Mother Was a Rooster

I can't help liking Foghorn Leghorn and his cartoons. Admittedly I like him more now than I did 10+ years ago, now that I understand and appreciate his humour and that my horizons I like to think have broadened. To me, while he is not my favourite of the Looney Tunes characters, he is still interesting and distinctive and is always funny. Mother was a Rooster is not one of his best with a routine story and some of the animation quality was a little lacking in fluidity. However, I did like the vibrancy of the colours, and how upbeat, lushly orchestrated and catchy the music score is, also succeeding in enhancing the action. The story itself holds few surprises, but is still entertaining actually thanks to the zippy pacing and clever sight gags. The writing is often hilarious, the biggest gems being "I say come on boy, I want the whole world to meet my new son" and "you have insulted my families honour sah. ( SMACK!) I demand satisfaction.". Barnyard Dog is no longer the butt of the joke, and is more cunning than usual, which is a good contrast. Foghorn as ever steals the show with his repetitive but sharp wit and unique voice. The baby ostrich is not as interesting a character but has a very cute final line. Mel Blanc was one of the best and most consistent voice actors and he as always is faultless. Overall, a fun cartoon. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Here's a little bit of trivia about the Cawstone (sic) Ostrich Farm shown in the cartoon. It's a reference to Cawston Ostrich Farm, which formerly operated in South Pasadena, CA. It opened in 1896, supplying feathers for ladies' hats and clothing. In time, the farm began offering ostrich rides to visitors, and became a major Southern California tourist attraction until it closed in 1935. Guests could also observe baby ostriches there, which may have inspired the ostrich character in the cartoon.

At a college lecture engagement in 1976, I heard Mel Blanc claim that he "created" (his emphasis) the voice of Foghorn Leghorn on a visit to Kentucky, while listening to a tobacco auctioneer. The truth, of course, was that Blanc was imitating Senator Claghorn, a character on radio's Fred Allen Show, voiced by Kenny Delmar. I guess Blanc figured that college kids of that era were too young to have listened to radio.

This short offers undeniable prove that Barnyard Dog is the most conniving villain ever employed by the Warner Brothers studio. While in the past he may have seemed just an innocent bystander rousted into action by too many pranks, in 'Mother was a Rooster' he shows his true colours, all of them dark. With malicious intent he breaks into Cawstone ostrich farm to steal a defenseless egg. Adding insult to injury he puts 'exhibit A' next to a sleeping Foghorn Leghorn just to "liven up the dull proceedings around here". The impatient offender cannot wait for Foghorn to wake up and therefore starts crowing before sunrise (hereby depriving the other party of his only means of income).When this fails the villainous plotter goes as far as to use a hammer to crack both the egg in question (prematurely I might add) and Mr. Foghorn's head (post natal).

The good natured Mr. Leghorn is happy to adopt the ostrich as his own son, but Barnyard the heartless has to insult the poor innocent bird every chance he gets by not accepting his unusual features. While Foghorn the Saint spends quality time with the orphan boy, engaging in healthy pastimes as football and baseball, black hearted Barnyard is only interested in giving the young bird a inferiority complex as well as a speech impediment. When the heroic Foghorn took it upon himself to stand up to the baseless insults and challenged the horrible deceiver to a boxing match, naturally the wretched coward resorted to foul play. The evidence, as presented in "Mother was a rooster" proves to be uncomfortable and painful to watch and guarantied to insult any ostrich in the audience. The Barnyard dog is in actuality a scrupulous Hell hound. I rest may case.

3 out of 10

As part of his never-ending feud with Foghorn Leghorn, Barnyard Dog steals an ostrich egg and places it under a sleeping Foghorn. When the rooster awakens and sees the egg, he inexplicably believes he's its mother. The egg hatches, of course, and the rest of the short is a protective "mother" Foghorn fighting with Barnyard Dog who keeps insulting the little ostrich's looks. A pretty silly (stupid, to be honest) premise but it does have its moments. Most of the humor comes from Barnyard Dog's wisecracks. The animation is bright and colorful. The music is lively and upbeat. Good voice work from Mel Blanc. The ostrich is not the most inspired Looney Tunes creation and I can't say that I cared for the way it was drawn. Not the best Foghorn short by a long shot but watchable enough.