Release Date: July 25th, 1938
Series: Looney Tunes
Director: Frank Tashlin
Story: George Manuell
Animation: Joe D'Igalo
Musical Direction: Carl Stalling
Starring: Mel Blanc (Porky, Streamline, Chicken), Tedd Pierce (Chicken)
As mentioned in previous reviews, Frank Tashlin has been vocal about his disdain of working with Porky, lamenting about a general lack of inspiration to be found in his character. Consequently, Porky's Spring Planting is a relatively uninspired cartoon from Tashlin's end--which, in any case, isn't the end of the world. With Tashlin being such a strong director, there are very few stinkers in his filmography. Even here, fast cutting, dynamic camera angles, and other means of cinematography add a sheen to an otherwise run of the mill entry.
Not to be confused with Porky's Garden, Porky and his muttering mutt Streamline find themselves battling a hoard of hungry chickens, whose eyes are on Porky's plethora of crops.
Like any diligent farmer, we iris in to a farmer Porky ploughing the farm, marching along to an infectiously jaunty music score of "Just a Simple Melody". Tashlin has it so that Porky walks in direct perspective to the viewer, entering from the camera to head into the background and back again.
Many of the gags present in the short are reminiscent of the earlier days of animation, namely inanimate objects coming to life. Tashlin's frustrations with Porky begin to show, as though he knew he couldn't mine comedy from Porky's end with him performing mundane garden chores in the exposition. As such, if he couldn't be funny in his environment, then the environment itself would just have to provide the comedy.
Such whimsicality is displayed almost immediately; as Porky makes a turn (going so far as to signal), he honks a horn on his plough to indicate he's coming through. With that, a tree trunk crawls out of the way like a spider to let him pass, returning to its assigned location as Porky exits diagonal of the foreground.
As cinematic as the close-ups of Porky are, they also read as slightly disarming, primarily due to his giant, wall-eyed pie eyes. Nevertheless, appeal is still to be found in Porky's animation as he narrates his gardening process.
"All ya geh-eh-geh-gotta do is plough, then eh-the-throw in some seh-ss-eh-ssee-eh-seeds, and eh-irrigeh-eh-eh-geh... irrigeh-geh-uhhh... add a little water, an-eh-and a seh-swell garden grows!"
Tashlin shoehorns a radio catchphrase into the scene, a technique more synonymous with Bob Clampett's Porky cartoons than Tashlin's. Here, Porky channels the wisdom of Elmer Blurt from Al Pearce and His Gang, guffawing the nervous salesman's catchphrase: "Huh huh, I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope!"
Porky recited the same catchphrase in Clampett's Porky's Hero Agency, albeit in his regular speaking voice. The gag flows better with Clampett's use than it does here, feeling more purposeful in its intent. Then again, Elmer Blurt's character had a much stronger vice on audiences in 1938--audiences would have found it amusing in either cartoon, and it's a moot point anyhow.
Aside from the initial disorientation of Porky's giant pie eyes staring at the audience, the scene is relatively well animated and chock full of detail. Porky has wrinkles (albeit formless) in his overalls that could make Rod Scribner jealous, and the pan in both the foreground and background is busy yet harmonious.
Ploughing duties carry on, with Porky digging himself a set of stairs in a mound of dirt. The entire sequence of his ploughing (close-ups or otherwise) carry a fine sense of rhythm in conjunction with the music, which happens to be one of my personal favorite arrangements from Carl Stalling.
Aside from the obvious with the shovel digging to the beat of the music, Porky's own movements flow in rhythmic pulses, mainly his tail unfurling/furling again and his hips move to the sound of the bass. Perhaps not as sharp as the timing present in Friz Freleng's shorts, it remains jaunty and light-hearted and establishes a swaying sense of rhythm. I've always found Porky to be a very musical character, and instances such as these stress why.
Cue another close-up, this time with Porky working up a sweat. More of the same environmental whimsicality found in the tree trunk moving and the set of stairs being dug in the dirt is found through the mechanics of Porky's giant hat--with the press of a button, a windshield wiper swipes the sweat away from his face to the beat of the music. While not the most amusing gag to be found in a Tashlin short, its lightheartedness is difficult to dismiss. Pay attention to Porky's walk cycle during this scene--around the 1:07 minute mark, his foot is unpainted/cut off.
Elsewhere, a more tranquil scene. The irony of Porky's dog being named Streamline is not lost on a streamlined director such as Tashlin himself; trucking out from the pooch's nameplate on his doghouse reveals the dozing pooch himself. Less obvious than the detail of his ears coiling and uncoiling as he snores is his rubber hose neck draped across the stoop of the doghouse like a limp hose, a detail I'd never caught until now.
Meandering along with his plough towards the camera, Porky's plough uncovers a bone. Like the good owner he is, Porky offers it to his dog...
...which konks him on the head.
Stan Laurel-esque histrionics ensue as the dog snivels and whines at the camera, massaging his protuberance with his hand-like ears. Same hand/ear gags physics ensue as he wipes his bulbous nose with the other ear.
Nevertheless, Streamline quickly resorts to a happier mood, the score of "Little Man, You've Had a Busy Day" returning once more to a flighty arrangement of "Just a Simple Melody" as the spherical hound gallops along to bury his treasure. Streamline's design is one of the more varied/visually engaging in terms of Porky's many dogs, and the run cycle he performs is a fine showcase of his weight and bulbous features.
Perhaps more intriguing than his design are his mannerisms. After digging himself an adequate hole, Streamline instead unearths a safe, which he meticulously opens. He stores the bone in its rightful "beef bone" compartment, only to scowl at the audience in an uncomfortable close-up immediately after. His lips don't move and he never blinks as Mel Blanc's gravelly voice growls "None of this 'Share the Wealth' business for me!"
Indeed, Streamline pontificates in incomprehensible grumblings all throughout the film, complete with the same close-ups and unmoving stares. His comment here pertains to Senator Huey Long's "Share Our Wealth" government assistance program, with many of its ideas adopted into President Roosevelt's Second New Deal. Streamline's hoard of bones (and subsequent symbolic wealth in this case) indicate his greed in a once topical manner. Today, it's more of a head scratcher, yet so absurd that it's hard not to be amused. One does not think of politics when they think of Porky's various dogs of the week.
Back to less political manners and more environmental gags as Porky unfurls a stretch of his yard like a carpet. Flower seeds are promptly strewn along the exposed area, allowing Porky to roll his "carpet" back up again.
With that, the next piece of business enlists in the aid of a sink plunger. Porky thusly plunges on top of the area he seeded, which allows fully grown flowers to be pulled up from the depths of the dirt. While the animation lacks a strong sense of weight and resistance against the plunger, the gag remains creative and playful.
Foreshadowing the themes of his '40s WB shorts, Tashlin's promiscuous tendencies come into play as Porky provides a mini-shower to water one of his flowers. The flower, now anthropomorphized, bathes herself, using a petal as a washcloth. Upon spotting Porky observing, she quickly covers herself, drawing the shower curtains and only poking her head to stick her tongue out.
Diagonal wipe back to the Streamline, who's back in his doghouse asleep. Porky calls him over, which sparks another incomprehensible monologue from his pooch. This time, he bemoans "I'll be able to sleep all day when I get my Social Security!" Once more, despite the confusion surrounding the comment's intent, the absurdity of Streamline's comments are more amusing than not.
Porky's idea of gardening help entails Streamline digging holes with his tail and depositing seeds, carrying the bag on his head with his ears. In a way, the gag borrows some elements from Porky's Garden, where Porky used his own tail to deposit the seeds.
Interestingly enough, the perspective of the background and Streamline clash--the layout of the sequence is at an angle, whereas Streamline plants the seeds directly facing away from the camera rather than depositing them at an angle. The staging issue is fixed with a simple cutaway to Porky throwing a variety of seeds into a cocktail mixer--after focusing on Porky, we cut back to Streamline, who is now in the proper horizontal perspective with the garden. It's not a major issue so much as it is interesting, albeit the flow of the sequence is disrupted by the frequent cutting.
Speaking of cutting, another cut is made back to Porky, who mixes his variety of seeds in the cocktail shaker. He plants the resulting concoction, shoving dirt back over it in one fell swoop with the aid of Carl Stalling's piano slide accompaniment.
The topper gag is corny in more ways than one.
Wipe back to the layout of the garden, which has been thoroughly penetrated by Streamline's tail. So much so that even the wooden fence, a tree, and the water well in which Streamline cools his tail with are punctured with hundreds of holes. Carl Stalling's furtive music score, in conjunction with the slow pan across the garden, both create a very effective sense of time having elapsed. The gag is straight and to the point, not calling a ton of attention to itself, and is subsequently rewarding.
Satisfied, Porky tells Streamline to pack it up as he wrestles with the giant hat brim falling over his eyes. "Okay uh-eh-Stream-eh-seh-Strea-ehh--Bulb Nose! Let's get goin'. We're all deh-dee-done now."
Streamline doesn't have to be asked twice.
Enter the adversary of the picture, peering through a knothole in the fence.
"Cawww-caw-caw-caw-caw-caaaaarrots, peas, potatoes, caaaw-caw-caw-caw-caw-coooorn, beans, turnips..." A hungry chicken admires the delicacies planted in the garden, writing down the menu. One of the more intriguing shots in the cartoon is staged from the view of the chicken--we get a multi-level pan of the garden from the sanctity of the knothole, backgrounds lushly painted. "My, my. Just look at the deliiiiightful garden," surmises the chicken, "such variety!"
With that, a menu is posted on the fence, scored by a tinkling xylophone accompaniment of "Bob White (Whatcha Gonna Swing Tonight?)" A glimpse of the pencil holding the menu in place reveals a subtle nod to the boss of the studio himself, the pencil engraved with "SCHLESINGER".
In Porky's Garden, Porky's titular garden is assailed by hungry chickens released by a conniving farmer who seeks to ruin Porky's crops. Here, the chickens need no assistance to spur their appetites on. The "lead chicken" distributes lunch trays to his lackeys, who eagerly take their pickings through nature's lunch line.
Whereas Garden focuses more on the chickens causing a mess themselves, Spring Planting places a heavier focus on the bounty provided by the garden and the food gags therein. At times, the animation can get distractingly busy, namely during a sequence involving a chicken and a corn cob.
Both the feathers on the chicken and the kernels on the corn seem to be locked in a battle as to which is the most distracting . The gag itself is fun, with the chicken using a bottle opener to pop the corn out of the stalk, using its wattle to hold the corn in place as it eats it like a type-writer (going so far as to type with its fingers). However, the excessive detail becomes a detriment to the quality of the animation, namely the inking on the corn. The corn kernels seem to flicker and pop with each frame, as do the feathers on the chicken itself. Such a lack of consistency makes for a rather jarring and jittery presentation.
Nevertheless, antics ensue, with one chicken swallowing a carrot and unearthing a fish skeleton while another uses a can opener to peel away a pea pod.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing pieces of animation comes from Porky himself, who is dutifully sweeping his porch. As he catches on to the sound of nearby crunching, his sweeping slows down, as does the music score as he slowly cautions a look over his shoulder. Suspicion rises...
...and is quickly validated in one of the most extreme pig-takes to date. Fans have speculated this to be the work of Rod Scribner, renowned for his wild takes and excessive detail, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd liken it to Voleny White.
It appears to be by the same animator who did a similar take in The Woods are Full of Cuckoos--regardless of its perpetrator, it's a gorgeous take.
It's especially rewarding to see a demure character such as Porky, who isn't privy to wild takes (at least not in the black and white cartoons), be so expressive and contorted. The timing of the entire sequence is well done; the take itself does feel a little floaty, but the anticipation of Porky slowing down his sweeping as he grows more suspicious carries a great sense of realism and suspense to it.
After a rather unremarkable exposition, Tashlin makes up for lost time by injecting some much needed energy into the resulting chase sequence. As a line of chickens fatten themselves up on some celery, the sound of Porky's voice immediately cause them to regurgitate their goods as Porky chases them with a broom.
Tashlin flaunts his cinematographic strengths with rapid cuts, unconventional camera angles, and a strong sense of speed. As Porky rants and raves at the chickens, his voice fades out, as if to convey a sense of frenzied rambling. That, along with the sound of chickens squawking with each cut, make for a hectic scene. Relatively obscured is the action, reduced to closeups that still get the point across. We see Porky's and the chickens' legs, we see Porky's broom swiping, we see feathers flying.
Eventually, the wild goose chicken chase reaches unparalleled levels of speed. The climax of the chase is displayed in a wide shot of the yard, with Porky chasing a chicken over hill and dale, climbing over the shed and through the window and around the tree and so forth. It's a genuinely impressive display of sharp timing.
I've stitched together a video comparing this chase to a similar one in Porky's Garden--Tashlin's speed and cinematography takes the cake. It truly is fascinating how different directors approach a very similar set-up, especially considering that these two cartoons aren't even a year apart.
Porky's chase screeches to a halt as he crashes into a fence where his target had escaped beneath. Similarly to the layout troubles at the beginning with Streamline not following the flow of the field, Tashlin pulls off a relatively intriguing set-up. Bumping into the fence sideways, Porky flies back and lands on the ground facing the audience. A cut is made to the next scene, with Porky in that same front-facing position, but this time the fence is horizontal rather than vertical, indicating a 90 degree rotation. The scenes flow together surprisingly well.
More intriguing than the composition of the scene is the animation itself. Plenty of frames to freeze in such a short sequence--Porky's face and eyes contort like rubber. At one point, Porky's eyes turn into that of a Venn diagram. Though a bit awkward in motion, the drawings themselves make for some fine cartooning.
On a more on-model note, Porky pulls himself to his feet at the sound of disapproving "tut"s. Indeed, the chicken he had been pursuing from before is perched on the fence, shaking its head disapprovingly. Complimented by a much more mellow score of "Let That Be a Lesson to You", Porky wields his trusty broom with a scowl. He's met with another disapproving tut and a headshake, prompting him to swing at the chicken.
Two for the price of one. He misses, yet another smaller chicken surfaces on the fence, also shaking its head. He swings again...
More company. For a split second, Porky flashes a hilariously sinister grin right before he strikes. The comparatively subdued tone of the scene is a great compliment for the frenzy of the chase prior. Inspiration from silent comedies can certainly be felt in the acting from both parties.
Another swing, another miss, another chicken. This time, however, there's a catch. Now, the chickens opt to wield their own set of brooms, all giving Porky a hearty whack, timed right to the music. As Porky crumples to the ground, the chickens continue their disapproving head shakes and tuts. Though the animation of Porky falling to the ground suffers (he seems to shrink considerably and "dips" rather than actually falling), the sequence as a whole is another highlight of the short. Strong acting without distracting sound effects or extraneous details. Stalling's furtive music score and the rhythm in which the scene is executed all allow the scene to succeed.
Of course, Porky isn't one to give up easily. He constructs a scarecrow out of a broom and some loose clothing, even wondering himself "Beh-be-why didn't I think of this before!"
Haughty Porky stalks away, making room for the camera to truck into an eye peering through the knothole in the fence. Tashlin cheats the scene efficiently; the chicken moves away from the eyehole, and as soon as the camera pans back out, the same chicken is already standing in front of the scarecrow. The cheat doesn't call much attention to itself and doesn't waste any time getting down to the action.
Now, the chicken feels up the jacket hanging on the scarecrow, declaring "Hmmm... nice material!" before putting the goods on himself. A relatively unremarkable scene aside for the throwaway Yiddishisms of the rooster's dialect, the animation of said rooster lighting a cigar follows some very nice arcs.
We return to Porky and Streamline, with Porky telling Streamline to get off his feet and chase the chickens. Once more, in the midst of his stuttering, the giant brim of his hat falls over his eyes. "Are you a weh-wee-watch dog or aren't'cha?"
Cue Streamline-ism #3 as he grins at the camera. "Sure I'm a watch dog. I'm full 'a ticks!" About 5 seconds of clock ticking sounds ensue. The joke is so joyously stupid that it, along with the rest of Streamline's incomprehensible grumblings, are too amusing to dislike.
Per Porky's request, Streamline heads to chase the jacket-wearing chicken from before, his gallop partially concealed by rows of crops. The fight itself is humorously frank and to the point--an explosion of noise, punches, and violence that doesn't even last a full 3 seconds before finishing.
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| Care for some lettus? |
With the chicken nowhere in sight, Streamline returns...
...only to be thrown on the ground by the chicken himself, a direct nod to Daffy's own bait and switch with another one of Porky's dogs in Porky's Duck Hunt. Fade to black as the satisfied rooster dusts off his hands after a job well done.
At last, the battle reaches a standoff, a temperate score of "Daddy's Boy" accompanying drumming fingers and steely glares between Porky and the opposing chickens. Porky makes a proposition, his expression and voice amusingly unwavering.
"Eh-let's you an' muh-me get together. You eh-luh-leh-leave my garden alone, an' I'll eh-p-eh-plant a separate garden eh-jeeah-just for you an' geh-eh-grow anything ya want."
The chickens mark their satisfaction with unanimous nods. Meanwhile, Porky maintains his stare as he offers them various food options.
"Eh-de-eh-de-eh-d'ya like carrots?"
The chickens group in a huddle, squawking and clucking about their verdict.
Mournful shakes of the head no.
"Uhhh... deh-eh-deh-eh-d'ya like uh-asp-er-AW-gus?" Porky's peculiar pronunciation of asparagus is also shunned.
Eh-seh-spinach is a no go, too. Though his expression never breaks, Porky's voice grows more and more hysterical as his voice rises in pitch. At a last ditch effort, he practically yells "Dee-eh-dee-eh-do ya like corn!?"
All of the build-up and tension from the scene is, lamentably, wasted on a radio catchphrase, this time from the likes of The Ken Murray Show. In unanimous agreement, the chickens channel the character Oswald from the aforementioned program as they slur in unison: "Mmmwoooooaaaah, yeeeaaaah!" Iris out.
A weak Tashlin cartoon carries a different weight than a weak Chuck Jones or weak Tex Avery short, in that it's not a complete dud. Rather, there are a handful of shining moments scattered all throughout the short. Carl Stalling's music score is in tip top shape as always--the opening score of "Just a Simple Melody" is one of my favorite title card cues in any Looney Tunes short, and his ending score of "Daddy's Boy" is rife with endearing charm with plenty of strings and piano accents. Streamline's design is much more varied than other dogs owned by Porky, and his mannerisms, confusing as they are, are rather entertaining. The climax of the short with Porky's wild take and the chicken chase are bountiful in energy and whimsy.
Porky's standoff with the chickens at the end is a refreshing burst of personality on Porky's end; a lack of inspiration and frustration at how to handle the character is strongly felt in this short. Most of the time, his environments or his co-starring characters are tasked with upholding the comedy of the short rather than Porky himself. The end scene, at least in my eyes, is a refreshing spotlight back on Porky, whose unmoving stare and steely, resigned deliveries make for a great pair. The same is to be said about the scene with Porky swiping his broom at the chickens on the fence, some personality ekes its way out of the cracks.
Otherwise, the cartoon is largely unremarkable. The good qualities I listed above redeem it, but there's very little personality to be found in Porky, Streamline's utterances have grown confounding as the years go on and made him more confusing than funny, and the chickens aren't the most endearing characters in Tashlin's repertoire. I personally prefer Tex Avery's Porky's Garden; Tashlin is the better filmmaker of the two in this instance, but Garden seems to have more sustenance in comparison. Porky is cuter and has more personality, and his adversaries, along with his general situation, read much funnier. Here, the cartoon feels rather mundane and uninspired.
With all of that said, I'd still give it a watch to sniff out the good aspects. At the very least, I'll often put this short on as background noise, seeing as it has a great music score from Carl Stalling and the actions happening on screen aren't too distracting. Both better and worse Porky cartoons are out there.
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