Claws in the Lease

WARNER BROS. STUDIO Claws in the Lease (1963) six (6) original production animation layout drawings red, brown and black pencil on six (6) untrimmed animation sheets, image sizes range from .75" x 3.75" to 3" x 9" (Sylvester: 3" x 9") These six (6) original animation layout drawings of Sylvester, mice, and vacuum cleaner were created by Warner Bros. director Robert McKimson in development of a scene in the animated Merrie Melodies cartoon featuring Sylvester and son. Dissatisfied with life in a junkyard, Sylvester's son finds a home with a crabby woman, but his father is turned away at the door. To demonstrate his worth Sylvester vacuums up mice from the Acme Cheese Co., as depicted in these drawings, and introduces them into the house. He enters as Super-Puss, but the mice turn him, his son, and the woman out of the house; the trio end up in the junkyard where the story began. Mr. McKimson wrote notes regarding the scene at lower right on all six sheets, including "Fade in / Syl talks to self-smugly / Diss out" on the drawing of Sylvester.