Odor of the Day

Odor of the Day
← Previous	Hare Splitter
Next →	The Foghorn Leghorn
Airdate:	2 October 1948
Series:	Looney Tunes
MPAA Number:	12509
Production Number:	1093
Copyright Renewed:	8 December 1975
Starring:	Pepé Le Pew Wellington Cecil Turtle (cameo)
Crew
Voice Characterizations:	Mel Blanc
Director:	Arthur Davis
Written By:	Lloyd Turner
Producer:	Eddie Selzer (uncredited)
Animated By:	J.C. Melendez Don Williams Emery Hawkins Basil Davidovich
Layout Artist:	Don Smith
Background Artist:	Philip DeGuard
Film Editor:	Treg Brown (uncredited)
Musician:	Carl Stalling

Odor of the Day is a 1948 Looney Tunes short directed by Arthur Davis.

Title

The title is a play on "order of the day."

Plot

On a cold winter day, a dog named Wellington is looking for a place to stay. After being rejected from a bulldog's doghouse, an eagle's nest, and even a tortoise's shell, he sneaks into a cabin with a fire and a cozy bed. However, he does have a rival, Pepé Le Pew, for the bed. The two battle by spraying each other with scents. Pepé has his foul odor, while Wellington has his perfume. The two then dive into a frozen lake in an attempt to remove the smells, and they catch colds in the process. Now unable to smell each other's scents, the two share the bed together.

Television

• Warner Bros. Syndication package (1964-1990)
• The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show (1990-1995; 1998-2000)
• Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon (1995-1997)
• The Bugs and Daffy Show [Cartoon Network] (1999-2004)
• The Looney Tunes Show [Cartoon Network] (2001-2004)
• Looney Tunes on Boomerang (2003-2005; 2013-present)
• Looney Tunes on Cartoon Network (2011-2015)
• Bugs Bunny and Friends [Me TV] (2021-present)
• Sunday Night Cartoons [Me TV +] (2021-present)

Availability

(1982) VHS
The Looney Tunes Video Show, Volume 5

(1985) VHS
Pepe Le Pew's Skunk Tales

(1985) Beta
Pepe Le Pew's Skunk Tales

(1995) VHS
Classic Collection (WHSmith Exclusive Video)

(1995) VHS
Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 2)

(1996) VHS
Looney Tunes Collection - Pepe le Pew

(1999) VHS
Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 14: Cartoon Superstars

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

Streaming

Boomerang App (2017 - )

HBO Max (2020 - 2023) (initial upload had an audio error, with missing sound effects of sniffing, snorting, sneezing, and coughing; new version uploaded has the missing sound effects restored)

Max (2023 - )

Notes

• Wellington, who previously appeared in "Doggone Cats", returns in this short.
• This cartoon is the first Pepé Le Pew short to not be directed by Chuck Jones (or, in the case of 1959's "Really Scent", a member of Chuck Jones' animation unit). The only other Pepé Le Pew cartoon that would not be directed by Chuck Jones (or a member of Chuck Jones' animation unit) is the 1954 Sylvester and Tweety cartoon, "Dog Pounded".
• This is the only cartoon to depict Pepé Le Pew as a screwball comic relief character instead of the usual lovesick character that he is known for (though that may be up for debate, considering the skunk that may or may not be Pepé on the Chuck Jones short, "Fair and Worm-er").
  • Because of this, many online classic cartoon animation forums have claimed that the skunk in "Odor of the Day" is not Pepé Le Pew but rather a completely different skunk altogether, though Jerry Beck on the documentary Unsung Maestros: A Director's Tribute on the fifth volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set says that the skunk is, in fact, Pepé Le Pew, but is "[Arthur Davis'] own weird version" of Pepé. Additionally, Thad Komorowski has said surviving model sheets do say the character is, in fact, Pepé. Cementing this is the fact that "Odor of the Day" has been released on both Pepe Le Pew's Skunk Tales VHS tape from Warner Bros. Cartoons Golden Jubilee 24 Karat Collection collection in 1986 and the Pepé Le Pew: Zee Best of Zee Best DVD from the Looney Tunes Super Stars collection in 2011.
  • Even the ToonHeads episode "Pepe Le Pew" confirms that the skunk in "Odor of the Day" indeed is Pepé Le Pew, albeit without the character's signature characteristics.
• The original closing titles are presumed to be lost, as the DVD version of the short uses the 1957–59 Merrie Melodies ending title card.
  • The original ending titles survive on a pre-restored Brazilian TV airing, but the original opening rings are replaced by the 1957–59 blue rings. Additionally, the opening credits are removed, along with the Looney Tunes theme being replaced with a shortened, synthesized version of the Merrie Melodies ending theme playing on both the opening card and the ending card.

Gallery

Title card as on television and the 1980s Golden Jubilee VHS releases

Production model sheet

Production model sheet

TV Title Cards

The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show

External Links

• "Odor of the Day" at SuperCartoons.net
• "Odor of the Day" at B98.TV