Editing Tweety (section)

== Freleng takes over ==
Clampett began work on a short that would pit Tweety against a then-unnamed, lisping black and white cat created by [[Friz Freleng]] in 1946. However, Clampett left the studio before going into full production on the short (which had a storyboard produced, where it was titled "Fat Rat and the Stupid Cat"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://profilesinhistory.com/flipbooks/A116Animation/files/basic-html/page12.html|title=A116Animation|website=profilesinhistory.com}}</ref>), however Freleng would use Tweety in his own separate project. Freleng toned Tweety down and gave him a cuter appearance, resulting in his long-lashed blue-pupil eyes and yellow feathers. Clampett mentions in ''Bugs Bunny: Superstar'' that the feathers were added to satisfy censors who objected to the naked bird. The first short to team Tweety and the cat, later named [[Sylvester the Cat|Sylvester]], was 1947's ''[[Tweetie Pie]]'', which won Warner Bros. its first [[Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons)|Academy Award for Best Short Subject]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture |volume=5 |edition=2nd |last=Riggs |first=Thomas |publisher=St. James Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-55862-847-2 |location=Detroit |pages=178–179}}</ref>

Sylvester and Tweety proved to be one of the most notable pairings in animation history. Most of their cartoons followed a standard formula:

* Sylvester wants to catch and eat Tweety, but some major obstacle stands in his way – usually Granny or her bulldog [[Hector the Bulldog|Hector]] (or occasionally, numerous bulldogs, or another cat who also wants to catch and eat Tweety).
* Tweety says his signature lines "I tawt I taw a puddy tat!" and "I did! I did taw a puddy tat!" (Originally, like in ''A Tale of Two Kitties'', it was "I did! I taw a putty tat!", but the extra "did" got inserted, starting with Freleng's first cartoon, somehow). In later cartoons, such as ''[[Home, Tweet Home]]'', Tweety says "I did! I did! I did taw a puddy tat!"
* Sylvester spends the entire film using progressively more elaborate schemes or devices to catch Tweety, similar to [[Wile E. Coyote]] in his ongoing efforts to catch the [[Road Runner (Looney Tunes)|Road Runner]], [[Tom Cat|Tom]]'s attempts to catch [[Jerry Mouse|Jerry]], and the [[The Ant and the Aardvark|Aardvark]]'s attempts to catch the [[The Ant and the Aardvark|Ant]]. Of course, each of his tricks fail, either due to their flaws or, more often than not, because of intervention by either [[Hector the Bulldog]] or an indignant Granny, or after Tweety steers the enemy toward them or another device (such as off the ledge of a tall building or in front of an oncoming train).

In a few of the cartoons, Sylvester does manage to briefly eat Tweety up with a gulp. However, either Granny or another character makes him spit Tweety out right away. In the 1952 Christmas-themed short ''[[Gift Wrapped (film)|Gift Wrapped]]'', Sylvester was also briefly eaten by Hector the Bulldog, and forced by Granny to spit him out; as punishment, both Sylvester and Hector were tied up with their mouths gagged shut.

In 1951, Mel Blanc (with [[Billy May]]'s orchestra) had a hit single with "[[I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat (song)|I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat]]", a song performed in character by Tweety and featuring Sylvester. In the lyrics Sylvester sings "I'd like to eat that Thweetie Pie when he leaves his cage", implying that Tweety's name is actually Sweetie Pie. Later the name "Sweetie Pie" was applied to the young, pink female canary in the ''[[List of Tiny Toon Adventures characters#Sweetie Bird|Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' animated TV series of the early 1990s.

From 1945 until the original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio closed, Freleng had almost exclusive use of Tweety at the Warner cartoon studio (much like [[Yosemite Sam]]), with the exception of a brief cameo in ''No Barking'' in 1954, directed by Chuck Jones (that year, Freleng used [[Pepé Le Pew]], a Jones character, for the only time in his career and the only time in a Tweety short, ''[[Dog Pounded]]'').