The Foghorn Leghorn

Before "chicken hawk" referred to a warmonger who never served in the army, the Looney Tunes cartoons used the term. "The Foghorn Leghorn" features the eponymous blustery rooster trying to prove to Henery Hawk that he, Foghorn Leghorn, is in fact a chicken (rooster, that is) and not a schnook. Of course, this involves a series of self-degrading gags usually resulting in Foghorn irritating Barnyard Dog.

The plot line here is basically the same as in Foghorn's debut "Walky Talky Hawky", except that Foghorn is now the star. So, even if the cartoon isn't the ultimate masterpiece, it's always great to see what sorts of things Foghorn gets himself into. I recommend, I SAY I recommend this cartoon.

Once again, Henery Hawk is looking for a chicken to catch and once again, he doesn't know what a chicken looks like. When he sees his father looking at Foghorn Leghorn, the father, because he doesn't like his son tagging along, tells him he's not a chicken but a "snook". Supposedly because his ego is deflated, Foghorn keeps trying to convince Henery he really is a chicken. Of course, there's also the Barnyard Dog he has to deal with...Seeing the Southern rooster make some awful puns always gets a smile from me and occasionally even a laugh and it's always great to see him and the Barnyard Dog play tricks on each other. While Henery also provides some amusement, I was glad when he was eventually jettisoned for some other supporting characters like Prissy and her intellectual son. Anyway, The Foghorn Leghorn is another classic from the Robert McKimson unit.

Little chikenhawk Henery longs to proves to his grandfather that he's old enough to catch chickens. Foghorn Leghorn just so happens to be a chicken but Henery thinks he's just a schnook on account of his hear his pop call him that. The cartoon is hilarious and if Robert McKimson just stayed with making Foghorn shorts, and never EVER made a Bugs Bunny cartoon then I would have no beef with the guy at all. This animated short can be found on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 and features an optional commentary by Micheal Barrier.

My Grade: A+

Being a big fan of both Foghorn Leghorn and Henery Hawk, it's no surprise I enjoyed this gem from 1948 immensely. You have chicken hawk Henery once again trying to nab himself a chicken and once again finding himself crossing paths with Foghorn, whom he thinks is not a chicken but "a loud-mouthed schnook." Also appearing in this one are Barnyard Dog and Henery's father, a colorful character in his own right who provides the short's funniest bit about schnooks. It's a very funny cartoon with excellent animation. Love the colors. Great music from Carl Stalling. Terrific voice work from the incomparable Mel Blanc. This is early Foghorn but still some great lines here wonderfully delivered by Mel ("You're built too low! The fast ones go over your head! You've got a hole in your glove! I keep pitching 'em and you keep missing 'em!"). I can't imagine any fan of the character not loving this one.

Foghorn Leghorn was on of the lesser stars at Warner Bros., but he was still one of the biggest cartoon stars from the mid '40's for the next 20 years. In this, his third short, once again Henery Hawk can't get it straight on what a chicken is supposed to look like, and anyone who has seen one of these classic Robert McKimson Fogorn/Henery cartoons knows the drill, and the gags in this one are very much par for the course. Also included is the Barnyard Dog, while not indispensable to this particular series, added a lot to them with his gruff matter-of-fact attitude. Besides, he was the only one who never failed to see Foghorn for what he really was, a loudmouth shnook.