Porky Chops

Even if you were not to know who the director and the writers were before watching this cartoon, it's almost certain that you would start suspecting none of the usual gang at the Warner Brothers animation studio were behind this entry. What we have here are writers who worked at the studio only for a brief time, and a director who was more successful as an animator. The end result is very strange, feeling like it was done by people who had only seen a handful of Looney Tunes cartoons before being assigned to make this cartoon. They have the words, but not the music - the timing is very off, and they don't seem to understand how the characters (both the protagonist and antagonist) need to act. I agree with the previous poster that this was an odd choice for Warner Brothers first box set of Looney Tunes cartoons - it certainly is no classic. Still, I must admit it shines when placed next to some of the cartoons that came out of the cartoon studio during its dying days.

In a nutshell, Porky Pig is a lumberjack who's chopping down a tree that occupies a squirrel who wears pajamas, hangs a "Brooklyn Dodgers" banner over his bed, and reads the racing forms from the newspaper. The squirrel tries various ways to shoo the pig away like putting aluminum siding on the tree and then disguising it with varnish as Porky fails to chop with various axes that keep losing their sharp heads. Many funny chase gags abound and a twist involving a bear especially pays off here. This cartoon came from the short-lived Arthur Davis unit and it shows how talented Davis really was with the timing of the gags and pacing that also marked his predecessor, Bob Clampett. Too bad, due to budget constraints, Warner Bros. later had to cut Davis' staff. Porky Chops is highly recommended.

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.

'Porky Chops' is a long way from being among the best Porky Pig cartoons, he's done better before and since particularly in supporting roles when pitted off against a stronger character, or among the best work of underrated Arthur Davis (being in the shadow of the likes of Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Tex Avery and Bob Clampett and having nowhere near as long a career, which is sad). It seems to have divided reviewers and it is not hard to see why, it could have been better and needed more to it but it is a long way from a mess.

The story is a pretty slight and obvious one, and doesn't always have the madcap energy of the best cartoons. Porky is likable and amusing enough but somewhat bland in a role that could easily have been filled by Elmer.

In terms of the humour, 'Porky Chops' is more amusing than it is hilarious.

However, the animation is excellent. Beautifully drawn, very detailed and the colours are vibrant, complete with some great expressions and Davis' distinctive style of the characters moving from foreground to background.

Carl Stalling's music score is typically lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms, it's also beautifully synchronised with the action and gestures/expressions and even enhances the impact.

Although not hilarious, 'Porky Chops' amuses and entertains with some nice wit and good timing. The squirrel is a lot of fun with a personality that's lively, cute and anarchic. The ever versatile Mel Blanc's voice acting is stellar.

Overall, quite good fun though won't blow anybody away. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Don't get me wrong, this cartoon is good, but Not that good. The Squirrel is highly amusing, and doesn't need any improvement, but porky on the other hand..... Who is he? This just isn't porky, if it was Elmer it would make so much more sense, or even Yosemite Sam in a different Profession, but porky just doesn't work. The Animation is pretty nice though, with nice fluid movements, and Storybeats that are fast-paced and leave you on the edge of your seat at all times.

The problem is, you don't care for porky in this cartoon, quite the opposite when he's with Daffy Duck. He's a bland piece of tofu, In A pig form! The jokes and the squirrel redeem it though, and all in all, kids will find it enormous fun.

7/10.

Porky Chops (1949) *** (out of 4)

A squirrel from Brooklyn goes to the great Northwoods to get some rest but then comes across lumberjack Porky Pig trying to cut down his tree. The two start battling one another but soon a third party is going to enter the picture. This is a pleasant short that manages to have quite a few smiles and it's certainly cute enough. The one problem I have with the short is the actual squirrel who just doesn't sit too well with me. I've seen this film several times over the years and each time I can't help but think it would have been different with a better character. As far as Porky goes he's at the top of his game and the poor guy takes a nice beating like he always does. The third party that shows up only appears for a matter of seconds but he clearly steals the film. I won't ruin the gag as it's one of the best in the film.