The Wearing of the Grin

In The Wearing of the Grin, Porky is stuck in a haunted house in Ireland inhabited by a couple of leprechauns. They attempt to banish the pig to wearing green shoes because they think he's going to steal their pot-o-gold. Another very amusing short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The music here is not by Carl Stalling but Eugene Poddany who would eventually do the scores of Jones' cartoons for MGM. Loved the way Porky dances whenever he's wearing the shoes. Highly whimsical dream sequences also abound near the end. This is on disc 2 of Vol. 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection on DVD. If you're a big animation fan, I highly recommend you check that out.

The Wearing of the Grin is not a favourite by all means, but I liked it a lot. The animation is very good, with beautiful colouring, convincing character features and dream-like visual effects. The music as pretty much always is a delight as well, as are the sight gags(beware of the leprechauns was a good one). I for one enjoyed the climax, it was funny if a tad predictable, and the dialogue comes by thick and fast. The story is effective if slight, and the characters are good too. Porky is suitably timid here, but it is O Pat and O Mike who steal the show, they could be seen as stereotypical but they were funny, that's what mattered to me. And of course Mel Blanc is excellent. Overall, it is visually imaginative and definitely worth a look at least once. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Porky Pig takes shelter from the rain inside an old Irish castle, despite a sign outside that warns "Beware of Leprechauns." Sure enough, there are leprechauns inside the castle. Two of them, to be exact. Believing Porky to be after their pot of gold, they make him wear a pair of magic green shoes that force the tired pig to keep dancing an Irish jig. It's a beautifully animated cartoon with lovely colors. Nice voicework and music. It's not hilarious but it is amusing and fun to watch. The visuals are amazing for such a slight cartoon, particularly after Porky puts on the shoes and has his freak-out. By the way, some remarks here about stereotyping with the leprechauns? Really, people? Has it really come to that?

Caught in a rain storm while on his way to Dublin, Porky seeks refuge in an old castle despite warnings that it is inhabited by leprechauns. When he arrives seeking a room for the night, the two leprechauns assume that he is after their gold and decide to keep him away from it, one way or another.

I could get all up in arms about Irish stereotypes and so on, but who cares? If you ignore this rather crude image and take it in the affectionate spirit it was intended then this is quite funny. Porky does some good double takes when first discovering the identity of his hosts (especially when approached by one of the leprechauns who says `pardon me sir, but have ye seen the lower part of me about?' - had me rolling!).

The characters keep it amusing, even if the plot takes it places that don't totally work, but it is still quite funny and is different enough to hold it's own. One thing I didn't get was the way that the little fellas smoked their pipes upside down - is this the way it's meant to be done? Ah well, probably doesn't matter!

It's pouring out and traveler Porky is looking for some refuge in the storm. He wonders if the people in "that quaint old castle" on top of the nearby hill will put him up for the night. En route, he sees a sign that says, "Beware of the Leprechauns." What nonsense, Porky thinks. Upon entering the castle, he meets "Seamus O'Toole," caretaker of the "Clarey Castle."

"Seamus" is really two leprechauns standing on top of the other. They are "O'Pat" and "O'Mike" and they think Porky has come to steal their pot of gold.

What happens after that, with the magical green shoes, is bizarre with dream-like sequences. There are some very cool visuals.

The artwork in here is just beautiful, start-to-finish. Most of these cartoons in the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" are restored to bold, bright colors and give the excellent artists who drew these animated short subjects their due.