Baby Bottleneck

“I do all the woik, and the fadders get all the credit.”

You didn’t think that I wouldn’t talk about Porky more after the last post did you? Also, I’d say sorry for no update on Tuesday, but next to no one comes here anyway so I’d only be apologizing to myself… On to the cartoon.

After World War 2,  people keep pumping out babies and it’s taking its toll on the stork. He quits and some inexperienced people try to make the deliveries themselves, but they make plenty of mistakes. Such as kittens to mice, gorillas to kangaroos and an alligator to a pig. (There is actually a censor that has never been restored. When the reptile tries to nurse at her teat, the sow originally said “Don’t touch that dial” If you don’t blink, you can see a brief frame of the line about to be said)

Replacing those idiots are Porky and Daffy. Daffy mans the phones and makes wisecracks to Cantor, about his lack of getting a boy and Mr. Dione for asking for a little too much. Porky is in charge of the assembly line which gets the babies ready for delivery. The only problem is one egg has no address. Porky asks Daffy to sit on it (Look how huge his hat got!) but Daffy refuses. A chase ensues which ultimately ends with the two running on the assembly line, getting dressed up like a baby, and shipped to Africa. Mother gorilla is in for quite the shock .

Personal Rating: 4

The Bugs Bunny Show

“On with the show, this is it!”

During the sixties, “Looney Tunes” was on its last legs. Also during this time, Looney Tunes got its TV show. (Why not? It was the latest fad!) The premise was simple: Bugs showing us cartoons with various bridging sequences in between, such as Bugs feeding Taz carrots or Slowpoke coming to visit Speedy. The show was black and white which may have been odd today since all the shorts in the theaters were color, but color TV was only starting to get started. Lack of pigment  was a small price to pay for the convenience of watching animated masterpieces in your own living room.

Now for the bad news. This show is gone and you’re not liable to find any full episodes. (At least, as I’m originally writing this.) If you ever have seen, or have any somehow, you are quite lucky. Maybe you’d like to make the rest of the world feel as lucky as you?

Personal Rating: (From what little I’ve seen) 3

Bugs Bunny’s Looney Tunes all star 50th Anniversary

Now obviously, this was made a while ago. If it’s celebrating Looney Tunes as a whole then it should have made its debut in 1980. If it’s Bugs we’re honoring, then it should be 1990. This came out in 1986. (I suppose that’s close enough to both dates) Enough of that. Let’s begin!

This shows plenty of stars remembering the Tunes and the joy that they have brought to every person who has enjoyed life at some point. Chuck Jones tells us how everyone is like Daffy but they all want to be Bugs. (This is the greatest analogy for the human race, ever. Don’t even try to debate.) Freleng tells us how Yosemite Sam came about and Kirk Douglas tells how great Bugs and Daffy’s westerns were. Freleng also tells us about Porky’s history and why he has his ‘stutter’ (It’s actually a grunt.) Mike Nicholas asks if we remember Petunia and explains why she faded into obscurity. My favorite part is when Jeff Goldblum defends Porky. I’m sure I’ve stated this before, but Porky is my favorite. He’s hilarious, charismatic, relatable, cute and stars in most of my favorites, and don’t forget: he’s the one we always expect to see at the end.

David Bowie gives reasons why he will not work with Bugs and the great Mel Blanc explains how he created a voice for bugs to use. Steve Martin makes note that all comedy has been influenced by Bugs and Chuck Yeager points out Bugs doesn’t get hurt. Quincy Jones explains that Bugs can get girls but he doesn’t want to, and Billy Dee Williams shows some of Carl Stallings talent with sound effects. Fascinating stuff.

Personal Rating: 2 (It’s really only for those passionate Looney Tune fans)

Space Jam

“You guys are nuts.”

“Correction, we’re Looney Tunes”

I love this movie, but then again, I am a Looney Tunes fanboy. It’s sad most of the world seems to hate it. I think that is bull crap. This is a masterpiece if ever there was one. At least it did great at the box office.

The history is that people made commercials with Bugs and Michael Jordan advertising basketball shoes. So they figured making a movie was a good idea. (I think it was.) Our plot is that a theme park in outer space, (it is not specified which planet, but I think the whole park is its own planet) sucks. (How can people say that? Didn’t you ever want to ride an Astro-orbiter wannabe that shoots at you? Oh yeah, me neither) The owner decides they need new attractions and figures that the Looney Tunes are just the thing. I’d come.

However, Bugs tricks them into thinking they need to give the toons a chance to defend themselves. Since the aliens are short and have tiny limbs, basketball seems like a shoe in. However the aliens have the ability to steal the ability from five NBA players. Luckily, Jordan was retired at this time. So they don’t nab him. The toons get him for their side and we get the greatest game in all history!

This also introduced us to Lola. She did not have much of a personality in this movie, save for being someone for Bugs to be attracted to. Seems she was popular though, as she appeared in “Baby Looney Tunes”, “Tweety’s High Flying Adventure”, and “The Looney Tunes Show.”

Bottom line if you hate this you have no taste and at the very least you have to watch it once. (There must be more who love this, I know it!) “Tune” in next time where I will name all the Looney Tunes who appear in the film as well as some interesting facts. Woo hoo hoo hoo! Woo hoo!

Personal Rating: 3. (Unless you’re one of those people who can’t stand anything Looney that came out after the Golden age. For you, it’s a 2.)

Daffy Duck Hunt

“B-B-Benedict Arnold!”

Porky and his dog, the Barnyard Dawg are out hunting. Cue duck. Daffy empties all the shells and taunts Porky and his dog with some french dancing. Porky tells the dog to get him and the dog decides that a trick will help him win. He begins to cry and Daffy asks what’s wrong. The dog explains (lies) that if he does not catch a duck, Porky will torture him. In a rare moment of selflessness, Daffy says they will pretend he was caught. After the dog brings Daffy back to his master, Porky decides that one duck is enough for dinner. They go home and put Daffy in a freezer.

Porky goes to sleep whilst the dog hears thumps in the freezer. His two consciousnesses appear and try to make him choose to let Daffy freeze or at least warm up for helping him. Choosing the right choice, he puts Daffy in the oven to get some heat. Daffy tries to leave but is explained that he is not going to leave. Daffy makes a lot of racket and Porky storms in to see what is going on. Daffy jumps in the dog’s mouth and the poor mutt gets beaten.

More of this zaniness follows. Finally, Porky says that if the duck is not in the freezer then the dog dies. Opening it up he allows Daffy to jump out, dressed like Santa and has them sing “Jingle Bells.” Porky then notices the calendar says April, and gets an axe to finish Daffy. However, he is stopped by the patch on Daffy that says, “Do not open until Christmas”. Daffy figures that by then, he will have figured a way out of the mess he got himself into.

Personal Rating: 3 (but it teeters dangerously towards the “4” category)

Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century

“Can you do it, Dodgers?”

This is probably the longest title for a Looney Tune made in the golden age. (Its sequel is longer.) And don’t worry. If you forget what you are watching, the short keeps reminding us. I’m sure everyone has seen this one. I mean, George Lucas showed it in certain theaters when “Star Wars” came out, and a clip appears in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

The plot is that in the 24th and a half century, the shaving cream atom (aludium fozdex) is alarmingly low. The only remaining source is on Planet X and Daffy and Marvin are both trying to claim it for their planets. For once, Daffy actually wins this battle but as Porky says, it’s not really a big deal. The fighting has only left a football sized planet left. Also interesting is the fact that this is the only short where Marvin did not appear with Bugs. (He really should have appeared more.)

Personal Rating: 5

Rabbit Fire

“Sthurvival of the fittest. And besides its fun!”

This is the short that I believe most everyone thinks of when they think of “Looney Tunes.” It defines classic. Most memorable is definitely the duck season/rabbit season line. That will be remembered until time itself stops. As for the plot, it is basically the same as “Rabbit Seasoning” (even though this one came first) It also marks the first time time Bugs and Daffy starred in the same short. (Their first time on screen together was in “Porky Pig’s Feat” but that was just a cameo by Bugs)

As a kid, this was one of the first one I ever saw and to this day I can still remember the joy of seeing it whenever it came on. (You know, back when Cartoon Network was cool, and this stuff was pretty much on every day?)

Personal Rating: 5

Golden Yeggs

“Oh, my aching back!”

A commotion is going on at Porky’s farm. It turns out to be a golden egg. The goose responsible has read the original story, and says that Daffy is the one who did it. Daffy goes along with the charade and he comes to the attention of Rocky and his gang who want the money the duck produces. They “talk” Porky into giving him away and the rest is gags as Daffy tries to get away with it without dying. It’s a great short that deserves to be a full-length motion picture. I hope you are enjoying this place as much as I am. Woo hoo hoo hoo!

Personal Rating: 3

Boobs in the Woods

“That’s my lake.”

Porky and Daffy worked great together, but to me they were at their best when Daffy was a screwball. Don’t get me wrong though, I still love it when Daffy was more serious, but for me this is comedy genius.

So we got Porky just out trying to paint a picture when Daffy gets in his way. What follows is our favorite duck getting the best of our porcine friend. As we all know, Daffy usually wins, but in this one (which I think is Daffy’s last crazy cartoon) Porky wins.

Personal Rating: 4

Deduce You Say

“I may be down, but the jig is up!”

We open and find Daffy, A.K.A. Dorlock Holmes and Porky, (Watkins) on the case of the Shropshire Slasher. After all the times you’ve seen Porky and Daffy together, you may be mistaken into believing its nothing special. But you’re wrong. It makes fun of the British language quite a bit, and Daffy gets his neck bent. This is why Looney Tunes are better than whatever they’re parodying. I bet Sherlock was never a clown, or that we ever saw his foe’s mother. Did Sherlock ever get his face full of darts? I think not. Case closed.

Personal Rating: 4