Ep 1. Pizzicato Pussycat

Pizzicato Pussycat is the first episode of the Looney Tunes season in 1955, featuring the famous character, Sylvester, the black and white tuxedo cat. The episode starts with an establishing shot of a peaceful suburban street with houses and green lawns. Suddenly, a pretty young white cat, named, Penelope comes into frame and starts strolling down the street with a musical tune. Penelope then finds an ad on a nearby fence that says "romantic moonlit stroll, plenty of birds to chase, all you can eat..." to which she eagerly pounces on it. The 'all you can eat' part clearly excites her.

The scene then changes, and we see Sylvester's owner, Mrs. Grunion, preparing the house for an important event. She instructs Sylvester to keep an eye on the house until she returns, and then exits. Sylvester attempts to obey her but constantly fails as he sees Penelope in the street. He tries to convince himself that he has no interest in her, but his lovestruck mind forcefully keeps his head locked towards Penelope. The episode's central premise, Sylvester's love for the white cat, leads up to numerous humorous encounters between the two.

Sylvester's attempts to approach Penelope often end up badly, resulting in his tomfoolery and Penelope running away. However, such failings do not stop him from trying. Soon, we see Penelope again, on a moonlit night, dressed up in a pair of roller skates. Sylvester, mesmerized, comes up with yet another plan. He sets up a trap consisting of a large box of birdseed and a rope tied to it, which he carefully strings across the street. The plan is simple: Penelope will chase Sylvester, Sylvester will lure her to the birdseed box and pull the rope; thereby trapping Penelope inside the box. But, like every other night, the plan fails.

Later, we see Penelope getting ready to leave, looking sad. This is where the title of the episode 'Pizzicato Pussycat' comes in. Pizzicato is a musical term, and the background score accompanies the cat-shaped musical note with the word pizzicato, which means sharply plucked. Penelope can be seen playing the harp with the same title. Her playing is beautiful, and we see Sylvester, who has been hiding behind the bushes, listening to her melody with a dreamy expression. The moment is surreal, and the scene gets affectionate on a level that was not typical of cartoons back then. The viewer perceives that Sylvester is not just attracted to Penelope's beauty, but also the goodness in her touch, which has mysteriously been transmitted through the harp's sound.

The episode then takes a more action-oriented turn with Sylvester's successful attempt at trapping Penelope by using a water-filled balloon. However, once he has got her stuck, he hesitates, unable to face what he has done. Penelope has once again hit all his soft spots, and it's impossible for him to harm her. Penelope, on the other hand, has had enough of this cat and slaps Sylvester with a glove in her hand. They both get into a short and sweet catfight, which is interrupted by a large, heavy dog. The dog goes straight after Sylvester, and Penelope tries to help him. The situation escalates further when they all end up at Mrs. Grunion's house, where the dog crashes into the preparations, causing chaos.

The dog ends up destroying everything in the house, but the episode sees a neat conclusion with Penelope consoling Sylvester by sitting with him on a wall outside the wreckage. The last shot pans out to show the damage caused, along with the silent street with the two cats sitting together. The episode has a satisfying end that completes the lead character's development, and the viewer has an excellent time watching the wacky situations unfold.