196. Porky's Five & Ten (1938)

Release date: April 16th, 1938

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Bob Clampett

Starring: Mel Blanc (Porky, Radio Announcer, Fish), Berneice Kamiat (Greta Garbo, Mae West), The Rhythmettes (Chorus), Bill Days (Soloist)

John Carey is granted his first animation credit--he's one of my favorite animators in Clampett's black and white unit. Lots of volumetric, constructed animation that can be very rubbery, as we'll see here.

Porky is off to set up a five-and-dime store--think Dollar General today--store in the Boola-Boola isles, but  a gang of rowdy fish stumble across Porky's sailboat and do everything in their power to mess with him and his wares.

The title card animation of Porky lounging in his boat (clever composition of the text overlaid on the sail, which bobs for a few moments, allowing the audience to read the titles) melts away to the front of a newspaper. This is a trend that would bubble up relatively often in the early Clampett entries--Porky & Daffy and Porky in Wackyland also hold on a newspaper as a way to establish the plot. A confident score of "Let That Be a Lesson to You" serves as easy listening while the audience gets the jist of the cartoon--Porky's off to Boola-Boola to open up shop.

Surely enough, Porky is raising the sails, his boat packed to the brim with general goods. A closer look reveals that his boat is named PETUNIA--certainly no accident, especially considering Petunia was in Clampett's original storyboards for Porky's Party, releasing later that year. When not appearing physically, her photograph can be found in a number of Porky shorts, such as Polar Pals and Scalp Trouble. 

Porky bids goodbye to his offscreen crowd, accompanied by some intriguing composition work as the boat nearly grazes the camera, turning around and heading off into the horizon. "Eh-beh-bye bye! Eh-se-seh-so long! I'll be eh-seh-see... I'll be eh-see-eh-see-eh... toodle-loo!" 

No stranger is Porky to the captain's helm--the concept of him keeping logs of his adventures would be revisited in Pilgrim Porky and Robinson Crusoe Jr., and here is no exception as we view overlaid, double-exposed footage of Porky writing in his captain's log. He slips in a reference to Elmer Blurt from Al Pearce and His Gang, writing "13th day out -- and nearing land soon... I hope, I hope, I hope."

As we'll see, the fish in this cartoon dominate the story much more than Porky--a trend that would continue for years to come, sidelining the pig to pave way for the antics of his surroundings. One lone fish skims the surface of the ocean and discovers Porky's ship heading his way. 

The perspective of the next shot is slightly off--Porky's ship is viewed at an up shot, yet the fish is at profile above the surface, forming a slight dissonance between the two. Nevertheless, the fish dives down into the water, speed effectively conveyed through Treg Brown's sound effect usage of an airplane motor and brakes skidding. 

"Hey, gang!" Mel Blanc's delivery is warbled and gargly, almost distractingly so (which, makes sense, considering he was actually gargling water while delivering his lines) to convey the sensation of being underwater as the fish addresses his nautical neighbors. "A ship is coming throoooough!"

With a unanimous, gargled exclamation of "oh boy!" from the crowd of aquatic creatures, the fish approach the bottom of the ship, which has stopped moving. An appropriate score of "I'm Like a Fish Out of Water" accompanies a swordfish cutting a hole in the bottom of the fish with his nose.

All according to plan as the swordfish opens his makeshift hatch, Porky's goodies and trinkets sinking to the bottom of the ocean floor as the fish all watch... and Porky himself, too. Porky's nonplussed expression as the swordfish catches him and launches him back into the ship is priceless, as is the swordfish's expression of twisted glee.

One of the fish is sentenced to guard the boat, the swordfish unscrewing his nose and giving it to the fish like a harpoon. A very clever and whimsical gag, enhanced by the fish walking back and forth on its fins, dedicated to his duties. 

Thus, the remaining fish find numerous ways to exploit and play with their new wares. Porky's lunch box is transformed into a lunch counter, three nails serving as appropriate fish-sized stools. Elsewhere, a phonograph is turned into a merry-go-round, appropriately scored with "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" as young fish ride seahorses circling the record. I especially enjoy the Pluto facsimile on the phonograph, a not so subtle parody at the RCA Victor logo. Meanwhile, a fish ingests a teapot, blowing steam out of its "nose" to the beat of the music.

More fish gags as one fish ingests a clock with a pendulum. Wonderful, rubbery work as the pendulum ticks inside the fish's gut, causing his belly to swing sideways. The slow reaction time coupled with the gradual speed increase in the music is wonderful--the fish can merely stare at the audience and his hips before awkwardly traipsing away, the musical timing sharp. A fish with a "FOO" tag attached to its tail (a reference to Smokey Stover) passes the screen, giving the Hugh Hubert laugh reused from cartoons such as The Coo-Coo Nut Grove and Speaking of the Weather.

Transition to Porky, now inside the sailboat. Norm McCabe animates Porky cautiously opening up the fish-made hatch in the floor, Porky bending down to look into the waters beneath him. The delicacy and slowness of Porky's movements paired with the zoom in and mischievous music score all combine to create a nice sense of anticipation.

Our fish guard from before hasn't been slacking on his duties. He pops his head out of the hole, squirting a mouthful of water into a befuddled Porky's face, who sits drenched in a puddle of water.

The next scene is the undeniable highlight of the short as John Carey animates a spectacular scene of a fish swallowing a radio. After ingesting the machine, the fish contentedly marches away, his double-bounce walk a precursor to Porky's signature double-bounce walk in future black and white Clampett shorts.

Despite having been ingested, the radio is still functional. After some static, a radio announcer's voice resonates from the fish's belly, much to his very visual confusion. "Last week's news today! Bringing you a vivid word picturization of news of the week."

Confused to no end, the fish looks all around him, up, down, left, right, even feeling every inch of his body as he stares at the audience in astonishment. The flighty score of "Love is in the Air Tonight" is a nice, happy contrast to the fish's plight, both accelerating the energy in the scene. 

Blanc's narration continues, and at last the fish heaves a dubious shrug, continuing his happy walk. "And then, suddenly, without warning..."

A whistle sound effect later, and the fish's body "explodes" to match the bomb sound effects blowing up on the radio program. The fish's cheek juts out in staggered exposure to match the flurry of gunshots from the radio, his gut slowly rising up as he can merely stare in bewilderment.

Gunshots subside, making room for another bomb to whizz through the air and explode, the fish being catapulted through the ocean floor, his rubbery body turning into a mushroom cloud as another bomb breaks the surface. Carey's animation is incredibly wild and rubbery, and the fish's helpless stares are the perfect cherry on top.

At last, silence. Stalling holds out a lone, low, furtive note, the perfect peace before the storm. The fish wipes sweat off of his brow, literally holding onto droplets in his hand, until Blanc's narration continues, much to the fish's look of horror to the audience. Police sirens wail, accompanied by more gunshots as the fish is trapped in another shaking frenzy.

Thankfully, yet confusingly so, the fish somehow manages to free the radio from its body--it sort of just appears. Nevertheless, the change in tone is almost jarring as we segue into one of Clampett's syrupy sweet choruses, something that would dominate his later black and white cartoons. They're certainly a guilty pleasure of mine.

A psuedo-Dick Powell voice sings "Happiness Ahead" as more goodies from the ship fall perfectly in place. Tables, plants, wine glass stools, curtains, umbrellas, etc. They all form to create the Hollywood Hotel, electric eels serving as the "Hollywood" part of the sign, blinking on and off. Clampett would reuse this gag in Porky's Poor Fish, but to a much more frenzied degree. 

Nevertheless, the electric shockwaves radiating off of the eels before they even light up the sign is a nice indication of their role and purpose. Two fish wave flashlights outside of the entrance as a replacement for spotlights.

An appropriate score of "Hooray for Hollywood" accompanies a barrage of celebrity fish caricatures. Two bowler hats land on a couple of fish at profile, turning around to reveal themselves as caricatures of Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel; very clever indeed.  A fish walking on her fins steps into a pair of shoes, putting on her best Greta Garbo impression as she coos "I vant to be alone." 

And, of course, another fish swallows an hourglass shaped kerosene lamp, pearls, umbrella, and a hat completing her Mae West outfit as she puts on the ol' "Come up and see me sometime" routine. Gags that hit much harder back then than they do today, no doubt, but I do find the Laurel and Hardy gag especially entertaining.

Elsewhere, two fish are boxing on a typewriter, taking a break as the referee pushes the paper slider back to its initial place, the fish boxing some more as the next line of type is written. A closer look reveals that the typewriter is documenting the events of the fight. 

Another wipe transition reveals more Norm McCabe animation of Porky, who's now preparing to fish out of his little hatch. The glower on his face reveals that his intentions are nefarious--may as well capture your enemies instead of letting them roam. 

Indeed, the guard fish stumbles upon the worm perched on the hook (which, hilariously enough, has dot eyes and a smile). He's delighted, but also knows better than to put his mouth on the hook. Instead, he turns around and grabs his OWN fishing rod from off screen, the worm putting its mouth on the hook. 

Thus, the two go into a struggle--the animation of the worm wriggling around and the fish yanking the rod don't really match up, so the weight is a tad bit lost, but the entire sequence is very amusing. A successful day of fishing as the fish grabs his bait and swallows it, flashing a satisfied grin at the camera.

Meanwhile, a gang of rowdy fish enjoy a floor show, waving their drinks around as a spotlight settles on the camera. Cue a classic gag that'll be used time and time again (a sort of prototype featured in The Girl at the Ironing Board): the curtains rise to reveal thin, nimble pairs of legs in a kickline, much to the delight of the audience. 

Curtains raise further to reveal an octopus as the source of the legs, a chorus of boos erupting from the crowd. A very creative and fun gag that makes one wonder just how far the sexual humor would have been pushed had Bob Clampett made this cartoon a few years later. The animation was reused in Porky's Poor Fish in 1940, so I suppose that's close enough.

Some of the fish dance along to the underscore of "I'm Like a Fish Out of Water", including a clever and well designed gag of the Mae West fish dancing with an older fish/walrus hybrid. Figure ground composition is the highlight of the gag--the old fish's gut fits perfectly where West's tiny waist is, and likewise West's voluptuous chest looms perfectly over the fish's own flat chest. 

And, of course, we revisit our friend who swallowed the clock, now content with his plight as he shows off his new "hips", swaying back and forth slightly in a braggadocious manner. 

Another wipe later back to Porky and his mortal enemy. Carl Stalling's music score deserves praise--the black and white Porky cartoons always have such good music, very homely and comforting yet fun and playful at the same time, and here is no exception. 

The guard fish summons a whale to help play a prank on Porky, to which the whale obliges. Knocking on the hatch causes Porky to stick his head out and answer "Who's eh-the-thee-eh-eh-the-thee-eh-there?" He's answered by a stream of water from the whale's blowhole, launching Porky to the surface of the ship.

Vestiges of Ub Iwerks' influence linger as Porky recovers, doing an Iwerks-ian dizzy take. Unbeknownst to him, a waterspout is on the horizon--we hear it before we see it, which is a nice decision to squeeze up the anticipation.

We get a wide shot of the waterspout approaching Porky's boat--the values are slightly off, as the darkness of the sky and water and bright illuminance of the sun make it appear that it's nighttime, yet adjacent scenes show that it is still indeed daytime. The absence of storm clouds do little to help this.

Nevertheless, a slight nitpick, as the message is pretty clear. Clarity is enhanced as Mel Blanc's voice rings over the radio down in the ocean, much to the oblivion of the dancing fish: "Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt the program momentarily for an important news bulletin." The fish all turn to ogle at the radio as Blanc continues on. "Flash! A giant waterspout has been sighted in the vicinity of the Boola-Boola islands!"

Cartoons of Tex Avery past are recalled as the fish continue dancing, ignoring the message. Blanc's voice pops up again as he urges over the radio "Well, come on you guys, scram!"

The urgency of the fish's exit juxtaposes incredibly well with their lax and carefree nature just seconds prior as they all scramble to escape, one fish dragging another behind. Stalling's score of "Nagasaki" is a nice score choice--it seems many cartoons have defaulted on "All's Fair in Love and War" as "climax music". "Nagasaki" adds some lighthearted fun in the mix, more than usual as it doesn't explicitly convey a feeling of emergency, but fits well when used in that context.

Visual gags ensue as the fish clamor to escape in various ways. The Greta Garbo fish frees herself from the clutches of her shoes, diving into a matryoshka of clamshells, leaving a DO NOT DISTURB sign outside of the biggest shell. Elsewhere, a line of sardines dive into a sardine tin: take note of the "CANNON BRAND" lettering on the side, a nod to Clampett animator Bobe Cannon. One fish dives out to the side of the tin and gives its prayers in garbled, high sped speech before diving back into "bed" again, definitely amusing.

Back to Porky's ship, which gets sucked up in the waterspout. Notice the drybrushing on the waterspout! While we've seen the technique used in '30s shorts before, it's still fascinating to observe, considering its prevalence in the '40s cartoons. Speed lines and impact lines were still more the '30s style, but a transition and evolution in animation technique is becoming more evident. 

It appears the waterspout has brought some good after all. All of the trinkets and goodies get sucked up into the whirlwind, but the whirlwind manages to subside. Thus, Porky is reunited with his belongings as they all pile back up on his ship. 

The transition between scenes is a little jarring due to a lack of hook-ups--the trinkets pile up on the boat, and then we cut to Porky on the boat as water and the remaining goodies pour on top of him, when the water wasn't in the scene prior. A very minor detail, but a little thing that becomes evident as time goes on and analyzation grows sharper.

Regardless, it's a happy end. The guard fish pops his head up to the surface, observing as Porky rides off to the horizon, spitting out a mouthful of water. 

Of course, that's not all--more McCabe animation as Porky gets his final comeuppance, the ship zipping back into the foreground as Porky is all too delighted to spray a seltzer bottle full of water into the fish's face. Iris out as the fish cries à la Stan Laurel.

Compared to entries before and after this, I don't think this is Clampett's best, but it has enough whimsy, mischief, and fun to be enjoyable nonetheless. This is one of those cartoon where the "this is a string of gags" feeling comes off more strongly than others, but that's not necessarily a big problem.

John Carey's scene of the fish swallowing the radio certainly constitutes a watch. Rubbery, fun, quite literally explosive. The timing is one of the sharpest aspects of this short--both the timing of Blanc's narration in this scene and the scene warning the fish about the waterspout. Nice builds and pauses that allow the audience to let their guard down just a little, but still able to expect something, too.

The cartoon is a bit of a misnomer--Porky isn't very prominent at all, and we never actually see him set up his five and dime store. Yet, that's also a good thing--the antics of the fish would presumably be much more entertaining.

Carl Stalling's music score is in tip top shape. This is certainly a nice cartoon to listen to, the underscores all being very catchy, lighthearted, and keen at conveying the mood.

Overall, this isn't a blockbuster, but it's difficult to dislike because there's an oxymoronic sense of mischief and innocence that make it likable. I feel that's a common theme with Clampett's cartoons. I'm certainly biased, but the majority of his cartoons (to me, at the very least) are very likable, even if they aren't successful. I can't think of a cartoon of his that I truly detest. 

Nevertheless, I'd say it's your call to make in regards to watching this or not. I certainly enjoyed it upon my first watch. I don't frequent this short, but it's a nice way to spend 7 minutes if you have the time.

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