Detective Thinking Hat is the 12th episode of the Joe Oriolo Felix the Cat cartoons, airing in 1959.
The episode starts with Felix walking home, finding a package for him at the doorstep. He finds out its from his uncle, Purrlock Jones of Scotland Alley, who is retiring from the detective business after 50 years of service. Enclosed with the letter is Purrlock's most treasured possession, a Thinking Cap, which he's passing on to Felix as a gift. Felix puts the cap on and looks at himself in the mirror, laughing at the thought that he could be a detective now. He pulls out his Junior G Man badge from a drawer, along with a water gun. Felix draws the gun on himself in the mirror, only for the mirror to shoot water back at him. Felix heads off to patrol the streets, noticing a wanted sign for a local crook, Rock Bottom. Felix decides to try and catch him, and calls him up on a local telephone. The pugnacious crook, resting in his office, picks up the line. At first, he's startled by Felix's warning that he's coming to arrest him, but laughs it off, hangs up and acts exasperated at having to deal with another cop. Felix suddenly shows up at his doorstep, ordering him to open up. This time, Felix's gun is loaded with real bullets, so he writes “Open or I'll Shoot” into the doorway from the outside. Rock Bottom gets angered at this, and shoots a large X into the door with his own volley of bullets, daring him to come in. Felix storms inside and orders Rock to come quietly, but Rock springs a trapdoor for him, with a 1000 lb weight falling from above. Felix sidesteps the trapdoor and the weight falls in. Rock Bottom aims his gun at Felix, but the cat sprays him with the water setting of his gun. Rock storms forward to grab Felix, but ends up tripping and getting stuck in his own traphole. Felix arrests him, and after he gets out of the hole, Felix begins escorting him to the police station. Rock Bottom manages to sneak behind Felix (who has his eyes closed) by using a nearby road construction sign, grabbing him, tying him up with rope and shoving him into a cement mixer, which he turns on.
Rock Bottom returns to his office, eager to be rid of Felix and musing that he's probably part of Route 77 by now—only to find out that Felix is sitting right at his desk! Rock panics and runs, smashing through his door to escape. Rock proceeds to run all the way across the country just to get away from Felix, eventually winding up at a carnival. He notices a peephole nearby, with a sign offering a look at 16 gorgeous girls—Rock sticks his head in, but it turns out to be a Hit the Dummy ball game, with Felix right there waiting for him. Felix hurls a baseball at Rock, sending him flying into a shooting gallery game. Rock escapes back to the city, running into a construction site and riding up on a steel girder—only to find Felix waiting near the top for him! Rock leaps down to get away from him, only to smash into a few girders on the way down. Felix narrowly saves him from falling by using a crane to pin Rock under the girder. Felix raises the girder and Rock tries to climb up it, but the girder now has a bucket of hot rivets on it, one of which rolls down onto Rock's hand, burning it and forcing him to let go. Felix narrowly saves him again by using the crane hook to catch Rock's shirt. Rock looks on horror as he sees a killer whale in front of him—but that turns out to be an advertisement for a movie, Blubberino the Whale. Felix drops Rock into a water tower, and flushes him out at the bottom. Felix tries to arrest Rock again, but he flees into a nearby air vent, where he lands right in the front row of a movie theater. Rock decides to enjoy the movie—but finds out that the movie is starring Felix! Rock flees the theater and runs down the street—only to find Felix leading an army of cops his way! Rock gives up as Felix makes him reach for the sky, escorting him to the city jail. Once he's locked up, Felix points out to Rock that the crowd of police weren't working with Felix—it was a group of them marching together to an annual police picnic. Felix says “Righty-O!” and laughs as the cartoon irises out.
Tropes:
- Abnormal Ammo: In addition to shooting real bullets, Felix's toy gun can also shoot soda pop, grape juice and water. Its not clear if its a toy gun that can somehow work like the real thing or a custom model Felix made for himself.
- All Men Are Perverts: Rock is lured into a trap by Felix with a hole that offers a free look at 16 gorgeous girls.
- Blown Across the Room: Felix does this to Rock Bottom by throwing a baseball at him!
- Bottomless Magazines: Felix's puny toy gun shoots out a whopping 116 bullets to write into the door of Rock Bottom's office. Rock Bottom's six shooter shoots out a volley of 17 bullets in a row.
- Broad Strokes: A billboard in the cartoons is an ad for a movie based on Blubberino the Whale, who had appeared in an earlier episode, “Blubberino the Whale”.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Rock Bottom brags about being this in his introduction."Another cop! Why do they always pick on me! Can I help it if I'm a crook? I am just a product of my genes. My chromosomes are made of jumpin' beans. My ego is in panic, I'm almost schizophrenic! I'm insecure and live beyond my means!"
- Digital Destruction: The DVD copy of the cartoon has some minor DVNR problems, most noticably when Rock has fallen into his trapdoor and the screen is shaking and the first scene where Rock is running away from Felix.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Rock gets trapped in the very traphole he set up for Felix.
- Impact Silhouette: Rock Bottom leaves this impression on his door when he runs away from Felix in his office.
- Made of Iron: Rock survives a high fall, smashing into a few steel girders hard enough to bend them, something that would've undoubtedly killed a man in real life.
- The Man in the Mirror Talks Back: When Felix draws his toy gun on his reflection, the reflection squirts its gun at him first!
- Offscreen Teleportation: Felix somehow manages to get out of the cement mixer and beat Rock Bottom all the way back to his office. And then manages to stay ahead of him, leading him into a trap at the carnival.
- Oh, Crap!: Rock Bottom panics when he finds out Felix escaped the cement mixer and was waiting for him at his office desk.
- Punny Name: Purrlock Jones.
- Shout-Out: The name of Felix's uncle is a play on Sherlock Holmes.
- Show Within a Show: Rock Bottom watches a movie after evading Felix, but the movie turns out to be starring Felix, to Rock's horror.
- Trap Door: Rock tries to trap Felix in one, but he gets trapped in it instead.
- Traveling-Pipe Bulge: Rock makes this form in a pipe when Felix forces him out of a water tower.
