History
Tweety Bird was officially introduced in the Oscar-winning 1942 short A Tale of Two Kitties, in which the character debuted his catchphrase: “I tawt I taw a puddy tat!”—courtesy of voice-over legend Mel Blanc, who played Tweety for nearly 50 years. The other Academy Award on Tweety’s lengthy resumé is for Birds Anonymous, one of many Merrie Melodies shorts pairing him with his longtime foe Sylvester the cat. Bob Clampett created the first prototype of the character; originally, Tweety was depicted as a naked newborn baby bird and censors took issue with it. Credit for the feathered canary version we know and love goes to Friz Freleng.
Over the years Tweety quickly solidified himself as a Looney Tunes mainstay. He was one of the OG little guys to root for—and no matter how many times Sylvester tried to eat him, Tweety always found a way to live to see another day. Always motivational, Tweety’s constant vigilance reminds us to watch our backs and trust no cat. Tweety can be seen in classic Looney Tunes shorts, of course, but he’s also a part of Looney Tunes Cartoons, the current HBO Max series, which pay homage to the originals with hyper violent gags but are updated with eccentric modern comedic stylings.
