Heaven Scent

Heaven Scent is a 1956 Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones.

Plot[]

In a seaside town on the French Riviera, to the tune of "Au clair de la lune", a fisherman is busy scooping his catch from a fishing trip into a basket. The smell of the fish entices Penelope Pussycat to make her way down to the dock to help herself to the fish, but she finds her path halted by sudden outbursts of barking dogs from all manner of places until she ends up hanging upside-down from the end of a flagpole. Noticing a sign that says that the flagpole has recently been painted, she gets an idea to get the dogs off her back; crawling along the underside of the flagpole, she paints her back and tail to make herself look like a skunk. When the dogs come after her again later, her scare tactic works, causing the dogs to panic and hide in all manner of humorous ways (on a sign for an inn, in a street lamp, in a bird house and even under a nesting stork). Free to pass, she walks down to the fisherman from earlier, who likewise runs and hides in his boat thinking she is a skunk, after which Penelope wanders off with a fish.

Later on, as Penelope sleeps contentedly among some flowers in a park, Pepé Le Pew wanders in from nearby singing a variation of "The Fountain in the Park" to himself. He soon spots Penelope and as ever believes she is a female skunk, quickly running up to her and kissing her. She wrestles herself from his grasp with Pepé noting that she was surprisingly strong. He soon hops after her, trying to tell her he was strong as well. Their chase comes to a vineyard where Penelope quickly hides herself in a bucket of grapes, only to quickly leap out and run off, as Pepé was already in there. Not understanding the situation, he wonders to himself why she looks everywhere for and finds him only to run away right after. Outside, Penelope hides herself in a treehole, only for Pepé to appear there as well and propose to her, causing her to run off again. Wondering to himself if his proposal was too sudden, he decides he will play hard to get, humming "And the Band Played On" to himself before continuing with the chase. Pepé puts himself before Penelope trying to reson with her until she jumps over a fence and runs off into the distance.

Deciding he'll cut Penelope off at the pass, he takes the river road and heads up a hill ahead of her. There he sings "And the Band Played On" to himself until Penelope arrives, running right into his arms. As Pepé tries to charm her, she wrestles herself from his grasp again. Assuming she is shy, Pepé hops after again, trying to suggest that she needs occupational therapy. Their chase goes up a cliff until Penelope stops short of the ledge, with some debris falling down to the ground. Noticing a sign saying that it is an echo point, and hearing the echo from the debris hitting the ground, Pepé shouts each word in "I love you" three times in order; the words echo back as complete phrases. He again tries to flirt with Penelope, only for her to run off once more, nearly sending him over the ledge, which he hangs onto by one of his feet. As he hangs, he notes how it is almost impossible to get insurance when one is in love, before then saying security isn't everything. Finally, after the chase goes across a bridge, Penelope runs into a tunnel which, unbeknownst to her and as Pepé discovers, is blocked. Pepé tells the audience, as a distinguished colleague of his once noted, "There is very little difference between men and women". He promptly declares "Vive le difference!" and hops into the tunnel after Penelope as the cartoon ends.

Availability[]

(1982) VHS
The Looney Tunes Video Show, Volume 4

(1990) VHS
Pepe Le Pew (1990)

(1996) VHS
Looney Tunes Collection - Pepe le Pew

(1996) VHS
Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 4)

(1997) VHS
Classic Bumper Collection

(2008) DVD
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6, Disc One

(2008) DVD
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 6, Disc 1

(2011) DVD
Looney Tunes Super Stars' Pepé Le Pew: Zee Best of Zee Best

Streaming[]

Boomerang (2017 - 2024) (restored)

Amazon Prime ( - ) (restored)

HBO Max Latin America / Brazil (2021 - 2024)

Max Latin America / Brazil (2024 - )

Notes[]

• As Penelope exits her residence, the business shown next door is "Jean Valjean Candlestiques et Bread". In Victor Hugo's novel "Les Miserables", Jean Valjean is imprisoned for stealing bread.
• When Penelope encounters the first dog, they are outside "M. Edourd Selzer Bottles", a reference to producer Eddie Selzer.
• A few scenes of this short were used in Bugs Bunny's Mad World of Television.
• This cartoon is one of eight mid-1950s Chuck Jones cartoons where layout work was done by Ernie Nordli (who was more well known for his work at Walt Disney Studios) instead of Maurice Noble.

Gallery[]

Lobby card

Lobby card

TV Title Cards[]

The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show (Final Season)