Claws for Alarm

Porky and Sylvester stop for the night at a dilapidated old hotel. Porky ignores the obvious signs that this place is haunted but Sylvester is very much aware of all the spooky goings-on. Chuck Jones does a great job here with the comedy and the creepiness. There's a really nice dark atmosphere with this short. Mel Blanc outdoes himself with some very funny stuttering punchlines for Porky. This is a follow-up to the awesome Scaredy Cat, which also starred Porky and Sylvester. In many ways, it's even better than that short. Both are classics, however, so we're really splitting hairs trying to decide which is best. Love that final shot!

In one of the many classic Looney Tunes cartoons, Porky Pig and Sylvester spend the night in a desert town. The only thing is, this town appears to be haunted or something. So, Porky, completely clueless, goes about doing his business while a gaggle of nasty mice try to kill him. Sure enough, every time that Sylvester narrowly saves Porky, Porky believes him to be insane.

Some of the stuff in here might seem a little far out for a cartoon, especially in the '50s. But that's just why the Looney Tunes were so great: they weren't afraid to do whatever they wanted. You'd better believe that they were all about trashing the rules; and that's just what they do here. These cartoons were truly the gold standard of their era. Really funny.

So yes, do give me a home...

Sylvester leaves his indomitable role as a chaser of canaries and becomes a pet to Porky Pig. After traveling all day, Porky decides to spend the night at dry gulch. It is a haunted hotel and immediately Porky's life is in danger. Sylvester does everything he can to save him from assaults, but every time he tries he gets blamed for doing what the ghosts are actually doing. It is non-stop entertainment.

Several years after Scaredy Cat, Porky Pig and Sylvester the Cat would once again play master and his pet who is easily frightened especially by malevolent mice when they visit a haunted house. As before, Porky is oblivious to everything as he tries to sleep and blames his pet for any disturbances he gets while Sylvester is only trying to save him at every opportunity. Plenty of genuine scares and laughs abound, that's for sure! Also, as before, Sylvester doesn't speak to emphasize his underling relationship with Porky which works perfectly well for them in these cartoons of which three were made. Actually, in this one, Sylvester does somewhat take charge at the end. Kudos to Chuck Jones and his team for making these entertaining shorts.

In my opinion, one of the greatest Warner Bros. cartoons ever. Another of the long list of great Chuck Jones shorts of the '50s ("Drip-Along Daffy", "Rabbit Seasoning", "One Froggy Evening") and another in which Porky Pig and (here, his pet cat) Sylvester go on a trip and face disaster, unknown to Porky (see also "Jumpin' Jupiter", 1955).

Porky and Sylvester check into an abandoned hotel, and are menaced by evil (satanic?) mice intent on killing them both. It's beyond me how such subversive stuff was put on cinema screens in 1954. The collaboration of Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese brings about a level of twisted genius, as well as cockeyed comedy, that few cartoons, even WB cartoons, can ever hope to match. A true masterpiece of short animation.