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Penelope Pussycat is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic cat featured in the Warner Brothers classic Looney Tunes animated shorts. Though typically a non-speaker, her "meows" and "purs" were most often provided by Mel Blanc using a femanine voice. In the 1959 short "Really Scent", she was voiced by June Foray. And in her only real speaking role, she was voiced by Tress MacNeille in the 1995 straight-to-video movie, "Carrotblanca".

Penelope Pussycat is best-known as the often times bewildered love-interest of Looney Tunes star-skunk, Pepe Le Pew. Penelope is a typical black and white pussycat, though by some means or another, she often finds herself with a white stripe down her back. She talks very seldomly, and has a some-what shy personality...until she falls in love. When Penelope falls in love, and there is nothing to get in her way, she can be just as passionate and unstoppable as Pepe. Penelope is always on the look-out for romance, but often times that romance comes paired with a disturbingly-foul odor.

While she finds herself constantly being chased by the overly-enthusiastic Pepe, their relationship is not a completely one-sided attraction. On more than one occassion she has been shown to harbor an equally powerful desire to chase, capture and smother Pepe in overwhelming amounts of passion and romance (much to Pepe's fright, as he is not the type who likes the women to do the capturing). However, while she does find Pepe to be attractive, it is his smell that she cannot stand.

On many occassions she will go to great lengths to seperate Pepe from his odor, and in the moments where she succeeds, she turns the tables on Pepe and amorously hunts him down with wreckless abandon.

Most Popular Appearances

"For Scent-imental Reasons"

Her first appearance was in the 1949 Academy Award-winning short, "For Scent-imental Reasons". In that short, Penelope accidentilly winds-up with a white stripe down her back and is chased through-out a perfume shop by the aroused Pepe. However, by the episode's end, both Penelope and Pepe fall out a window on the second story. Penelope falls into barrel of dirty water, which not only washes away the white stripe, but leaves her with a ratty appearance and a bad cold. Pepe, on the other hand, falls into a can of blue paint, which seals off his odor and (unknowingly to him) disguises him as a cat. Penelope falls in love instantaneously and chases Pepe (who isn't fond of the wet, sickly look) back into the Perfume shop. Once inside, she locks the door behind herself, drops the key down her chest and continues to chase the terrified Pepe. Pepe's only remark is "You know, it eez possible to be TOO attractive" as he runs away in fright with Penelope hopping closely behind him.

"Little Beau-Pepe"

Another of her more foreward appearances was in the 1952 short, "Little Beau-Pepe". In this one, Penelope joins the French Foreign Legion out in a desert base, and immediately scares all the Legionarres off the premesise. Penelope, the Legion's mascot, accidentilly rubs her back beneath the bottom rung of a ladder with fresh white paint on it, and ends up with the appearance of a skunk. Pepe immediately goes for her and chases her out into the desert. After finding an oasis (which is quickly abandoned by the resident Lgionarres at the sight of two skunks), she collapses from exaustion. Pepe takes her into a tent to rest-up while he tries to find the right perfume to arouse her with. He decides to combine them all and subsequently sprays himself with the mixture. The scent works as an effecive love-potion and Penelope awakes from her nap in an explosion of hearts. Capturing Pepe in her arms, she proceeds to smother him in numerous kisses. The terrified Pepe shouts "Madame! T-try to control yourself!" Penelope does not and continues to kiss him. Pepe tries to push her away but Penelope will not let go and will not stop kissing him, either. Eventually, Pepe escapes her embrace and runs out into the desert with Penelope hopping right behind him. Pepe laments, "How come whenever it eez zee man who eez to be captured, all he wants to do eez get away!?" As Penelope chases him, she flirtatiously meows "Le rowr. Le rowr. Le rowr rowr rowr!!"

"Really Scent"

In possibly the most-famous and most-popular Pepe Le Pew short, the 1959 "Really Scent", Pepe and Penelope spend the cartoon actually pursuing eachother. However, Penelope's pursuit of Pepe is not easy, as she pines to get through his fould odor so they can be together. She attempts to use perfume to cover his stink and even tries to hold her breath so they can hold hands, but all those plots fail. At the end of the episode, Pepe realises that it is his smell that she is afraid of and declares 'For her, I will make myself dainty!" and locks himself into a deoderant plant. Penelope, on the other hand, is prepared to drown herself in a lake out of lonliness untilt he narrator reminds her there is another way. Inspired by love, Penelope locks herself inside a limburgher cheese factory. When both characters emerge from their isolation, Pepe is without stench and Penelope is absolutely reeking. Penelope, showing a distinctly more forceful and over-powering personality, immediately snatches Pepe up in her arms and begins cuddling him fiercely. Pepe quickly notices her putrid smell and tries to break free. Penelope refuses to let him go and Pepe has a difficult time escaping. Penelope immediately runs after him at full speed with her arms stretched-out, attempting to grab him. Pepe sighs "Oy vey, what a day!" as he desperately tries to avoid the swiping arms of the amorous Penelope who is only inches behind him. Penelope chases Pepe into a heart-shaped opening into a near-by forest as the narrator says "And that is love in New Orleans; laugh a little, cry a little. Au reviour".

• Looney Tunes characters
• Fictional skunks