Porky's Pooch

After a conversation with a down and out Scotty dog, Rover tells how he went about seeking a master. This starts out with his insufferable pursuit of Porky Pig. I guess pigs are higher on the food chain (but there is a dog running a restaurant at the beginning). Anyway, the dog becomes such a pest that Porky eventually succumbs to his shenanigans. Not a great cartoon, but some decent action sequences. The dog is utterly obnoxious.

This was a great short from Warner Bros. The dog Rover was very funny trying to get Porky Pig to be his master. Very original and fresh. There would be other shorts similar to this one, but this would be the best of any of those shorts.

If the average person thinks of a pesky dog trying to get Porky Pig to adopt him, s/he will probably think of Charlie, who invaded Porky's life in "Little Orphan Airedale" (which I interpreted as having the same gist as the Alan Bates movie "King of Hearts"*), "Often an Orphan" and "Awful Orphan". Well, a few years before all those, there was "Porky's Pooch", featuring Rover. As always, the wise guy mutt stops at nothing to try and become Porky's pet.

I noticed an in-joke: Porky's building is called Termite Terrace. Hard-core Looney Tunes fans probably know that Termite Terrace is the building where the Chuck Jones/Friz Freleng/Bob Clampett crowd created the cartoons.

Overall, I preferred the Charlie cartoons better, as this one had sort of an abrupt ending. But it still worked as brief entertainment. Worth seeing.

*"King of Hearts" shows that the people in the insane asylum weren't as crazy as the people behind WWI; "Little Orphan Airedale" portrays Charlie's friend deciding...well, I won't spoil it. As it is, I may have been the only person who interpreted a link between the two.

Porky's Pooch (1941)

*** (out of 4)

A poor dog walks out into the street where he sees one of his buddies in a rich car. The rich dog then tells his friend how he got adopted by a rich man and then we flashback to him showing up on the home of Porky Pig.

PORKY'S POOCH is a charming B&W short that manages to have some nice laughs that will keep you entertained throughout the short running time. I must admit that the dog is so annoying that I really wouldn't have blamed Porky had he done something rather drastic. With that said, there are some pretty funny reaction shots of Porky who is obviously in over his head as far as this dog is concerned.

Basically, this is a tale in flashback of one dog, who now is well-fed and happy, telling a hungry, lonesome dog how he got a master to take care of him.

I wish we had more of him (the hungry dog) in this cartoon. Mel Blanc is just awesome with his different voices in this one: First, he's that lonesome mutt: a Scottish dog "Rover," who Mel exaggerates the way Scot's roll their "r's." Then he's another dog: "Sandy," the now-fed dog who tells the story. He has a strong NYC accent which is right up Mel's alley. And, of course, he's Porky Pig. I laughed at the Scot more than anything and wish his role had been bigger.

The artwork with the New York city buildings, inside and out, the sidewalks and streets is fantastic. Note: Porky's residence is "Termite Terrace," the place the Looney Tunes creators called their place of work.