Tiny Cat

This article is about the original Tiny Cat. For the toon currently working under that name, see Felonious Feline.

Tiny Cat is a toon feline of incredibly small proportions, and longtime collaborator with animator Whit Jolley. He starred in a number of cartoons that revolved around his unusual size and the inevitable mishaps and adventures it would cause, starting with Little Ship's Little Cat in 1927. His first feature-length film was A Tiny Cat Christmas in 1959. Tiny Cat was the mascot character for Whit Jolley Animation from its founding until his dismissal in 1975.

Appearance

As much as implied by his name, Tiny Cat is a very small cat, measuring approximately 6 inches from nose to tail. He is almost entirely black except for his face, his paws, and the tip of his tail, which are all white. This coloring, coupled with his simplistic design, caused some complications in determining if he had been colorized when the process started in 1936. However, animator Mehmet Wernick was the first to notice that Tiny Cat had a pink tongue, and made the suggestion that Tiny Cat stick out his tongue at least once per cartoon to assure audiences that they were watching a completely full-color production.

Personality

Tiny Cat was first described by Whit Jolley as "a peppy and keen fellow, saucy as you like while neat around his edges." Despite seeming like the nonsensical ravings of an unhinged lunatic, this is actually a somewhat accurate assessment of Tiny Cat in the language of the era. He is energetic, optimistic, and clever. He never views his small size as a drawback, despite the constant need to find ways around it. Much of his character on screen is derived from this attitude toward life in general.

He has a naturally soft and childish voice, opting to speak infrequently and in short, simple sentences. Because of this particular quirk, many often assume that he is either shy or slow-witted, but neither are true.

Since the death of Whit Jolley, he has become more withdrawn. He prefers to spend his time out of the public eye, rarely seen by anyone except his closest friends. He has a very low opinion of Felonious Feline, his replacement as Whit Jolley Animation's studio mascot, but he lacks the drive to do anything about it.