Plane Dippy

Wow.

To understand my reaction, you have to know that there is a huge shift underway at present in the US military. The promise of artificial intelligence has repeatedly disappointed, so it will be some time before we have autonomous robots with weapons. But there's this move to remotely controlled weapons, starting with planes. Its happening now. And not everything is working out as intended.

So seventy years ago we see this cartoon. Its one of Tex Avery's first, and of interest just on that score. Its also interesting because its in the first wave of movies that assume the inevitability of Americans entering the war.

The joke is that Porky is in a remotely controlled plane. The control is by voice, and that controller accidentally overhears kids telling a puppy to perform tricks. The plane complies and we laugh. One clever joke has the plane fly through a wagon of hay and end up with a wagonload of straw hats.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

This early Tex Avery cartoon -- starring Porky the Pig in his most globular phase -- starts out with as good a series of perfectly-paced sight gags as Avery ever did, with Porky enlisting in and going through basic training in the Air Corps. However, the second half, in which he winds up in a robot plane controlled from the ground by a bunch of kids, becomes much more erratic, as the basic gag goes on too long. Also, and this may not be a problem for you, you hear Rochelle Hudson doing her little-girl voice, which makes me grind my teeth. Nor does Bernard Brown's score, a constant repetition of an upbeat version of "I'd Love to Take Orders from You" help ease the monotony.

But the opening makes this a fine cartoon. Give it a look and see if you agree.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best cartoons ever made from anybody. 'Plane Dippy' is a good cartoon, but not one of the best from either Avery or Porky Pig, both of them capable of very good to masterpiece. Then again, even when Avery was not at his best he was far better than most at their worst. The problem isn't that there is too much of a sense that he hadn't found his style, actually the first half is classic Avery.

'Plane Dippy' is instead fairly uneven. It is agreed that the first half is absolutely brilliant, being imaginatively drawn, immaculately timed and very funny. The momentum however for me did dip in the latter parts of 'Plane Dippy' where the timing was a mix of rushed and momentum-less and the material is generally not as inspired.

While most of the voice acting is fine, Billy Bletcher especially, count me in as somebody who has found that Joe Dougherty's Porky voice has never done it for me. It's not just because Mel Blanc's more famous interpretation is more appealing to me but Dougherty doesn't sound anywhere near as natural or endearing, have always found that he overdid the stutter and that's true here too.

On the other hand, the animation is characteristically great, especially in the first half, crisp, detailed and fluid throughout. The music is not Carl Stalling or Scott Bradley and does lack variety at times, but it is still lush and characterful and adds a good deal to the action if not quite enhancing it.

As far as the gags go, the standouts are the hay and the straw hats gag and the scene with the cloud. It can be expected that Porky is a likable character and he is and also amusing, cute and interesting, though to me he works better in support against a stronger in personality character, where he plays it straight, than a lead. Just personal preference.

In short, good if uneven cartoon. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Plane Dippy (1936)

*** (out of 4)

Porky Pig finally manages to make his way through the tests and gets enrolled in the Army. His first mission is being a test pilot for a robot plane that can be operated by controls.

PLANE DIPPY certainly isn't an animated masterpiece but if you're a fan of the early Porky Pig shorts then you should enjoy it. This here was the first time that Porky got him name on the title card so it's obvious that crowds were loving the little guy. This here is a pretty good short as there are some funny moments and plenty of nice action. Most of the action takes place during the final minutes as Porky finds himself inside the plane and it's out of control. One of the highlights is a scene where the plane chases a cloud. The animation was extremely good and there's no question that Porky was coming into his own.

"Plane Dippy" is the first Looney Tunes cartoon to begin with the 'Featuring Porky' intertitle card. In fact, this cartoon marks the second time this character starred in a film from the studio and about the sixth time he appeared in one of the shorts.

When the story begins, Porky joins the Army Air Corps because he wants to learn to fly. Instead, he's made a janitory and his career as a pilot seems over before it began. However, the crazed looking ape working in the hanger seems interested in teaching Porky about his newest invention--a voice-controlled plane....which is NOT a great thing for a stuttering pig! What also is not great is that the plane seems to have a mind of its own and soon takes off with Porky the unwilling passenger.

In some ways, this cartoon is reminscent of the very early Mickey Mouse cartoon, "Plane Crazy". I have no idea if this was intended or not. Regardless, it's cute and worth seeing provided you understand that the 1930s was NOT a great era with cartoons and they became so much better in the 1940s.