“Who in the w-world could that be?”
Supervision by Robert Clampett; Animation by I. Ellis; Story by Warren Foster; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. Released in 1941
Somewhat of a precursor to the cartoons with Charlie Dog. I don’t think this one is quite as great as those, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.
A poor little dog (named Sandy but is a male) watches pancakes being made. The poor little fellow is hungry and is sadly a non-anthropomorphic dog. (That chef is a dog. What a confusing world Toontown is) He slumps away but meets an old friend of his. A dog named Rover. And he is sitting in a car because he is no longer a stray, he has a master! He tells Sandy how it happened. It was easy enough. He walked right into “Termite Terrace” apartments and headed up the top floor penthouses. (Just where I expected Porky to live.) He tells the pig that they should be pet and master and gives him more kisses than I’ve ever seen him receive from Petunia. (But then, Porky doesn’t need to show me his make-out sessions with her) Porky doesn’t want a dog (despite all the tricks he knows) and drops him down to the ground floor. He runs back to his place panting. But that’s not him panting. Rover is there and shows off his Carmen Miranda impression. When Porky throws him out again, Rover takes the hint and throws himself out. The window that is. Except not really, he’s still on the edge. Porky shuts the window and ignores him. Rover tries to get his attention by pretending to lose his balance. When he really does lose it he plummets. Porky runs to catch him but doesn’t. He cries and hugs the poor puppy who reveals he is fine. (If Porky can drop him and he’ll live, I don’t see why this would be much of a problem.) The short ends there, but from the way Porky is smiling, it’s pretty clear that it’s the start of a beautiful relationship. Too bad Rover dies or something. Why else would he never show up again? And that could be why Porky doesn’t want Charlie ever! He reminds him too much of his lost friend! I’m a genius!
Personal Rating: 3