye of a Needle), the "Nones" may want to know that it's just the opposite of the canine end-of-the-line destination revealed by the title of the feature cartoon ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN. Mischievously, the guys drawing SATAN'S WA!T!N' picture their title character as a giant bulldog. Though this modern parable is bound to hit too close to home for the mental peace of any One Per Center types, it could well provide an answer to something that's been nagging at the brains of 99 Per Centers for eons: WHY do so many Rich Folks expire with the millstones of millions (or, nowadays, billions) of ill-gotten gains still Noosed around their necks? Sylvester, Fat Cat provides an answer, as he squanders his first eight lives in Trivial Pursuits, knowing he still has many--some--one life left to live (with each life worth about six human years). Just as the vast majority of Human Fat Cats retreat into figurative bank vaults as the sands in their hour glasses trickle away much faster than they're willing to acknowledge (even to themselves), Fat Cat Sylvester seeks refuge in a LITERAL bank vault when he's down to his Last Life (but his Own Private Hidey-Ho is blown up immediately--along with himself--by human bank robbers!). Warner Bros. moral for Fat Cats here? It's always later than you think: Seize the Day, Give It Away!!

Very entertaining Sylvester & Tweety short. The story has Sylvester once again trying to catch Tweety but this time he dies in the attempt. He goes to Hell, where he discovers Satan is a bulldog. Sylvester has to wait as each of his remaining eight lives (cats have nine, remember) show up in Hell. Back on Earth, Sylvester wakes up and continues his pursuit of Tweety, leading to many more deaths until he has one life left. What happens next is pretty funny. This is one of my favorite Sylvester shorts. It's inventive and clever with wonderful music and beautiful, crisp animation. Love the opening with Sylvester chasing Tweety along the power lines. All of the Hell stuff is colorful and creative. Mel Blanc is terrific as usual.

The premise for Satan's Waiting' is a great one, and one of the most unique for a Sylvester and Tweety cartoon. On the most part, Satan's Waiting' is very good and executes this premise remarkably well. One thing did stop it from being even better and that was the ending, the cartoon just to me ended suddenly with no real payoff. The animation is excellent though, very characteristic of 1950s Fritz Freleng. The whole cartoon is very crisply designed, the colours are bright making the imagery in Hell quite vivid- but the depiction of Hell shouldn't scare kids too much- and everything looks smoothly drawn. As always, Carl Stalling's music score is very sumptuously orchestrated and rhythmically lively with clever use of sound effects, enhancing the action in a way that few other "cartoon short" composers did better. The dialogue is constantly amusing and never really less than that but the gags make the bigger impression, they're not rushed or drawn out and most importantly they're funny. Highlights do have to be Sylvester's death scenes, which are remarkably inventive and done in a hilarious but tasteful way. Tweety does just fine and the supporting characters entertain and serve a point but Sylvester is the standout character here, he's always been interesting as well as the funnier character of the duo and here is no exception. The Sylvester and Tweety cartoons does a great job also making Sylvester easy to sympathise with, and I did feel sorry for Sylvester, more so than most Sylvester and Tweety cartoons. Mel Blanc was always consistent as a voice actor, giving multiple characters a different personality for each, and he sure doesn't disappoint here. All in all, great premise, very well executed though more could have been done with the ending. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Directed by Friz Freleng, "Satan's Waiting'" is a good Tweety/Sylvester cartoon in which "Sly" uses up all nine of his lives from senseless accidents in trying to capture Tweety. The end result is nine Slys who just get to sit around in Hell.Only one scene in "Satan's Waiting'" that I consider a highlight: Tweety looks hilarious with his naked fanny, for which Sly "brings back his feathers"."Satan's Waiting'" is a cartoon that boasts some bright colors and a nice use of light & shadow, but I imagine that its depiction of Hell might be a little too much for a little kid to take.