Cartoons of 1937

SERIES: Looney Tunes
SYNOPSIS: Many people are hitch-hiking to go to the big fight, and so is Porky Pig. Porky does arrive at the fight, but he is mistaken for the challenger. Can he take on the champ?
ORIGINAL RELEASE: January 9th, 1937
SUPERVISION: Fred Avery
STORY: N/A, Warner cartoons would not credit writers until The Lyin' Mouse.
ANIMATION: Charles Jones, Elmer Wait
MUSICAL DIRECTION: Carl W. Stalling
STUDIO: Leon Schlesinger Productions (producer), Warner Bros. Pictures (distributor)

Pre-Show Remarks

One of the more known aspects of this short is the abruptly cut scene during the "train" sequence. Allegedly, whatever this scene was, it was cut in prints as early as 1942, and only a very small snippet of audio survives on a 1950s television print. Even then, the short audio that survives does not clue us as to what the scene's contents once were.

Visually, this is one of the first shorts to try to make Porky look "cuter"--his head is now approximately the same size as his body, and his eyes are larger, making him look a little more boy-like. He's still pudgy, but nowhere near as fat as he was in his earliest appearances. The "perfect" Porky design would not be seen until Porky's Duck Hunt, and would continue to be improved upon by Bob Clampett once he started directing his own cartoons.

Model sheet.

Mel Blanc also makes a brief, early cameo here--he does Porky woo-wooing like a maniac when he wants to leave the ring. However, Picador Porky was produced first, so I will not elaborate on Mel's appearance here for too long. In this short, Porky is still voiced by Joe Doughtery. Mel would not take him on until Porky's Duck Hunt.

A short subject listing for the Strand Theatre, from the Jan. 16th, 1937 issue of Motion Picture Herald.

Screenshots

In My Opinion...

Fine

A fun little cartoon to kill some time with. I feel the train gag goes on for a little too long, but it's still a funny scene. Very nice animation in this one, especially in Chuck Jones' scenes.

Next week...Some monkey business in The Golfers.

Labels: Looney Tunes, Tex Avery, Warner Bros.