127. I'm a Big Shot Now (1936)

Release date: April 11th, 1936

Series: Merrie Melodies

Director: Friz Freleng

Starring: Abe Dinovitch (Spike)

Feels like it’s been forever since Friz did a Merrie Melody! Fret no longer. He returns with I’m a Big Shot Now—a blue jay robs a bank in tranquil Birdville, and the police are hot on his feathers.

Open to the bustling streets of Birdville, a chipper, easygoing town rife with cheery birds making their rounds. A construction worker bird ties a string to a worm, which is attached to a pulley. Tugging on a pulley feeds more string to the worm, who wraps itself around a spindly “base”. In no time, the worm weaves itself a bird’s nest for the bird. Elsewhere, a woodpecker hammers away at a long, disturbing a ladybug. The ladybug hops out of a hole and hammers the woodpecker’s beak, wilting it’s point, the bird now stuck.

The Birdville bank is as bustling as ever. Signs hang on the bank-teller’s desk—“2 1/2 worms interest on all deposits”, and my favorite “save for a rainy day — buy umbrellas”. A bird places a hefty basket full of acorns on the owl bank-teller’s desk, who inspects the goods. They pass muster, and he deposits them away, writing in the bird’s checkbook.

We’ve seen the good side of town. The happy townspeople bustling about, tending to the bird finances and bird relationships. With the good comes the bad—pan over to the seedy side of town. Mobsters loiter outside a saloon, a promiscuous woman exiting said saloon, wanted posters up... A great juxtaposition that’s very well executed. We follow a bird into the saloon, where dancing is abundant, everyone not without their cigar and newsboy cap.

Focus on a particularly intriguing character, a blue jay propped up against a bar, shifty eyed as he tosses a coin in his hand. A great choice of character design—the natural black markings around the eyes paired with the striped shirt, newsboy cap and cigar certainly make him read as a stereotypical robber. He greets one of his buddies who walks into the saloon before launching into the title song, narrating how he’s abandoned his softie days for the rough and tough lifestyle. He coyly rolls his eyes as he growls the chorus of “baby, and how—I’m the big shot now!” The song is mainly sung in patter song—it’s a nice touch and the bird is full of personality.

Just as he sings about how he can lick those police officers, a cop strolls outside of the saloon and overhears. The blue jay sticks his hand out of the saloon doors and drags the cop inside. Offscreen bearing and pummeling, and the disheveled copper is tossed back onto the streets. Finally, to celebrate, the blue jay pours himself glass upon glass of whiskey. He slams his fist down on the table, the board propelling the contents into the air. He opens his mouth and catches each gulp, a lovely detail as he suddenly goes back to retrieve one more gulp as you least expect it.

Suddenly, inspiration strikes. He meanders over to the saloon doors, and tilts the slots like blinds. He spots the Birdville bank just across the street, delighted at the goods that lie inside. It’s fun to see Friz play around the typography, the word BANK zooming on screen and dissipating away. The blue jay signals his mobster fellas to follow him. They grin knowingly and nod, one of them shoving away his date in the midst of their dance. Fantastic comedic timing as they inconspicuously cross the street, the blue jay whistling “I'm a Big Shot Now” all the way. His cronies stroll into the bank while he slowly settles in, leaning against the exterior wall and tossing his beloved coin...

...and a flurry of gunshots and bullets explode into the air, the blue jay unaffected as he keeps an eye out. The timing is perfect and the blue jay’s innocent façade sells the gag perfectly. Another one of his buddies pulls up in a car, and the robbers all pile in, including the blue jay. They take off with their souvenirs, their continued gunfire serving as a reminder of their presence as they shoot out the back of the escaping car.

And, of course, the police chase after them right away, officers dangling along after their own car held on merely by hands as they scramble to follow. Thus begins a dramatic shootout. The gangsters fire, and a police officer retaliates. He shoots, the impact so strong all of the birds slingshot backwards, held intact by the last bird who’s clutching to the sides of the car. A literal slingshot. The animation is smooth, funny, and captivating. Even the exhaust pipe from the gangster mobile fires bullets, highly amusing as the blue jay pops his head out of the exhaust pipe, wielding a gun.

Although the chase rages on as we fade out, a news headline pops into view: BANK BANDITS ESCAPE. Fade to a telephone pole, a wanted poster of the blue jay plastering his grizzly mug, promising rewards of 500 worms (what an incentive!) zoom in to the offending blue jay admiring his own wanted picture as he’s in the comfort of his own home. Laughing heartily and tearing the flyer in two.

He pokes his head out of the birdhouse, asserting the coast is clear. Pan down to his car parked at the bottom. A nearby police officer strolls on duty, when he recognizes the car. He summons his brigade of police officers, who are all hiding out in the bushes, behind trees, etc. Thus launches another shootout, the blue jay shooting from inside his birdhouse and the cops from outside. The blue jay reduces each of the officers’ hats to mere shreds as he shoots through them like butter. Another police officer fires rapidly at the blue jay, the force so strong that he unintentionally buries himself into a man-made hole.

Even the blue jay finds the novelty lost in the tedious gun fight, halfheartedly and nonchalantly firing back while flipping his beloved coin. A great detail that’s almost like Friz’s way of saying “Yeah, this is supposed to be tedious”. The bandit’s indifference is quickly rattled once a bullet pierces a hole through his coin—now full of contempt, he shoots back with rapid fire. A bird fires a rifle from a tree branch, the impact sending him whirling around the branch as he desperately clings on with his talons. Birds swoop in like fighter jets and fire at the birdhouse.

A particularly brave bird puffs out his chest and beats it for good measure, giving a good ol’ Tarzan yell as he swings from a vine. Nice perspective as he swings in front of the house, firing with his gun, then swinging the other way and continuing to shoot. A police car screeches to a halt beneath the house, and one of the cops fires a ton of holes in the floor of the house. In pure looney style, the holes form a circle right around the dumbfounded blue jay, and sure enough he plummets into the police van, where he’s tackled and beaten ferociously as we fade out.

Fade back into the local prison, the blue jay now behind bars. He sings more of “I'm a Big Shot Now”, instead altering the lyrics to “I used to be a toughie, but now I’m just a softie.” He flamboyantly poses as he sings about how he’s limited to just a jailbird now, and we iris out as he glumly rests his head on his hand, staring at the outside world he once knew.

A Merrie Melody that is riddled with more gags than the average Friz melody for sure. I loved the character design of the blue jay, a very smart use to manipulate their natural markings like that. He was full of personality and fun to watch, and was definitely the highlight of the short. Lots of funny gags, especially the scene where he and his cronies innocently stroll across the street just to shoot up the bank. Some of the shootout scenes did run a little long for my tastes (and Friz even admits to this as we see with the blue jay’s bored expression as he fires back), but it wasn’t a cartoon that crawled along. It was staged nicely and had a lot of good moments, and because of that it’s worth a watch.

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