Studio: MGM Cartoons
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Produced by: Fred Quimby
Short Synopsis
Screwy Squirrel, a small, hyperactive squirrel, skips school to go fishing. Meathead, a large, dim dog who works as the truant officer, is sent to bring him in. Screwy treats the pursuit as entertainment. He teases, tricks and humiliates Meathead at every turn, with the impossible, rule-breaking gags typical of Avery's MGM cartoons, popping up wherever the dog least expects him and turning every trap back on its maker. In the middle of the chase, the film is interrupted by a completely different cartoon: the Wolf comes running across the screen after Red Riding Hood, and Screwy stops them to point out the title card, telling the Wolf he is in the wrong picture. At last Meathead catches Screwy and demands to know why he isn't in school. Screwy explains: he has the measles. Meathead, horrified, immediately breaks out in spots himself.
Why It Matters
- The interruption by Red and the Wolf, who wander in from another cartoon and are sent back out because they have the wrong film, is one of Avery's most audacious jokes about the cartoon frame itself. The measles punchline is a perfect, abrupt Avery finish.
- Screwy Squirrel was Avery's most aggressive creation, a deliberately obnoxious, unlikeable hero who broke every rule of cartoon decorum. This was one of only five Screwy cartoons, and the character's short life shows the limits of Avery's appetite for pure anarchy.
Notes and Trivia
- Red and the Wolf were from Swing Shift Cinderella, which would not reach cinemas for another seven months, so their cameo works as a sneak preview of an upcoming film.
- Screwy appears here as a youngster, in his only appearance as a schoolboy.
- See also: Swing Shift Cinderella (1945), Dumb-Hounded (1943).