Feline Follies on AllMovie

This film is the very first Felix the Cat film, although the cat is called Master Tom in this cartoon. Master Tom is attracted by the meow of Miss Kitty White and arranges for a date. He serenades her with his banjo, although his human neighbors don't appreciate his music, and he has another date with her the next night. Unfortunately, the mice at his house notice his absence, and they throw a big party and eat and drink everything in the house. As Tom sleeps after his big date, his owner finds the big mess and assumes that Tom was the cause of it, and Tom is banished from the house. He goes to visit Miss Kitty and discovers that he is the father of a large litter of kittens. Felix the Cat was as big a movie star as any human in the 1920's. Movie tie-in merchandise such as Felix comic books, clocks, and dolls were popular items. Although Pat Sullivan is credited as the director of every Felix cartoon, he really only produced them. Otto Messmer created Felix/Master Tom and directed all of the Felix cartoons. This film appeared as part of Paramount Magazine, which was a collection of short films that was shown before the feature film. Felix's personality is already set as a strongly independent cat who rarely walks on all four feet. He uses his body and anything else he can find to get himself out of a jam. When he needs some transportation, he plays some notes on his banjo and grabs the notes out of the air. Then he fashions them into a pair of scooters for the cats to ride.