Porky In Wackyland

“Ex-tree! Ex-tree! Porky off on dodo hunt!”

This.. is my favorite cartoon ever! Heck, it’s my favorite bit of animation ever. Is it the humor? The sureality? The b/w charm? The fact that I consider it the epitome of cartoons? All that and whatever too! It’s great no matter how you slice, saute and butter it! And that’s why this site shares its name.

Like its successor this cartoon has Porky is off to find the last of the dodo birds. Its worth a lot of money. He arrives at the best place ever put to film: Wackyland! While searching, Porky sees many of the denizens that call this crazy landscape home. Or at least a condo. (Look! Bob Clampett and his animators created Catdog)

Amidst the bizarre, he finds the bird of his dreams. And the chase is on. The bird is tricky, and Porky has to disguise himself to get his hands on him. He succeeds in his capture but the dodo reveals something about himself. He may be the last of his species but that doesn’t mean he’s the only one left… (That’s a victory for Mother Earth, at least.)

Personal Rating: 5 (And I really feel that way too.)

Duck Soup to Nuts

“C-c-c’mon out or i’ll b-b-blow your head off!”

Daffy is minding his own business when a hunting Porky comes to shoot him. (Porky seems to have some kind of bad suntan.) Daffy tries to discourage him by showing off his talents but Porky won’t buy it. After a chase that includes Daffy in the gun and Porky getting bumps on his head, Daffy hides underwater where Porky can’t get him.

After failing to get him with a diving helmet, Porky drains the lake. (He’s determined.) He finds Daffy flopping around but refuses to believe he’s a fish. Daffy retaliates by refusing to believe the hunter is a pig. He’s an eagle. They argue, and Daffy pulls the ole switcheroo, (That gag will never get old) and Porky jumps off a tree to prove his eagle prowess.

Out of bullets in his rifle, Porky pulls out a pistol and prepares to kill Daffy. Daffy begs to say goodbye to his family. Porky feels he can’t shoot a married duck with children and leaves. As soon as he’s gone the other ducks reveal themselves to be friends of Daffy’s. They all laugh…until Porky comes back for revenge.

Personal Rating: 3

The Great Piggy Bank Robbery

“Fantastic! And furthermore, its unbelieva…ble!”

Daffy waits for his mail to the tune of “Powerhouse.” (and he even says “Thufferin Thuccotash” one of two times I can recall) his patience is rewarded with a new Dick Tracy comic book. He eagerly pours over each exciting panel and wishes he could be the man he admires. He accidentally knocks himself out and imagines that scenario.

Duck Twacy (Daffy) is getting numerous phone calls about missing piggy banks. He dismisses it as small stuff until he realizes his was stolen too. He immediately gets to the gangsters hideout (Porky cameo, yay!) and is met by the worst of the worst including: Mouseman, Pumpkinhead, Pussycat Puss, Batman, 88 Teeth, Neon Noodle, Double Header, and Wolfman. the chase is on! (Hey look! There’s an original Tracy villain: Flattop!)

Daffy makes pies out of Pumpkinhead and is tackled by most of the others. His body parts squirm out and he murders them with a Tommy-gun. Neon Noodle tries to get him, but hes turned into an “Eat at Joe’s sign”. Daffy finds the stolen goods and kisses the bank that’s his. He then wakes up to find himself kissing a sow.

Personal Rating: 5

Old Glory

“You don’t know why you should learn the pledge of allegiance to the flag?”

For Porky’s first color cartoon, (Yes his debut was in color. But he wasn’t the star) we find him struggling to learn the pledge to the flag. He can’t get the hang of it and he gives up. He takes a nap and Uncle Sam appears and begins to teach his subconsciousness about the history of America. From Paul Revere warning of the British, to the pioneers heading out west to find more land. (That already belonged to someone, but that part doesn’t paint the country in the best lights. Let’s omit it.)

After the history lesson Porky awakens and is able to recite the pledge form memory. (Owl eared listeners will notice he doesn’t say “under God” that part was not added yet.) This cartoon may not be as funny as its numerous siblings, but it’s enjoyable none the less. It reminds us how hard it was to be young and to understand. It also helps us remember to help others.

Personal Rating: 4 (If you can’t stand to see cartoons be serious, than it might not be for you. I stand by my rating, though)

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

Kitty Kornered

“I hate p-p-p-p-p-pussy cats.”

About time I talked about the great and hilarious Porky again! Its nine o clock and everyone is putting their cat out. Porky has 4. A kitten, a midget cat, a drunk cat, and Sylvester. (Don’t let the yellow eyes and black nose fool you. It’s him. You can trust me) However, they have no intent on being outside and they toss Porky out in their stead.

They decide to party with cigars, wine, and chocolates when Porky re enters. He chases them, and at one point pulls Sylvester off a moose head and pulling out a full moose. Porky gets rid of them by using a shadow puppet of his dog and they flee. Sylvester comes up with a plan, and they don martian get ups to scare Porky out into the snow. The pig asks the audience if they know of any houses to rent.

Personal Rating: 4

Tweetie Pie

“Kiss the ittle birdie!”

This is it! this is THE cartoon. What is THE cartoon? This is the first Looney Tune that won an Oscar. (Ironicly “Tom and Jerry” had been winning tons of Oscars. Why? Are Tom and Jerry better than Looney Tunes? Fun fact: not always) Actually, in this cartoon Sylvester is called Thomas. Oh, and this is the canary and putty tat’s first time together, too.

It’s winter and Tweety is out warming himself by a cigar butt. Thomas (Sylvester) grabs him and almost immediately gets caught by his owner. She takes Tweety in and puts him in a cage, warning the cat to leave him alone. When she’s gone, Sylvester builds a stack of furniture that Tweety chops down. (The owner hits Sylvester with a broom) He builds one out of metal furniture and Tweety uses a blowtorch to destroy it. (Sylvester gets hit with the broom again)

At one point Sylvester has Tweety under a glass so Tweety can’t call for help. So the bird pokes Sylvester with a pin and the owner throws him out. After failing to get in through the fireplace, and a Rube Golberg device doesn’t work, he saws the area around the cage which brings the whole ceiling down. Sylvester throws the broom in the fire only to get hit by a shovel. Wielded by Tweety.

Personal Rating: 3

Snow Business

“I’ll sthtarve!”

Sorry for the lack of update last week. I was forced to go camping and it took a lot out of me. In other news, I got a new person to visit here. (Give yourself a hand, ***.) So without further ado…

A blizzard is taking place and Granny can’t get to her cabin where her pets are. (And the man stopping her is no help “Well, I’m sorry ma’am”) In the cabin we see that the two pets are good friends. (Well Sylvester almost tries to eat Tweety, but he controls himself) They hear over a radio, that they are snowed in and worry they will starve. Tweety won’t because the only food available is birdseed. Sylvester thinks of something he can eat but he doesn’t tell Tweety what it is.

Instead he offers him a chance to go sailing (in a boiling pot of water) or skating. (in a pan of grease) This would work out great, but also in the cabin is a mouse who is starving and decides that putty tat is on the menu. Eventually, Granny makes it back to the cabin. To her surprise, the only thing she brought to eat is more bird seed.

Personal Rating: 3

Bird in a Guilty Cage

“We’ll play thandwich.”

Sylvester walks by a department store. To his delight, there is a canary on sale. He sneaks in and heads towards Tweety. (Not before ogling some mannequins in bathing suits.) Tweety hides on a ceiling lamp. Sylvester tries being creative and constructs a tower of mannequins to reach his prize. As he climbs up, Tweety climbs down and attaches roller skates to the tower, sending it down stairs.

Next, Tweety hides in a pile of hats. Sylvester can’t resist trying them on, but finds most of them horrible. Tweety is on one of them and seeing this, the puttytat tries to hammer the bird but only hits his own head. At the end, Tweety jumps in a mail chute and Sylvester goes to where he believes the bird will come out with his mouth open. Tweety comes out another end and sends a TNT stick his way. Sylvester is sure he ate Tweety and he leaves the store. After an explosion, he decides that birds upset his stomach.

Personal Rating: 3

Aint She Tweet?

“Quiet Boys! Quiet!”

Despite what the title says, always remember: TWEETY. IS. MALE! He also happens to be for sale inside a pet shop. A hungry Sylvester throws a brick at the window to get inside, but when he notices the cop, he has to let the brick hit himself. He comes back with a glass-cutter but is too late. Tweety has been bought by granny who loves pets, and that means she has a yard full to the brim with bulldogs.

Sylvester goes over on a tree limb, but Tweety saws it off. He tries stilts, but Tweety gives the dogs tools to dismantle them. He tries a zip line but his weight causes it to lower him into the dogs reach. At one point it seems the dogs are gone, but they are inside. Sylvester manages to escape but a dumb old man thinks he’s doing him a favor and throws him back. (There was a sign you dumb old man)

He climbs into a package which turns out to contain dog food. (Granny wonders what has made them so hungry) At night he sneaks among them, only for Tweety to wake them up with an alarm clock.

Personal Rating: 3