Porky's Pet

When the story begins, Porky receives a telegram informing him he and his pet Ostrich have a job performing on stage. Unfortunately, when they try to board the train, the conductor throws them off...saying ostiches are not allowed. So Porky does what anyone would do...he sneaks the pet aboard the train! Can they manage to hide this ruse and go undetected?

In many ways, this short is similar to 1940s "Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip"....where Mickey Mouse sneaks Pluto aboard a train and Pete tries again and again to catch them. It is interesting because normally Looney Tunes was inspired by Disney instead of the other way around. Still, both are worth seeing and "Porky's Pet" is a pleasant short.

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's Pet' shows that, as to be expected, that Porky is a likable character and he is and also amusing, cute and interesting, though to me he works better in support against a stronger in personality character, where he plays it straight, than a lead. The ostrich is a great pet companion, very funny and matches Porky in cuteness and likability. 'Porky's Pet' may not be Porky at his best, this was not quite his prime period, but one can definitely see why he was popular at the time and how he remained so.

As far as the story goes it is pretty slight and, although this is personal preference and something not everyone will share, Joe Dougherty's voice for Porky has never really done it for me. It's not just because Mel Blanc's more famous interpretation is more appealing to me and fits better but Dougherty doesn't sound anywhere near as natural or endearing, have always found that he overdid the stutter and that's true here too.

On the other hand, the animation is characteristically great, especially in the first half, crisp, detailed and fluid throughout.

The music is not Carl Stalling or Scott Bradley and does lack variety at times, but it is still lush and characterful and adds a good deal to the action if not quite enhancing it.

While not hilarious, the gags are numerous and they are never less than very funny. Some of the best moments belong to the ostrich. The cartoon goes at a lively pace, never does it get dull.

Concluding, nice effort. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Porky's Pet (1936)

*** (out of 4)

Porky and his pet ostrich get a job offer on Broadway so the two of them hop on a train heading towards the big city. Of course, once on the train things don't go as planned.

PORKY'S PET is the first time in the series that Porky got his name in the title and obviously fans had grown to love the pig throughout 1936. It's amazing to see how quickly he went from a supporting player to the top pig and this here is a fun short. As you'd expect by this point, the animation itself was quite good and I really loved the scenes where everything was sped up. This includes the ostrich getting into a case and going a tad bit nuts just as the train worker comes around for tickets. There are a number of small laughs throughout the short and it remains an entertaining little picture.