136. Porky’s Pet (1936)

Release date: July 11th, 1936

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Jack King

Starring: Joe Dougherty (Porky)

The first of MANY, MANY cartoons to flaunt Porky’s name in the title. This is also Jack King’s second to last cartoon at Warner Bros—he headed back for Disney as early as April 1936, leaving the rest of his films to run on. Porky’s Moving Day, released in September, would be his last. For now: Porky and his pet ostrich Lulu are Broadway bound, but trouble arises when the train forbids any animals to board. It’s up to Porky to find a way to hide his extremely noticeable and indiscreet pet.

A telegram boy is pedaling along on his bicycle, determined to deliver his envelope, bumping all along the way. Signs in the background include advertisements for “Malaria Motel” and “Buy Burton’s Burpo Beer”, a reference to producer John Burton. The scene runs a little long, yet it’s deliberate so as to show off the syncopation between the animation, music, and sound effects of intermittent bike horn honking.

Nevertheless, the telegram boy arrives at his destination by crashing into the sidewalk. Unscathed, he jauntily hops onto the porch and rings the doorbell a few times. Out comes Porky, who answers the door. A telegram just for him. He accepts the envelope and signs off. An amusing little detail as he tucks the envelope in the lip of his sweater, taking it out and tearing off the side.

The telegram reads: 

MR. PORKY PIG 

CAN USE YOU AND LULU IN MY NEW SHOW $75 WEEK. STOP. (that’s how you ended a sentence, considering there was no morse code equivalent to a period)

COME NEW YORK AT ONCE

J. BOTTS 

PRODUCER 

Remember when I said Porky would never say “WHOOPEEEEE!” again after Gold Diggers of ‘49? Well, that’s one bet I lost. I totally forgot, but he says his famous “WHOOPEE!” here, too. I think this is the last time he says it, unless Porky’s Moving Day has a surprise waiting for me. Regardless, Porky is ecstatic. He dashes upstairs, telegram in hand, skidding to a halt into his bedroom.

He approaches a birdcage, where we see the beginnings of a big bird head inside. Porky shows off the letter to his pet, stuttering “Look, Lulu! Look!”

A clever pan reveals that Lulu is, in fact, a giant pet ostrich with her head in the birdcage and the rest of her body perched in a rocking chair. Lulu gives her approval by squawking hilariously and incomprehensibly. “We’re Broadway bound, Lulu! We’re gonna be big shots!” 

Porky hardly wastes any time tying a rope around lulu’s neck and freeing her from the confines of her arbitrary birdcage. With his hat on his head and a couple of oddly placed train whistle imitations, Porky declares “Let’s go!” and together they fly down the staircase, Lulu sliding down on the banister. Good animation that’s easily mesmerizing. Lulu hits the end of the banister while Porky runs ahead, nearly choking her as he flies back towards her from the impact. Nevertheless she gets down, and Porky’s so excited he whips out the door, the door closing on Lulu and hitting her right in the face. She chatters Porky out furiously, but manages to recover.

Some time later, Porky and his prized Lulu arrive at the train station, seeking out the nearest train. After hearing the sound of the all too familiar whistle, Porky attempts to flag down the train, waving his hand and his hat to get it to stop. We then get a shot of the train, hurtling down the tracks at frightening speeds. So fast that the conductor doesn’t take note of Porky and his very obvious bird companion. The train speeds by, spinning Porky  Lulu, and the entire station around like a top, a sequence that would be perfected and stronger in Tex Avery’s The Village Smithy.

Both Porky and Lulu attempt to recover from the impact, Porky stuttering “Stop!” all too late while Lulu has her head buried in a hole in the floorboards. Nevertheless, they both recover quickly when the sound of another train approaches. This time, Porky thinks ahead. He pulls a lever that flashes a stop sign, and the speeding train literally jolts to a stop on the middle of the tracks. Good timing and amusingly stark visuals make the gag work. There’s an intriguing angle from inside the station as we view Porky and Lulu happily board from outside. Silence... until a yokel train conductor yells “YOU CAN’T BRING NO BUZZARD ON THIS TRAIN!” 

Lulu and Porky are promptly kicked out, landing right inside the station. If you notice, one of the flyers posted advertises Millar Manor, a reference to story man Tubby Millar. Considering Millar was a storyman often associated with Frank Tashlin, who inherited King’s unit, it’s not a stretch o surmise that he’s responsible for this cartoon’s story.

Porky signals for Lulu to bend down low, and he whispers a plan in her ear. The plan: Lulu wait by the tracks while Porky boards, and he’ll pick her up as the train passes by. Lulu gives her squawks of approval. Porky signals for Lulu to go to her post, and he himself boards the train.

Sure enough, the train begins to chug, the wheels turning. Lulu waits patiently, and just as Porky promised, he sticks his hand out the window and grabs her by the neck. Her neck is so long that the rest of her body lags behind, flopping in the wind, much to the surprise of one of the passengers looking out the window. Porky wrestles her inside, and everything’s good to go.

Here we have it, folks! The infamous “Porky stuffing an ostrich up his ass” scene. Porky realizes he didn’t quite think things through. An ostrich is a pretty damn noticeable bird. He signals under the seat, trying to stuff her in, ordering “Hurry up, Lulu! Get under the seat before the conductor sees ya!” Another push, and her head pops out of the crack in the seat, giving some happy squabbles. Treg Brown’s sound effects turn a puzzling scene into an amusing one with nonstop honking, Porky wrestling with how to get both ends of her body under the seat. It’s still a relatively awkward scene, but the sound effects certainly add humor to it. 

Eventually Porky opts to sit on the seat himself, stuffing Lulu’s body under and hoping he can conceal her head. But, as to be expected, Lulu pecks him right in the butt and he jumps up in shock. Another stuff beneath the seat, and she’s about as concealed as she’ll get. Porky grins at the camera, clearly accomplished with his feat.

But, as birds will do, Lulu hardly stays in one place long. She wrangles herself out from beneath the seat and swallows the toupee of a sleeping passenger’s from behind.

Ham or Ex make one final appearance! If only there was any indication as to how to tell them apart. The little pup turns the propeller of a toy plane and watches it whirl around in fascination. The plane makes its way towards Lulu, who promptly swallows it. Of course, the plane is still on, and works its way up from her throat all the way to her head, giving her “dog ears”. Amusing animation as Lulu’s neck loops around itself, the plane in her head directing her uncontrollably as she loops around her own body, flipping and flying around. She crashes right into a door, where the plane just... disappears. She doesn’t spit it out or anything of the sort, it just... melts away. Nevertheless.

Lulu now has her sights set on an accordion, which she also deems a delicious snack. And, predictably, her neck moves up and down and sounds like an accordion. A very predictable gag that isn’t all that hilarious, but Porky’s look of pure horror as she strolls past his seat is totally priceless.

Just in time for the conductor to ask for tickets. Panic-stricken, Porky snags a guitar case out from under the seat in front of him and stuffs Lulu inside. Her accordion neck blares loudly and noticeably, and he grabs her neck and wrings it out, sliding the accordion down to her body where it disappears. First a plane and now an accordion! Maybe Lulu’s act on broadway is “The Bottomless Ostrich”. She now fits in the guitar case... except for her feathers, which prominently stick out of the bottom. Porky steals someone’s pair of scissors (what a thief!) and cuts off the fluff, and instead of returning the scissors hilariously throws them out the window instead, hiding the feathers under the seat. Instead of just, you know, tossing them out instead.

The conductor approaches Porky for his ticket, but Lulu suddenly grows rowdy, giving herself away immediately as the guitar case begins to jolt around and squawk. She wrestles her legs free and barrels into the conductor, who now rides on top of the guitar case like some sort of twisted steed. Lulu barrels into the end of the cabin, freeing herself from the case. Porky goes to wrangle back his bird, but it’s too late. The conductor furiously throws her out the window, and then throws Porky out himself. Nice service! 

They reconnect on the tracks, Porky shrugging dubiously. Fortune smiles upon them when they spot a handcar. They both board at opposite ends, preparing to push their way to broadway, yet a cow blocks their path. No matter! Porky positions himself on the handles and grabs the cow’s tail like some reins, and they’re off. Soon they even manage to pass the very train they were booted from, much to the bewilderment of the conductor, who passes out as Porky tips his hat and Lulu squawks her greetings. Iris out.

With a lot of these rewatches of the Jack King cartoons, I’ve softened my perception of them and appreciated them more, but they’re still relatively below average. Nevertheless, this cartoon was, if anything, amusing. Not particularly funny, but amusing to watch Porky’s plight as he works so hard to hide his Very Obvious pet. Lulu’s squawking is hilariously obnoxious, which works in her favor and against her at the same time. The animation was very smooth and fun to watch for sure, especially with Lulu sliding down the banister and swallowing the toy plane. Lulu would make one more appearance in Porky’s Moving Day. I wonder, if King stayed longer, how many more cartoons she would have popped up in. Overall a decent cartoon but nothing to write home about. It wouldn’t kill you to watch it, but I think you’d be fine if you went without.

Link!

128. Westward Whoa (1936)

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, this is one of those cartoons that requires a disclaimer. This review you’re about to see entails racist stereotypes, concepts, and imagery. I do not at all support or condone these ideas in any way, shape, or form—they’re gross and wrong. It would, however, be just as gross of me to skip over them. This review is for the intent of educating and informing, and I don’t at all intend to harm or offend anyone. I ask and thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Release date: April 25th, 1936

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Jack King

Starring: Berneice Hansell (Kitty), Tommy Bond (Beans, Ham), Joe Dougherty (Porky)

Hard to believe it’s time already, but this is the last major appearance of Beans and Kitty. Both make cameo appearances in Plane Dippy, Ham or Ex pop in for Porky's Pet, and the bespectacled unnamed dog with an overbite who occasionally makes appearances reappears in Shanghaied Shipmates, but now the cartoons begin to shift focus towards Porky. Beans' last hurray isn’t the most savory of cartoons—out west, Ham and Ex cry wolf, pretending to be Native Americans and crying for help, but, of course, actual Natives show up and no one believes their pleas for help.

Open to a wagon train traversing the old west. Beans and kitty are included in the band of pioneers, singing “Covered Wagon Days”, vocals contributed by their cattle, some other pioneers, etc. Even Porky’s shown playing a flute solo. Another gag includes a man riding his mule, essentially walking on top of it—he walks on ahead with his beer bottle, leaving the donkey behind. 

I’ve said it before, but I find it so interesting that jack king included songs in his cartoons. Freleng and Avery have mentioned how the Merrie Melodies format was nothing but a burden to their cartoons, having to work around the story to arbitrarily include a song in, yet King seemed to make it a point to include a song when he didn’t have to.

The gang settle in (Kitty excitedly babbles on about how nice the spot they chose would be, with a lovely lake, big rock, trees, etc., etc.) quite comfortably. Fade out back in to some pioneers square dancing to “Oh, Susanna!”, a crowd clapping and cheering them on.

Beans is enjoying himself, dancing along to the music. Ham and Ex run up to him and excitedly declare in unison “We’re gonna play Indians!”, to which Beans playfully warns “Be careful the Indians don’t getcha!” Yes, it's one of those shorts, which would unfortunately persist for decades to come. 

Ham and Ex giggle and hobble away, but almost immediately halt in their tracks. Behind a rock appears to be a Native headdress that’s moving. Ham and Ex exchange worried glances and eventually creep up to the source... only to find that it’s just a turkey pecking at the ground. This, of course, gives (who I presume to be) Ham an idea as he whispers into Ex’s ear.

Their idea? Running around yelling “Indians! Help!” Beans drops his stack of wood he’s carrying and reaches for his rifle, echoing their warning. All of the pioneers are alerted and resort to gunfire. A dog in a pond shoots his rifle, skipping around like a rock in water. Another dog hops into a wood stove and fires from there.

Beans darts over to the rock where the turkey (unbeknownst to him) is pecking at the ground. Beans fires, and does a Jack King hat take when he realizes he shot the fan off of a turkey instead. Ham and Ex find it just absolutely hilarious, doubling over in a fit of laughter. Beans is pissed and approaches them, warning Ex that a Native will someday get them and (he pretends to cut his neck) “Krrrrrrk! Off goes your head!” He retreats, done with his lecture, when he suddenly whips around and snaps “and you too!” at Ham. Finally some nice comedic timing and a clever joke, but a shame it has to be wasted on something so racist and tiresome.

If Ham and Ex were rattled by Beans’ lecture, they do little to express it. In fact, Ex whispers in Ham’s ear, both smiling with mischievous pride. Ex thusly launches into a war call, followed by Ham, and predictably Beans is fooled again. He grabs his gun and starts running around in a flurry once more, his pioneer buddies also shooting aimlessly. Ham and Ex are now, for some reason, in the same spot where Beans was prior (it never showed them running around). Suddenly, Ham taps Ex on the back, who’s in a fit of hysterics. They both dart off screen as a frustrated and befuddled beans approaches, scratching his head.

As if things couldn't get more reprehensible, we get a double whammy by having the Natives caricatured in blackface.

Now, Ham and Ex seek refuge behind a log, laughing and continuing their war cry. But get this—an actual grotesquely caricatured Native pops out from behind a tree! Who would’ve thunk it? Ham and Ex run away, and once more does their routine of crying for help ensue, yet this time they actually mean it. The two pups hide inside the log, the Native diving in after them. The twins make it out of the other end as the Native gets stuck, and they both beat his head and butt with clubs respectively.

The twins cry once more, and, just as the classic story goes, no one believes them. Beans runs his laundry through a wringer while Kitty proposes he go check on the kids—“Never can tell what they’re up to!”. Elsewhere, Porky peels potatoes and shrugs off the cries for helps. He talks to the audience and stutters “It’s just those kids trying to fool you again.” 

Back to Ham and Ex. Ham beats the Native on the butt, and he’s propelled out of his log and hurdles straight towards a tree. As the twins attempt to escape, they encounter more Natives, who attempt to dog pile on them. They narrowly escape, and this time run around in helpless circles near Porky, who’s still (captivating as ever) peeling potatoes, merely smiling and shrugging. They both dive into a trunk at the base for safety. Porky comments “Those kids must think we’re pretty dumb.” He laughs, but his laughter is quickly cut short once an arrow flies right through his beloved potato and splits it in two.

Now Porky attempts to make a break for it, running around aimlessly and tripping over a spare rifle in the foreground (I will admit that the shot is rather nicely staged.) Suddenly, a ton of Natives pour into their base, all doing a war cry. Porky struggles to get his warning out, but he has no trouble shouting “INDIANS!” after an arrow zings him right in the butt.

Directors had lamented about working with Joe Dougherty’s natural stutter, because they couldn’t play around with his dialogue as much. Mel Blanc’s Porky, as you know, would typically change his sentence structure in the midst of a stutter. (For example, in Porky and Egypt, Porky laments “It’s awful war-wa-w-h-ho-h—gosh, I’m roasting!”) That sentence structure was made famous by vaudevillian Roscoe Ates, who overcame a natural childhood stutter. Part of his shtick would be to substitute his own words to make them come out easier. They wanted to take that direction with Porky since the Dougherty days, but couldn’t because of his natural stutter. Tex Avery has lamented about how much film was wasted during recording sessions with Dougherty. So, to substitute, they’d play around with gags like these to get him to hurry up, whether it be whistling at him or, in this case, shooting him with an arrow. It's interesting to see them play around with his stutter as much as they could, despite their limitations.

There’s a really strange cut that contributes to the cartoon’s incoherency—Beans is chased by a Native brandishing a tomahawk while Kitty cowers. Beans is pinned beneath the crank of the wringer, and Kitty tugs at the clothes in the wringer, which causes the handle to repeatedly smack the Native in the chin. It’s very subtle, but you see Beans leap off of the wringer. A jump cut and Beans is perfectly in position near a wood stove, shooting his pistols. The transition is nonexistent, almost no indication to show that he was in peril 4 seconds earlier. 

An arrow pierces beans’ coonskin hat, a Native firing a number of arrows at him. Beans hatches an idea and opens the door to the wood stove. The arrows fly into the stove and shoot right out of the pipe back at the perpetrator like a boomerang, pinning him against a tree. Elsewhere, a Native attempts to slice a dog with his tomahawk. The dog takes off a toupee and hands it to the Native (a reference to the practice of scalping). 

Gags ensue as the fight rages on. A Native curves an arrow to shoot like a curveball, but it hits him in the but as the pioneer ducks. Beans prepares to hit a Native over the head with a club, but instead hits another BEHIND him as he anticipates to go into the swing, eventually hitting them both. Porky’s shooting his rifles, when an arrow pierced his suspenders. Porky struggles to get his pants to stay up, occasionally flashing the audience as he continually hikes them up. Another arrow shoots by and lodges in both his pants and shirt, effectively pinning the pants securely. I will give credit where credit is due, that’s a gag that actually feels somewhat funny.

Meanwhile, Ham and Ex dive into some dresser drawers, popping out at the top of the dresser and hitting a Native over the head with hair brushes. They continue to hit and mock him, like a makeshift game of whack a mole. The Native cuts the dresser in half with his tomahawk, reaching into both halves and grabbing the kids, who cry for help. Beans discovers a bear trap, and circles it like a lasso, throwing it right at the Native . It hits—where else?—right in the butt, and he retreats, the kids watching him go. Unbeknownst to them, Beans is creeping up slowly from behind. He does a war chant to give them a taste of their own medicine, and, of course, the pups are scared out of their wits. We iris out on their little eyes peering out of the trunk they used as a hideout.

To say the least, I hate this cartoon. This is my least favorite Jack King cartoon to date, and least favorite Beans cartoon. It’s a shame, I actually liked Beans and I wish he had a more ceremonious goodbye. As you can obviously see for yourself, the cartoon is downright racist, mean spirited, and ugly. Of course, practically all of the Native cartoons are racist, but this one in particular feels exceptionally mean spirited and grotesque. And aside from all that, it’s an obnoxious, repetitive cartoon. Porky peels potatoes! Beans gets mad! People shoot guns! Ham and Ex yell! As high energy as it is, there’s nothing very exciting about it. 

As for Beans, it’s been... something! I feel he has flavor than Buddy, but still fell victim to the bland, smiley protagonist. Out of all 3 beginner stars, Bosko, Buddy, and Beans, Bosko was the most fleshed out and fun to watch. I certainly took him for granted when watching his cartoons (because I couldn’t shake the notion that “This is a blackface caricature”)—he was very bouncy and a musical character, and he was almost captivating to watch. Buddy and Beans you don’t get that musicality. So, better than Buddy, not as good as Bosko. I’ll still miss him, but Porky’s time to shine is finally here, and things are going to get rolling! 

I don’t at all recommend this cartoon, but if you’re that curious I’ll put a link. Obviously view at your own discretion.

125. The Fire Alarm (1936)

Release date: March 9th, 1936

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Jack King

Starring:Berneice Hansell (Ham), Shirley Reed (Ex)

Something you don’t see everyday—“featuring Ham and Ex” in big bold letters! As the title card suggests, Beans  has to take care of his nephews Ham and Ex at the fire station. To two curious, havoc wreaking puppies, it’s the perfect place to stir up trouble, much to beans’ chagrin.

Beans assumes the role of a fireman, eagerly shining his fire engine. Elsewhere, Ham and Ex foreshadow trouble as they ride through the streets on a scooter, nearly taking out pedestrians. They arrive at the fire station and poke their heads in the window, yelling “Uncle Beans! Uncle Beans!” hapless victim Beans strolls over and scratches his head, when one of the twins hands him a note: “Uncle Beans, please take care of Ham and Ex. Have gone shopping. Lizzie.” Beans just shrugs and scoops them inside. Best not to question it too much.

Once inside, Ham and Ex take off almost immediately, running around with giddy excitement while Beans just stares, nonplussed and scratching his head. Kids will be kids. A lone firefighter’s hat sits perched on a stool, and the twins fight over it, a makeshift tug of war. One of the twins is sent rocketing into the wall, a boot covering his head. For simplicity’s sake, since there is literally NO way to tell them apart, this will be Ham. The other will be Ex. Ham struggles to get the boot off his head, and Ex, donning the top part of the firefighter’s hat, laughs and snaps a shoelace right in Ham’s face.

Nevertheless, Ex helps tear the hat off Ham, toppling backwards and the hat lodging itself on EX instead. Ex, too, struggles to throw it off, but eventually succeeds. He places the top half of the firefighter’s hat back on his head and dances, and Ham, the brim hilariously situated around his face, joins in. Finally a solution.

Big excitement as the pups spot a big, shiny, fire truck. Ham attempts to dislodge an axe from the side of the engine, Ex pulling from behind. Instead, Ham is sent flying backwards, the axe wedging into a support beam while he hangs from the handle.

Meanwhile, Ex entertains himself with the fire hose. He crawls underneath the fire truck and over it and everywhere you can imagine, tying the hose into a huge, complicated knot. Ham joins in on the festivities... by cranking the hose rewind button. Ex embarks on the ride of a lifetime as he’s sent whizzing backwards and flung through the air. He lands in a boiler that’s hunt dutifully polished by beans, exploding out the hatch and knocking right into beans.

Ham thinks it’s great. He slides on a puddle, slipping on a sponge. The sponge sprays a shower of water into both Beans and Ex. Beans is obviously enthused, angrily grabbing Ham and Ex by the ears and dragging them to a bench. Beans, who has been relatively optimistic up until this point, showcases his mean side as he paces frustrated, snapping “QUIET!” when they haven’t even said anything. Ham and Ex retaliate by blowing raspberries (trombone gobble sound effect, we love ya!).

Nevertheless, their disdain is quickly deserted once they spot the titular fire alarm. They scramble over who gets to press it, Ex eventually slamming on it with two hands. At once, firefighters asleep in their beds rise to the call. They dive into their pants and slide down the fire pole, scrambling onto the fire truck. The truck sputters to a start, eventually taking off, much to the unadulterated joy of Ham and Ex.

To celebrate their feat, the twins hold hands and dance around in a circle, cheerfully singing a Berneice Hansell original—“How We Like to Fool the Firemen”. The scene is delightfully sadistic, and conveys a wonderful sense of annoyance. However, their celebration is quickly put to an end once the truck comes roaring back into the station. Like the angels they are, Ham and Ex dutifully return to their bench. Of course, Beans finds out regardless, angrily pacing around in frustration.

Animation is comically snappy and conveys Beans’ obvious contempt as he drags the pups into bed and orders them to go to sleep. So, what do you do when you’re a hyperactive child? Do the complete opposite and jump on the beds. Ex leaps from bed to bed, jumping so high he gets himself stuck in a chandelier. Ham follows, bumping into him and dislodging him from the lamp. Ex slides down the fire pole, Ham following.

Unbeknownst to Beans, the two find themselves right in the fire truck . The cut is a little discombobulating, not showing them sliding down. Ex takes the steering wheel, Ham in the back. Beans rummages around in the tool box, and does a trademark Jack King hat take as his wits are scared out of him. Ex steers the truck right through the wall, the pups headed right into the streets.

Beans attempts to stop them, but instead runs right out in front of the truck and is nearly flattened. The animation of the back half of the truck swinging around the streets aimlessly adds to the comedic effect. A manhole saves his hide as he falls in, the truck whirling overhead. Ex’s blank gleeful state is HILARIOUS as he barrels through the streets, the truck crashing into every electrical pole possible. It’s a simple scene but one that’s hard not to laugh at.

The back of the fire truck stays horizontal as they pass through a line of bushes, literally mowing the bushes and chopping them up. Destruction galore as the two barrel into a statue, a house (a man on the phone desperately attempting to reconnect with the operator), even a trolley. They smack right into the trolley, which spins around in a whirlwind of motion. The speed is very nice and urgent—not as exhilarating as Tex’s speed but certainly nice and fast. The trolley is now riding upside down, the cable connector trailing on the railroad and the wheels on the cable.

Nevertheless, the truck ends up back into the fire station (a slightly incoherent transition, but enough to put two and two together. Just a small gripe) and Ham and Ex gleefully hobble up the staircase, back into their beds like nothing happened. Beans comes storming after them, donning a belt and ready to use it. Ham and Ex pretend to sleep in their beds, and somehow it convinces Beans (who just saw them leave and reenter). He tiptoes away so as not to disturb them, when Ex rises up and literally throws beans the boot.

Ham and Ex once more join in a chorus of “How We Like to Fool the Firemen”, dancing around on the bed. Beans creeps up behind them and lays them down on the bed, spanking them and pulling up their tails for good measure. Iris out.

Certainly an amusing cartoon. Ham and Ex are your archetypal troublemaking nephews, but they certainly fit the role well. Hansell’s vocal characterizations are the cherry on top. Ham and Ex are fun and full of personality, and above all, relatable. Exploring a fire station is exciting stuff! Being a little kid and seeing a big shiny fire truck? All these bells and whistles? It’s paradise to a hyperactive, inquisitive kid. Beans had some more personality than usual (albeit a more abrasive one), and his nonplussed stares at the beginning were highly entertaining. Some transitions were a little wonky and not the most coherent, but it didn’t detract from the plot. Ultimately, a Beans cartoon that’s more entertaining than usual and worth a watch! 

Link!

120. The Phantom Ship (1936)

Release date: February 1st, 1936

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Jack King

Starring: Berneice Hansell, Shirley Reed (Ham and Ex)

The first cartoon to include the trademark zooming WB shield! Ham and Ex make their first appearance since I Haven’t Got a Hat. They’d accompany Beans in a few cartoons, usually as trouble making nuisances to the chagrin of Beans. Beans travels to Iceland to investigate a haunted ship, but stowaways Ham and Ex cause trouble for all.

Open to Ham and Ex, crouched over a newspaper that’s sprawled out on the floor. They exchange awed looks, the headline reading “BEANS TO HUNT FOR HAUNTED TREASURE SHIP IN NORTH”, complete with a photo of a smiling Beans in pilot’s garb. Ham and Ex leap to their feet, giggling excitedly and dashing out the door.

They stumble across Beans, who’s oiling up his anthropomorphic plane (a scene parallel to Bosko lubing up HIS plane in Dumb Patrol (1931)). Beans runs into the shed to fetch something, leaving the perfect opportunity for ham and ex to jump into the smiling plane as stowaways. The Disneyesque plane lets them in, lowering itself and opening the hatch. Beans returns just in time, unaware that he has two guests going along in his journey. He squirts more oil into the plane’s mouth, gives the propeller a good spin, and hops right in to take off.

On the plane’s dashboard is a ticker that marks Beans’ various destinations. Amusingly out of place animation was beans does the Hopak while flying over Russia, icicles forming on his nose and thermometer bursting after flying over Iceland… he whips out a pair of binoculars and spots a broken, worn down ship in the frosty climate. Beans gives an excited “Hooray!” and spirals safety into a landing, icicles substituting the role of smoke. 

He skids to a stop right in front of the ship. A bat is perched on the wall of the ship, its wings labelled “THE PHANTOM”. Beans observes in excitement as the bat flies away. Suddenly, Ham and Ex burst out of the hatch, exclaiming “Surprise! Surprise!” surely enough, Beans is startled after his wits, the famous Jack King “hat take” as his hat flies up in shock. He scratches his head and merely shrugs it off.

Ham and Ex eagerly take Beans by the hands, pulling him along. Conveniently, a staircase plops down right where the trio was standing. Beans cautiously approaches the staircase and motions for the eager pups to follow. Just as they begin to ascend, the stairs slide down beneath them, like going up the down escalator. A spare board attached to the ship takes a life of its own as a giant hand and smacks them all to the top of the ship.

The sails on the ship are worn and ragged. One of the torn sails morphs into (another) giant hand, this time tugging at Beans’ tail and attempting to snatch him up. It succeeds, and it carelessly tosses beans to another anthropomorphic sail, who then slams him to the ground. The world’s cruelest game of monkey in the middle. Beans bounces off a pile of rope, prompting an anthropomorphic anchor to deck him good. Beans flies into the belly of the ship, landing on the ground and shadow boxing in self defense, muttering “I’ll get that so and so, he can’t do that to me!” In the midst of his groveling, a lantern swings and knocks beans over once more.

Elsewhere, Ham and Ex are calling “Uncle Beans! Uncle Beans!” at the top of the ship with no luck. A pirate skeleton pops out of a hanging safety boat and grunts “Pipe down!” Ham and Ex, terrified, take cover under a tarp, trembling (complete with an out of place, frankly annoying ringing bell sound effect). A life preserver falls on top of them. Lovely, stretchy animation as Ham and Ex attempt to run away from each other, yet inevitably bouncing back and collapsing.

Instead, they opt to commute by one carrying the other on his shoulders. Predictably, they form the appearance of a ghost. They bump into an open door occupied by a skeleton. The skeleton freaks out, clinging to a flagpole for safety. The flagpole breaks, and, with no other option for escape, the skeleton jumps overboard. More animation strikingly parallel to a gruesome twosome as ham and ex topple off each other, running into a pole. Both “sides” of their tarp covered lump stretch out on opposite ends, and they’re propelled backwards, conveniently tying around the pirate skeleton from before and unwinding. They’re tossed against the door of the anthropomorphic ship (King’s Disney influence strong as ever), the door used as a tongue as the ship swallows the pup into its cavernous belly.

Like an out of control snowball, the twins barrel down the stairs… and right into Beans. The tarp unfolds with Ham and Ex on the outside and beans beneath the tarp. Unaware that their precious uncle beans is smothered beneath the tarp, Ham and Ex grab two pieces of wood and bash the moving lump’s head in. Finally Beans yells “OUCH!” and Ham and Ex spot an injured Beans beneath the tarp.

They both scoop him up, holding him by the hands. Beans registers the pain (figurative and literal) and weasels his way out of their grip, exclaiming “Bah!” in frustration. He opens a door, hoping for an exit, and finds something much more desirable: a treasure chest overflowing with gold. He creeps over cautiously, then rifling through the goods like he can’t believe it. Ham and Ex also imitate his cautious saunter, playing with their own coins. A nice little segment of brief personality as they bet each other on flipping coins. 

Suddenly, Beans spots two people sitting in front of a woodstove, frozen. Not creepy at all. Beans pulls out a chair beneath one of the frozen victims, and then the other, and feeds both into the stove. He strikes a match to get a roaring fire going, and returns to his treasure while they thaw. Beans loads sacks of gold into his plane, tossing them right out the window. 

Finally, both of the frozen wonders thaw out and regain consciousness. A particularly burly pirate (that you know is voiced by Billy Bletcher, even without hearing him) discovers Beans tossing heaps of gold into his plane and threatens him. Beans, Ham, and Ex are all terrified, Ham and Ex seeking refuge in a barrel while Beans  runs away from the pissed off pirate.

Eventually, the pirate’s peg leg gets caught in an exposed hole in the board. Ham and Ex observe the stuck pirate, but quickly duck as the pirate’s assistant spots the curious pups. Jack King uses a lot of closeups in his work, and they’re particularly rife in this cartoon. I applaud him for doing something different and slightly ambitious, but they break up the flow of the cartoon rather than enhance it. Now, the assistant chases after Ham and Ex, running straight into a pole and becoming disoriented.

Back to the pirate, who’s exerting all of his effort to loosen his peg from the board. He tears the board out from the floor, still stuck. He pulls so hard that he’s propelled into the air, thrown to the deck of the ship where Beans is pacing around. Bans hides in a cannon, but the pirate pulls him out regardless. He punches Beans  into a tube… and Beans pops out from a parallel tube, ramming right into the pirate. 

Ham and Ex are shimmying along on a rope close to the crow’s nest, the pirate’s assistant preparing cutting the rope. Ham and Ex swing right into the parked plane below, starting the engine. Meanwhile, Beans  is still engaged in his own fight, narrowly dodging an exploding barrel of TNT. He’s rocketed into the air, and Ham and Ex swoop into the rescue, catching Beans in the back seat. Beans snaps out of his fugue, coming to terms with Ham and Ex’s bravery. He gives them kisses of gratitude before saluting the ground before him, and iris out as the plane flies away into the horizon.

Not my favorite Jack King entry, but not the worst. It was relatively gagless and didn’t feel as exhilarating as it should have with all the action unfolding. It WAS nice to see Ham and Ex make their first (of a handful) appearance since I Haven’t Got a Hat, though. It just came off as relatively incoherent. It’s basically what you’d imagine it to be as. Anthropomorphic objects everywhere. Hijinks ensue. It just didn’t have anything to write home about, beans felt drier than usual and ham and ex, a slight improvement, still felt pretty bare, too. I’d say skip it, nothing great but nothing terrible either. But, of course, link!

98. I Haven't Got a Hat (1935)

Release date: March 2nd, 1935

Series: Merrie Melodies

Director: Friz Freleng

Starring: Joe Dougherty (Porky), Berneice Hansell (Kitty, Ham, Ex), Elvia Allman (Miss Cud), Purv Pullen (Dogs)

The fated day at last, the day the world was shook to its core... kind of. I Haven't Got a Hat marks the introduction of our favorite Porky Pig, along with a few others: Beans, Ham and Ex, Little Kitty, and Oliver Owl. Buddy’s lack of success was obvious. He couldn’t adequately fill the gap that Bosko had left. Thus, this cartoon serves as a “free for all”, introducing a number of new characters to see who would work out the best. Beans was looking to be the star of the new franchise, but his stuttering sidekick was much more endearing to audiences. To put it this way, Beans starred in 9 cartoons. Porky starred in 153. Buddy would continue to have a few cartoons afterwards, bidding his last “That’s all, folks” with Buddy the Gee-man. 1936 would see a rise in Porky cartoons, thanks to Jack King, Tex Avery, and Frank Tashlin. But for now, we’ll focus on this cartoon. Various school children put on a musical and recital, but trouble arises when Beans’ jealousy causes the show to run amuck.

Right off the bat, we’re introduced to our selection of characters. Miss Cud, “school teacher”—a Clarabelle Cow facsimile who rings her school bell cheekily. Beans, a mischievous cat introduced by eating jam by the fistfuls. An offscreen voice yells “HEY!”, to which Beans responds by sticking out his tongue after wiping the offending jam off his face. Very amusing to note how different in personality he is here, a rambunctious, mischievous kid. In the rest of his filmography, he's essentially Buddy in a cat suit. This whole introduction scene is great—forcing some personality out of these characters. Porky and Oliver Owl are next, Porky giving a happy salute and Oliver Owl pretentiously tipping his hat. Ham and Ex, two troublemaking twins, spot the camera and eagerly whisper to each other. They’d be featured in a few Beans cartoons, usually causing trouble that Beans has to remedy.

An underscore of “I Haven’t Got a Hat” plays jauntily as we’re introduced to the scenario: a flyer posted on the side of the schoolhouse reading “MUSICAL and RECITAL — sponsored by the children of this school for the benefit of teachers and parents — ALL CHILDREN ARE ELIGIBLE!” Sure enough, happy parents stream inside with their kids. A mother cat and her child, a mother dog and her two pups, a mother pig and her three little pigs, and a mother hen with her long line of chicks that zigzag inside, a straggler catching up.

Once all the parents and children are settled, Miss Cud rings her cowbell to introduce the show, stating “we will now open our exercises with a recitation by our little friend, Porky Pig.” Porky misses the cue, too engrossed with the book “Custer’s Last Stand”. Beans glares at Porky, tapping on his book and signaling for him to go up.

Porky meanders his way to the front of the schoolhouse and recites “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”. As always, his stuttering gets in the way of his presentation.

Here’s the thing about Joe Dougherty—I’ve really come to appreciate him. There certainly is that “poor guy” feeling when you listen to him characterize Porky because of his actual uncontrollable stutter, but I don’t think it’s THAT painful to listen to. Maybe because I’ve seen all of the Dougherty Porkys. Honestly, I think his most “painful” performance is here and in Gold Diggers of ‘49, which were his first two cartoons. It’s not even the stuttering, but then figuring out how to perfect his character. His voice is especially high, aluminum sounding in this one, and in gold diggers it isn’t sped up at all, and sounds rather jarring to hear Joe Dougherty’s natural voice, which is VERY deep. Joe Dougherty would use his regular speaking voice for Porky’s father, in cartoons such as Porky the Rain Maker and Milk and Money. I think the stuttering is the most “out of control” here—I really don’t find his performances that bad at all. I think it really fits him, especially when he was so chubby. It’s really odd to hear Mel do Porky in his chubby design in Porky’s Double Trouble.

(My) blabbering aside, Porky recites the poem, exerting so much effort that he begins to sweat—wonderful animation done by Bob McKimson. Once he finishes the first stanza, he imitates a horse, complete with slapping his butt like a whip. He gives another stanza, whipping out an American flag and marching to “The Girl I Left Behind Me”. He recites some more, (even confusing poems and reciting a snippet of “The Charge of the Light Brigade”), declaring “Cannon to the right of them!” I love the little inkling of personality as he deliberately points to the left (which actually WOULD be his right), recognizing his mistake and pointing the other direction. A turtle drums on its stomach with some mallets.

“Cannon to the left of them!” another wrong direction: this scene is especially amusing because of his determined expression, so confident in his delivery. What a ham. A dog tilts a basket of lightbulbs, breaking them one by one to imitate the sound of gunshots.

Porky struggles to finish his poem, and the entire classmates whistle at him to get it over with—a reoccurring gag in the Dougherty era. The whistle plays out like a dog whistle, an army of dogs playfully licking and hopping on Porky, who walks backwards out of the scene as the children applaud. Quite an introduction! 

Miss Cud introduces “Little Kitty”, who’d serve as Beans’ love interest in the Beans cartoons. She’s obviously reluctant to go on, panicking and struggling against her parent’s arms. The parent gives her a final push as she stumbles on stage. She pauses before reciting “Mary had a little... a little... uh...” She seeks Miss Cud for help, who mouths “lamb!” and provides a picture. Kitty beams and continues “Lamb! It’s fleece was white as... white as...” 

Once more, Miss Cud displays thinly veiled frustration as she tosses cornflakes above her head to imitate snow. Berneice Hansell's delivery is great as Kitty says “cornflakes!” with such utter confidence. She corrects herself bashfully, and what continues is a very nervous, possibly the most annoying yet entertaining recitation of Mary Had a Little Lamb. It’s amusing to watch her pace around and grimace, wringing her dress. Her voice gets pitched up higher and higher, speeding up so her open is borderline incomprehensible. It’s certainly annoying and technology rather primitive, but amusing because of that. The best part is when she runs out of the school building and heads for home, her voice fading away as she’s still frantically reciting it.

Next is Ham and Ex, who sing the criminally catchy “I Haven’t Got a Hat”. Berneice Hansell's squeaky voice singing the lyrics matched with Billy Bletcher’s deep bass voice of “Bom bom bom bom” makes the perfect contrast, especially as ex sings the bass line and squats with each “bom”.

Elsewhere, Bob Clampett animates a scene of Beans and Oliver, who are both bored by the performance—Beans especially. Oliver snacks on some candy canes, to which beans eagerly extends his arms towards. Oliver tricks him into giving him a piece, stuffing it in his mouth and sticking his tongue out at the last minute. Man, what a jerk! I’d be pissed too! Especially amusing to watch Beans silently mutter obscenities are Oliver as the song continues on.

Once the song ends, Miss Cud introduces Oliver. If the introduction where he haughtily tips his hat or when he denies beans food isn’t enough of an indicator for his snobby personality, Miss Cud introduces him as “Master Oliver Owl” as a very confident musician. A great scene as Oliver grins at Beans, but remembers his rivalry. He stalks off with his nose (beak?) in the air, his peppermint ripe for the picking. Beans reaches over for it eagerly... until Oliver runs back into the scene and snatches it away, scowling.

Oliver plays a standard “school kid playing piano for the class” tune. Beans isn’t impressed... until an idea hatches. He sneaks out of the classroom, where he spots a sleeping cat on a ladder right outside the window. Perfect! He opens the lid of the piano and drops the cat in, his sabotage unfolding as he spots a dog and drops it inside, too. What a little bastard! I wish they kept him that way.

At once, the keys start playing for themselves, a thunderous rendition of “Poet and Peasant Overture”. Oliver ogles in astonishment as the keys (great animation) wiggle on their own, the piano jumping up and down as the dog and cat duke it out inside. Friz’s musical timing is excellent, and Oliver’s reactions are priceless as he doesn’t even know what to do with himself. Everyone claps thunderously as he stares at the audience in astonishment.

Not one to question his unseen methods, Oliver recognizes he is receiving glory and eats it up. Unfortunately, he stops in his tracks once the piano continues to play. The dog and the cat leap out of the piano and chase each other around, Oliver’s head spinning as he attempts to keep track of the chase. He grins nervously and sweats, his performance exposed.

All the kids boo and hiss, except for Beans, who’s laughing outside the window. Oliver spots him and squirts green ink on him in retaliation. Beans falls off the ladder and lands on a bench, which throws both Beans AND a can of red paint into the window. The paint can lands right on Oliver’s head, Beans toppling next to him. They exchange bewildered looks, and their rivalry is transformed into camaraderie as they shake hands. Iris out.

Obviously, I’m pretty biased since Porky is one of my favorite characters in animation. However, I truly think this is a really good cartoon, and probably one of the best we’ve seen. The attempt to really get some personality out of these characters is absolutely there. Facial acting, body language, acting in GENERAL, it’s all there. The characters are all endearing, even Oliver. Some beautiful animation, especially the Porky scenes by Bob McKimson and the piano scene with the dog and cat. Nothing feels too drawn out—of course, Porky’s recitation is VERY long, but that’s also the point. It’ll be interesting to see how Joe Dougherty improves—maybe I just feel bad for the guy, but I think he needs some more credit. Anyway, VERY good cartoon. The song is dreadfully catchy! If anything, it’s certainly worth watching for its historical significance. Even then, it’s just an entertaining, light-hearted, fun cartoon.

Link!