172. Plenty of Money and You (1937)

Warner cartoon no. 171.
Release date: July 31, 1937.
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Friz Freleng.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Weasel).
Animation: Cal Dalton and Phil Monroe.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: A curious baby ostrich is born by mistake and experiences misadventures in the back yard.

This is the first known cartoon to use the 'Eat at Joe's' gag reference that would be used even through the years as it was a fictional name for restaurants.

The cartoon begins with a henhouse and there are hens standing outside plucking the ground at some corn. Inside the henhouse shoes a hen sitting on top of her nest waiting for her eggs to hatch. The hen turns to the pinup calendar hung against the wall and places a cross on "July 14" sighs as though the eggs might not be ready on time after hatching all the time.

While the hen is still hatching waiting for the eggs to be born; they happen to be born just on the spot as the hen is getting impatient. The hen jumps after one egg cracks making a "plop" sound effect with the first chick born. Then a couple of other eggs are hatched with more chicks born in the nest. After most of the eggs have been hatched; there is just one more egg that needs hatching; and it turns out the hen grows because it turns out she has apparently laid an ostrich egg and a baby ostrich has been born. This leaves me rather confused and so many questions: Why is there an ostrich egg inside the henhouse? How did an ostrich egg even end up in the henhouse? How can a hen hatch an ostrich egg when not being an ostrich? Wouldn't an ostrich egg be much larger from what is being hatched? I could continue asking these questions but here are the main ones.

The hen then flies away in perspective and clucks outside to warn the other hens and chickens that there is a baby ostrich being born. The hen just clucks "Look what I did". The chicks look at the baby ostrich afraid as they dash off but dash back in again to look at the size compared to theirs before dashing off.

All the other hens then dash into the henhouses to look at the baby ostrich as though it must be the most unusual poultry they've ever seen not knowing what an ostrich is or what it looks like. They look at the baby ostrich with amazement; but the ostrich tries to stand up but slips inside the nest not keeping itself in balance. The ostrich uses it's long neck to help pull itself upwards to stand. All of the other chickens and hens are amazed at what they are seeing; the ostrich then leans it's neck towards them and blows a silly face towards them. The chickens have a stunned look afterwards as they gossip towards each other on what they are seeing. Personally; I really dislike ostriches; I'm really scared of them in real life - no joke. However I find this cartoon ostrich rather cute here so I don't have a problem (although I swear I've already told this before in a review that I hated ostriches).

After the baby ostrich has been born in the poultry farm; the chickens just accept the ostrich as though it's a part of their poultry farm or even one of their chicks. In the next scene; we find the mother hen walking in the farm with the other chicks; until we pan to the baby ostrich who has a weird walk compared to the other chicks which I love because it shows the characteristics of a baby ostrich.

Meanwhile the ostrich peeps its head through the hole of the fence with curiosity as to what is seen. The baby ostrich then finds a pond in which there is a small fish swimming across it. The baby ostrich believes that it is food in which it gobbles the mouth with its beak and tries to swallow it. The fish is still seen swimming inside and alive as it is swimming inside the ostrich's beak and the ostrich can't keep control. The ostrich from the rear is caught on the fence as the mother hen walks into the scene to try and pull the ostrich out of the fence and uses its weight to drag it off. As the ostriches' head is being pulled off the fish is pushed out of the ostrich's mouth and back into the pond. The mother hen then starts to tell off the ostrich for not following orders even though the ostrich doesn't particularly understand. Boy; if that was me trying to tell off that ostrich I wouldn't dare because I'd rather cry my eyes out or faint before being pecked or beaten up.

After that shot of the curious ostrich and that fence incident - the mother hen continues to walk on with her chicks as they do what they told. The hens appear to treat the ostrich as (well, I'm not trying to refer the ostrich as a dog but ) a type of 'mongrel' if it's okay to put it that way. The mother hen then walks past a basement door as the other clicks walk besides it. The baby ostrich however looks at the basement door that leads to it also in curiosity. The ostrich then steps down it by accident (and I like the fluid movement of the ostrich falling).

The ostrich then trips and falls down the stairs that leads to the basement. The baby ostrich has already crashed inside the basement with a few items lying over the place. The baby ostrich does not realize what is in there or any danger and starts to eat some of the tools in which it is mistaken for food. The ostrich has already swallowed a type of vice in which it starts to hiccup (hiccups were done by Mel Blanc) in which the neck starts to extend as it forms into a type of funny gag. The ostrich's neck then ends up with parts of the vice sticking out.

Meanwhile back up in the surface; the mother hen is finding some food for the chicks to meat as she is standing by a grinder. She picks up some of the soil in the earth and places it onto the grinder to grind it. The mother hen then calls up for the chicks to turn up as it's being grinded. After being grinded; the worms fall out of the soil as the chicks scatter to eat the worms; which I guess was sensible since we didn't want to see the worms get eaten up, I guess.

Back inside the basement door; the ostrich peeps up from the top as the baby ostrich probably heard the mother hen calling for worms and probably went up to see what the clucking noise was for. The baby ostrich then finds one of the worms sliding out of the way and past the ostrich trying to escape the chick. The baby ostrich takes an interest in eating the bird and chases after it. Well, the worm would definitely be in peril considering that ostriches run extremely fast and the ostrich could get it easily.

The baby ostrich then steps out of the basement; and it already appears now that the ostrich has some personality which is trying to eat other living creatures as foods as the baby ostrich sneakily creeps up on the worm sliding past. The baby ostrich then turns around making an innocent facial look by whistling as though the baby ostrich isn't after any worm. I noticed how that the baby ostrich turning around acting innocent almost has a type of smear to it - I wonder if there was a specific animator for Friz who did that back then?

The worm then starts to stand on two legs; and considering that this is definitely a cartoonie worm since it has arms and legs. The ostrich turns around to chase after the worm as it's turning away. There is a little chase sequence that follows on with the baby ostrich is trying to snap at the worm for food. The worm then escapes under a small hole in which the baby ostrich takes the wrong direction but turns with it's neck which is some interesting animation movement. The neck turning movement is repeated a few times each time the worm jumps down the hole and that the ostrich is still going to follow after the worm.

The worm then starts to slide near a hosepipe in which the ostrich follows. The baby ostrich looks through one of the holes attached to the hosepipe looking out for the worm. The sprinkler machine then hoses on the baby ostrich's face which would've been one of the worm's tricks. In this scene the baby ostrich is being mimicked by the hosepipe where they go eye-to-eye with one another copying each movement of their necks moving up and down.

The ostrich looks closely at the holes of the hosepipe but the ostrich gets soaked in the eye from the hose. With one eye open; the ostrich gets squirted in the eye from the hosepipe. The ostrich then opens up the other eye but gets squirted with water again. With both eyes opened the hosepipe squirts both eyes as the ostrich is moved out of the way. Now the baby ostrich is running away from the hosepipe; although I do wonder if it's being controlled by the worm because it wouldn't make sense if it wasn't. The ostrich then starts to dunk it's head in the sand; which is a make belief of what ostriches do which makes the gag work but fact is ostriches do NOT bury their heads when frightened as it's just made up.

The hosepipe which I think is being controlled by the worm then squirts the ostrich in the rear end as the ostrich pops its head out of the hole and into the air being squirted from the water. The baby ostrich then starts to try and attack the hosepipe like it's a type of snake; and during the fight action scenes you can notice some type of minor smears of the ostrich and the hosepipe.

The ostrich then starts to chew up the hosepipe into it's mouth but as the baby ostrich walks on; the handle for the hosepipe is let go as the ostrich is sprayed backwards because of that effect which makes it a decent gag. The ostrich runs off rather frightened after the hosepipe sequence that went on for a bit (and by this point I'm surprised that the chicks or the mother hen haven't noticed anything so far). After the ostrich buries it's head under the hole; the ostrich is encountered by a weasel who plans to eat it. The words "The Weasel" (The Rat!) pops up for the audience to know who the character is of the cartoon. Of course; those words popping up is a little Avery influence unless by that point there were story artists working for Freleng and Avery, too. The ostrich from the outside of the hole then gets dragged in by the weasel and the mother hen looks under to discover and ends up in state of panic; as NOW she's noticed.

The ostrich is seen inside a box trapped so it wouldn't be able to escape. We PAN across as we are inside the weasel's kitchen room as he's going to cook some ostrich meat and reading through the cook book. The weasel is singing the title song but it's sung in substitute lyrics called Plenty of Gravy On You.

 The weasel here I don't know if it's voiced by Mel Blanc or not as I swear it's the same voice actor in I'm a Big Shot Now or He Was Her Man but I don't know who the voice actor for that would be [01/07/2012 update: I stand corrected that the weasel is in fact Mel Blanc]. The weasel continues to work on his recipe by shaking the salt of the vegetables and also peeling the potato skins to add into it. As the ostrich is inside the cage still curious; there is a lamp hanging from the ceiling in which the ostrich gobbles it inside his joke with curiosity but the weasel finds it's rather dark. The weasel walks over to the ostrich and pulls the lightbulb out of the ostrich's mouth. The weasel then walks back to the cooking table to continue the recipe after sorting out the baby ostrich.

The weasel is back with the recipe as he grabs out a bottle of olives on the casserole dish to add to his ostrich stew still singing the song he sung whilst cooking. Meanwhile the ostrich still trapped then finds a box full of fireworks. The ostrich then starts to swallow the fireworks not aware of the dangers and effects towards it but only believes it's a type of food. The weasel then finishes the song he was sung and takes the ostrich out of the cage.

The ostrich is being placed inside the pot as the poor baby ostrich is going to be cooked alive. The weasel then places the baby ostrich inside the casserole dish and then inside the oven. The weasel then walks over to the stove carrying the casserole dish and closes the door inside. All the weasel will have to do is wait for the ostrich to be cooked as he sits down waiting for the baby ostrich. Well that is just cruel to cook them away; especially from weasels who just want to eat them which will just kill them. The weasel is sitting on the chair humming waiting for his dinner to be ready.

The ostrich is sitting inside the casserole dish and is extremely hot as the stove is cooking. The ostrich is slightly starting to burn; with it's face turning red from the heat and starts panting. Since the ostrich had eaten the firecrackers just before he was taken; this leads to the climax of the cartoon as the heat reacts to the fireworks inside the ostrich's body and it will cause the stove to turn crazy and then does so.

The weasel makes a 'take' at the stove starting to react badly with exploding fireworks and the stove continues to jump. The ostrich then falls out of the stove reacting to the amount of fireworks but stops after being driven out of the stove rather dazed. I do like the animation of the ostrich being stirred up by the fireworks and I imagine that the firework effects were done by Ace Gamer. The weasel walks over to the ostrich rather gobsmacked as to what had happened. The weasel opens the baby ostrich's mouth but more fireworks then start to react. Even the weasel is starting to shake badly as though there is an earthquake going on underground.

The fireworks then start to fire out of the front bottom part of the tree as it's rather reactive. The mother hen then starts to feel an eruption that is going on underground as though there is an earthquake going on. The mother hen and her chicks then hold onto the crops tightly so that they'll be alright. The fireworks then start to shoot out from the tree with that stunning fireworks effects animation by Ace Gamer. After some eruption; the weasel then drags out the baby ostrich with a lot of anger in his face. The baby ostrich is placed backwards to return to the mother hen as it shows the weasel has given up. The mother hen and the ostrich then reunite together; but the ostrich's stomach then starts to erupt again with one firework blasting high up in the sky also animated by Gamer; and it explodes with the letters reading Eat At Sloppy Joe's which would be the first 'Eat at Joe's' reference in a Warner Bros. cartoon.

Overall comments: Personally I find that this cartoon feels it has a Disney's Silly Symphony-ish feel to it; at least story-wise as it focuses on a curious born baby ostrich born at the wrong place and encounters a weasel. I like how that the ostrich in this carton has personality of a new-born animal and they're going to be curious once they encounter new things they've never seen before and are unaware of it's dangers which is exactly what the personality of the baby ostrich here is. We got to see which I believe is the first 'Eat at Joe's' reference in a Warner Bros. cartoon as it's the earliest I could actually find. There are still many questions I have for that cartoon which I don't particularly understand and I'll probably never know the answer to which involves why did an ostrich egg end up in a poultry farm and as to why the hosepipe is moving inanimately. Of course; Friz would just be experimenting with his cartoons trying to have fun but the moving hosepipe (if the worm really is controlling it) feels really realistic and desperate for a gag which I feel fails for a bit and makes the sequence too slow-paced for the overall cartoon but that's just my opinion. Freleng got better with comic timing here for sure at least with the firework reaction scenes from the baby ostrich.

171. Porky's Badtime Story (1937)

...apparently originally titled It Happened All Night (pun title of It Happened One Night) as it was altered because the title would be sexually suggestive.

Warner cartoon no. 170.
Release date: July 24, 1937.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Supervision: Bob Clampett.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Porky Pig / Gabby Goat / Boss).
Animation: Chuck Jones.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Fear of being late again; Porky and Gabby try to sleep well during the night as they end up disturbed all night.


This is Bob Clampett's first cartoon where he's credited for supervision; or if you say so the first cartoon he directed. Clampett would go on and direct many Porky Pig cartoons up to 1941 and become a big influence to the humor and pacing of the Warner Bros. cartoons with his sharp timing, gross-out gags and very wacky cartoons. In the first few cartoons directed by Clampett; Chuck Jones is the only credited animator but I don't know if that meant he helped Clampett with directing or not. At that time Clampett didn't have his own story writer or gag man so it's safe to assume that he made up his own gags for this cartoon.

The cartoon would be remade later seven years later into Tick Tock Tuckered which is practically the same cartoon except Daffy Duck replaces Gabby Goat. Mike Barrier writes in Hollywood Cartoons that Clampett got the director's chair in May 1937 - two months before the cartoon's release; did this cartoon really get finished in those two months or was it started by Iwerks and finished by Clampett?

The cartoon begins with a still-frame of Porky Pig and his friend Gabby Goat asleep but the motion begins as we find them sleeping. The alarm clock is ringing by Porky's bedside as the time reads 6 o'clock in the morning. Porky slowly turns around to check the time but falls back to asleep deciding it's too early to get up. The clock continues to ring as Porky and Gabby are still asleep. Some pretty solid character animation of Porky slightly moving. The music in the background is called When My Dreamboat Comes Home which is one of my favourite Stalling cues.

There is a very interesting montage shot that shows the clock's arms in close-up moving forward an extra four hours so the sign reads 10 o'clock. Around that time Porky suddenly wakes up from under the blankets and reads the time on the clock. Porky Pig then shakes Gabby who's sleeping next to him; "Gabby, come on. It's time to get up!" Gabby then awakens in a grumpy attitude as they have overslept. Porky and Gabby then dash to the floor to throw on their clothes in such a hurry that they almost end up wearing the same sweatshirt. They dash out of the house and outside to their garage to get into their car as they are late for work.

 The car then drives out of the garage as they are in such a hurry and the speed being shown is so believable. You see the garage been sucked inside out because of the incredible force and speed the car makes. Very sharp timing of the garage turning inside-out as it must've been difficult to animate; here Clampett was only about 23 when making this cartoon and he's already ambitious at his age.

Porky and Gabby are on the road as they drive as fast as they could so they can arrive to work on time. Porky and Gabby then do parallel parking but considering that the parking space is too small; they park in there on time but the car gets so squished up that Porky and Gabby bounce off their motor car and onto the pavement. Some very rubbery and cartoony animation of the squished up car bouncing Porky and Gabby off. Porky and Gabby run across the street but slow down as they reach their work placement. They're occupation is at a building called "Peter Piper Pickled Peppers" which is just a play on to the nursery rhyme "Peter Piper" in which it's such a tongue-twister to recite. Porky Pig then opens the door quietly and whispers to Gabby; "the coast is clear; come on". Porky Pig enters the building quietly and Gabby follows Porky behind him.

Porky Pig and Gabby Goat then tiptoe through the room of their department room in which they have to sneak in quietly so their boss won't see them, as Porky whispers "We're okay if the boss doesn't see us come in". Porky and Gabby then sneak over to the punch clock so that they'll be seen working so it won't look so obvious they're late.

Porky Pig then whispers to Gabby; "We'll punch it easy so it won't make too much noise". Porky pushes it very carefully and delicately. Gabby then attempts to pull the slot and struggles to do so as it's jammed; which turns out just to be bad luck for Gabby (and Porky too). The punch clock then ends up making such a din after Gabby pulled the slot which means bad news. Porky and Gabby find that the boss is standing just beside them knowing that they've turned up to work late. The manager chuckles happily holding his cigar in his hand, "If it isn't the Rover Boys; and only two hours late, too". The manager then continues with his cigar attached to his mouth, "It's a shame you boys had to come to work today. Why I would've been glad to bring out your work to you". After the manager has spoken very calmly towards them; his emotions immediately changes from calmness to anger as he warns Porky and Gabby, "NOW GET THIS! If you're late one more time, you're fired! GET TO WORK!" I love how the manager was rather calm at first and changes his anger. Porky and Gabby then rush into the room to go to work; as they slam the door as the glass reads the letters "Employees Only" falls down from the glass which is a very interesting gag that is so Clampett.

 After a day at the office and being given a bollocking from the boss; the title card now reads "THAT NIGHT" as we find Porky and Gabby are in their nightwear ready for bed. Porky is standing outside his bed winding his clock to set the alarm. Gabby grumbles:

Gabby: "8 o'clock! That's a fine time to go to bed!"
Porky: Well, you heard what the boss said. If we're late again; we'll lose our j-j-j (stutters) we'll get canned.

Porky Pig then turns off the lights as the time reads 8 o'clock and they have to be at work early in the morning which is why they're having an early night's sleep. Porky Pig then goes to sleep after turning off the lights but just about a second after about to fall asleep; he hears the sounds of a baby crying outside which of course disturbs Porky Pig as he climbs out of bed to hush the baby outside.

Porky Pig then walks over to the window carrying a slipper as he is annoyed of listening to the baby crying. Porky Pig is now listening to the sounds of the baby making suckling sounds which annoys Porky in which he throws the slipper out of the window to hit the baby in order to keep it quiet. Porky Pig then walks out of the scene in which he pats his own hands as though he's done good effort and stutters "Well, that's that". The slipper is then thrown back into the house and hits Porky at the back of his head. 

Porky turns around to see what has happened and finds that he got hit. Look at that swish effect of Porky turning his head; very nice and sharp animation there which is very interesting to look at or even study. Porky Pig then steps by the window again and throws the slipper out of the window. Porky throws the slipper out of the window and slams it shut.

Porky doesn't realize the other window is open in which the slipper just slides through and hits Porky on the head as it returns to him like a Boomerang. Now that is a funny gag considering Porky is having problems with a slipper which would waste his sleeping hours. Porky Pig opens the window again as it's the last straw for him. After throwing the show out; Porky ducks to the ground as the coast appears to be clear he stands back up and walks back to bed. Porky ends up with a slipper whacked at his head again but before he throws anything more slippers and shoes are thrown straight at his face. I love how the animation of Porky here is very fluid, especially with the head turning as Porky's face swishes. Whoever animated it  - it's very good.

Porky then dashes straight back into bed before any more slipper throwing will occur to him again and to try and get some peace with his sleep. After Porky Pig has dashed back into bed; he finds that he is disturbed once more again as the cartoon gets even more fun to watch as Porky is getting even more disturbed. Porky Pig is now being disturbed by a fly that flies into the room and flies near Porky's face. Porky is annoyed of the fly in which he grabs out his pillow and tries to attack it not realizing that trying to attack the fly will make it angrier.

Gabby Goat is disturbed of Porky trying to whack the fly as he shouts "Hey, pipe down! How do you expect a guy to sleep with all that noise?!" The fly then lands on top of Gabby's head in which Porky's pillow flies into the scene and hits Gabby on the head breaking the pillow as the center is torn because of Gabby's horns. The feathers of the pillow then fly out. At least Gabby dealt with the fly better than Porky as he didn't appear to react rather badly after Porky whacked him with a pillow.

After a few antics that has happened during the night; the clouds then drift apart from each other slightly as the moonlight is shining. Porky Pig is in bed already asleep but is woken up by the reflection of the moonlight. Boy it sure must be a strong moonlight out tonight considering I don't see how it could bother Porky badly.

Porky is however disturbed with the moonlight reflection as he walks over to the window to pull down the blinds so he can get back to sleep again. After Porky has pulled down the blind and gone back to sleep; the moon is playing a trick on Porky by moving at a different position of the house where Porky will feel the moonlight reflection again. Porky Pig is disturbed with the moonlight as he steps out of bed to pull down the blinds again. As Porky is about to go back to bed again; the blinds just unroll itself to annoy the hell out of Porky in which Porky every-time Porky turns his head around; the blinds play tricks on him in which as Porky turns his head the blinds will be closed but as he turns it will be open. As Porky goes back to bed; the moonlight reflection still shines but each time he opens his eyes the moonlight reflection is gone. Porky then ends up getting terribly annoyed that he ties the blinds all the way to the end of the leg of his bed. The sequence concludes with the bed slamming the door; the bed flats disappear and Porky hits the ground.

After Porky has suffered grief (looks like Gabby hasn't even had a bad effect yet) there is a storm that occurs during the night. The storm is pretty bad during the night that it's shaking the blinds and Porky has to make the effort of walking all the way to close the window so it wouldn't be wet inside the bedroom. Porky Pig then walks over to his bed as he appears to be rather depressed, "Boy it's 2 o'clock; what a night". After Porky goes back to sleep in his bed; there is a bit of a leak from the top part of the ceiling in which it drips down to the bed making a small puddle on top of the bed. Gabby Goat makes up when he feels something wet under the blanket in which he finds a puddle next to him and Porky.

He begins to suspect as he turns around looking at Porky. Now THAT is a dirty gross-out joke that Clampett put in this cartoon where Gabby insists that Porky is a bed-wetter. A drop of rainwater then lands on Gabby's nose as he looks on top of the ceiling shouting "Why don't somebody fix these things" which is a little parody reference to the Listerine advert. Gabby then grabs out an umbrella in which he places on top of his head to stop the rain dropping on him. Porky wakes up, who believes in superstition tells Gabby:

Porky Pig: Hey, don't open up an umbrella in the house. It's bad luck!
Gabby Goat: Aww, that's phoney. You're too super, err. (trying to pronounce "supersitious"). What ya afraid of?

A lightning then strikes the inside part of the house in which Gabby is electrocuted as his umbrella is zapped; in which Gabby has already been cursed from superstition. After Gabby is zapped he starts to complain, "I may as well be sleeping under Niagara Falls". Water that is enough to fill up the Niagara Falls then lands on Gabby and Porky.

After such a terrible night for Porky and Gabby for being disturbed all night; they finally get some rest in which they're sleeping in a chest of draws avoiding sleep on a wet bed; and have found themselves cozy. The alarm clock then rings on top of the draw in which it reads 6 o'clock in the morning. Porky then opens up his pupil to see the time but finds that it's time to wake up. Gabby is awoken up as they jump out of the chest of draws. I don't know who the animator is but I know it's the same animator from the slipper throwing sequence.

Porky and Gabby then start to get ready as they throw on their set of clothes; and I believe that this is a reuse scene of then changing quickly to get to work. Although I do say why are they in such a hurry to get to work since I thought that they don't begin work until 8am; and they're already 2 hours early. Porky and Gabby then rush down the stairs as most of the next quick scenes are pretty much reused animation from earlier on in the film which I feel is suitable to use considerig it shows they're speeding to get to work on time. 

Although I don't understand why they're in such a hurry but they arrive at their office and find that their work is closed considering it's a Sunday. This must be terribly annoying for Porky and Gabby considering that they forgot tomorrow was Sunday and instead they could've had a long lie-in but got disturbed all night. A bunch of question marks pop up from Porky and Gabby's head with a "what the hell" type attitude as they rush out of the scene.

They drive back home into their car as fast as they could to get back home so that they can sleep in extra. They dash upstairs to their bedroom sleeping on the chest of draws again. The alarm clock rings again as the time reads 6.15am but this time Porky Pig destroys his own alarm clock with a hammer so he can rest all Sunday. The cartoon ends as Porky and Gabby continue to sleep and the alarm clock staggers.

Overall comments: Bob Clampett was only 23 or 24 years old at least when making this cartoon and I feel that he's done a pretty good effort in his cartoon. He has already shown some ambitions with director's timing and I believe that this cartoon was still made separate from the Schlesinger Studio before Ray Katz took Clampett's unit in a building separate from Leon's which lasted for a few years. Chuck Jones was Clampett's main animator back then and I believe that Jones drew character layouts for Clampett's earlier cartoons because you can find that distinctive drawing style even in Chuck Jones' earliest cartoons when he started directing. I feel that the story for this cartoon actually makes a very good cartoon considering that Porky and Gabby go through bad luck when trying to have a good night's sleep and I believe that formula has been used often many times in cartoons; but I feel the gags in this cartoon in particular were very enjoyable. 


Clampett's timing here I'd say is cartoonier than the Tex cartoons already made as Clampett had a good team with him; and I'd say he developed the story for that cartoon. Of course; Porky Pig looks like the normal version that we know of the character today and Clampett would even keep Porky like that which I think is great while the other directors appear to be indecisive over Porky as he would just vary from being a child or an adult and it doesn't appear to be completely settled until at least 1938. Overall I find that this was a decent cartoon to watch; and with Clampett now being a director of the Warner Bros. Cartoons; he would go and change the humor of the WB cartoons even putting the word "looney" in 'Looney Tunes' but for a few years he'd be making nothing but Porky Pig cartoons but afterwards he really would change the cartoons around.

170. Egghead Rides Again (1937)

Warner cartoon no. 169.
Release date: July 17, 1937.
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Tex Avery.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Tex Avery (Red), Mel Blanc (Egghead) and Billy Bletcher (Room Clerk).
Animation: Paul Smith and Irven Spence.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Egghead dreams of becoming a cowboy; and heads to Wyoming to apply a job as a cowpuncher.

Egghead would later become Elmer Fudd;
who is Bugs Bunny's main antagonist..

The first appearance of Tex Avery's character Egghead; who would star in a number of cartoons in the 1930s; and let's not forget that the character is a prototype of Elmer Fudd - however, Elmer Fudd wouldn't make his first official appearance until 1940 starting with Elmer's Candid Camera directed by Chuck Jones but Elmer was named in 'A Feud There Was' in 1938. This is probably the first WB cartoon to use the electric guitar sound effect to accentuate the WB shield; but I don't know if it was opening used before in cartoons before that which turned into Blue Ribbon issues later.


This is Irv Spence's first screen credit for Warner Bros. but not his first animation as I noticed a few scenes by his in Uncle Tom's Bungalow. Irv Spence was only at Warner Bros for roughly a year before heading off to MGM. I believe this is the first cartoon in which Paul Smith joins the Tex Avery crew and he stayed there until at least 1940? I wonder why he moved from Freleng to Avery? I assume that Spence and Smith went to Avery's unit because they were replacing Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett who went over to the Iwerks studio to make Porky Pig cartoons; which would lead to Tex only having Virgil Ross and Sid Sutherland as their animators; by bringing Irv Spence and taking Paul Smith away from Freleng's unit so their unit would be complete with 4 animators. Freleng's unit would also consist of four animators too: Ken Harris, Bob McKimson, Cal Dalton and Phil Monroe. 

The cartoon begins with our new character Egghead, as it appears is a cowboy riding a horse in an American desert. He is shouting very excitedly and acting like a cowboy. The camera then pans backwards as we find that the American desert is in fact an image of a calendar (dated June 1937 - I wonder if that was when Avery estimated the cartoon would be in theatres). We find that Egghead is in fact riding a pogo-stick.

That is a good camera angle and as we find Egghead is pretending to be a cowboy acting all boisterous but that sure looks pretty large for a calendar. Egghead is bouncing on the pogo-stick even all over his room and on top of the bed. That scene of Egghead acting like a cowboy bouncing around is animation by Irv Spence and you can tell how off-model and loose the animation is. The bouncing and the noise is enough to drive the man downstairs who is head of the boarding house. The landlord is also given personality as he keeps on saying "Dad burnit" to display annoyance so at least Avery has given the landlord some character. The landlord then walks up the stairs to toss Egghead out of the boarding house for his loud behaviour - "I'll put a stop to this".

So, in the next shot Egghead is tossed out of the boarding house for making a lot of noise and also disturbing those living in the boarding house - I assume. Egghead's suitcase with his belongings is also tossed out as it hits Egghead on the head with his belongings falling out of the case. The manager then shouts "Get out and stay out" so Egghead can go off to be a cowboy. Billy Bletcher is obviously the voice of the landlord here.

Egghead is rather weary from being tossed out but finds that there is an article in a magazine that suits his interests. The advertisement reads: WANTED - A GOOD COW PUNCHER -apply- BAR-NONE RANCH - Wahoo, Wyoming. This would be a good chance for Egghead's dreams becoming a cowboy would be likely. Egghead then rips off the page off the magazine as he reads; I like how his nose prods the paper. Egghead then shouts excitedly; "Egghead rides again!" Egghead cheers with his hat as he walks off to the post office as he writes them a letter to apply for their job. Egghead writes the address on the envelope addressing it to Bar None Ranch. The scenes of Egghead reading the advertisement and ripping off the piece of paper if also Irv's animation with the pouty mouth (and I've mentioned that before previously).

In the next scenes we find that we are in the deserted area of Wyoming where the westerns live. The camera PAN is gone very well; and even the overlays of the backgrounds are pretty realistic looking. It feels like a Disney look to it; except this was before the Multiplane camera was invented; while Warner Bros. would've used overlays to make it realistic.

The song that the cowboys are singing is called That's My Western Home and it's unknown who wrote that song. We then reach to the sign that reads Bar-None Ranch.


After the view of Wyoming and the sign of the ranch; we find that there are four groups of cowboys sitting down on the porch of their ranch continuing to sing the song. I don't know if this was meant to be but the cowboy playing the guitar looks like a caricature of Paul J. Smith to me but I'm not going to imply that with certainty.

Meanwhile the head of the ranch looks out the window as he steps out of the ranch; and a funny looking Avery gag is in the background where you see the odd shape of the door for the cowboy to step out in that curvy walk. At least Avery could give the background artists some fun. Would this by John Didrik Johnson painting the backgrounds? The head cowboy points at an incoming vehicle; "Look boys, down comes a pony express". Of course; we think that it's a rider or probably Egghead riding a pony; but it turns out to be a type of trailer with the word "pony express" printed on it and there is a horse riding on it. The leader then brings the boys up to inside their saddles on their horses to join in.

The cowboys jump onto their horses as they yell excitedly and they ride along to the pony express transport. They wait by for the pony express to park and a postal clerk opens the door to hand them a letter until it rides away. The cowboy then starts to open up the envelope to check their mail; and we find by surprise that Egghead has delivered himself all the way inside that tiny envelope which is quite funny.

Egghead then talks a bit about himself as he appears to stutter or suffer with spoonerism when describing himself as a "rootin' tootin' cowboy". Egghead explains why he wants to join as a cowpuncher as he explains (done by Billy Bletcher) "because, because, because" and then it's Danny Webb who speaks in Egghead's voice "today I am a man". The phrase "today I am a man" is a phrase that was spoken at a bar mitzahs indicating a young Jewish man's passage to adulthood. Irv Spence animated that shot of Egghead there.

The cowboy then responds to Egghead's demand to join as a cowpuncher; "Well stranger, y'gotta be able to shoot strays and ride horses to join here". The cowboy (I don't know who that voice actor is) then asks a fellow cowboy named Red to help out Egghead with his trial. Red replies in Tex Avery's funny voice "Okay, boss".

Red then starts to make a roll-up cigarette by grabbing out a piece of paper; filling it with nicotine; chewing it and then forms it into a cigarette. One part I don't understand is how did the cigarette already ended up lit without a match or a lighter? The animation of the cigar smoking is still loose; and yes that's also Spence's scenes. He's the only animator I'm going to be identifying in these 1930s Avery cartoons as he's the only animator of the 1930s whose style I can recognize. The cowboy then shoots with his pistol straight at the cigarette so that it's lit. But it was already lit after chewing it or if that's just a direct error that was made by the animators and the crew of this cartoon.

The cowboy then hands over the cigarette to Egghead; "Okay; now you try it after". The cowboy swings the gun and then passes it to Egghead for his trial onto successfully practicing that skill. Egghead's hands drop to the ground as the pistol is too heavy for a weakling like Egghead. Red then makes the cigarette by chewing it; and then pops it out with a pipe (also by Spence). The chewing animation is basically the same drawings; but new animation with the cigar popping out.


Irv Spence animates that small sequence as well; as Egghead fires the gun but is blown out of the scene by force and after the bullets hit Red by accident; he disappears from the scene and we find that only his shoes and hat are still standing at that same position. Red's arm pops out of the hat waving a truce flag to not shoot. Red jumps out of the hat and back onto his shoes as he runs off. With his hat still standing in that position; he grabs it out of the way. Now that scene was a very funny bit of timing done by Avery and even with the shoes and hat still standing it would've got a laugh from the audience. All of the cowboys laugh at Egghead for his embarrassing performance but the head cowboy still has hope for Egghead to do his best. 

 As the cowboys are still laughing as to what had happened; they then move from the bench to the next step for Egghead's trial. The head cowboy gives Egghead a branding iron. The iron at the front reads the name of the ranch "Bar None". The cowboy then asks Egghead; "Let's see you brand it" meaning that Egghead is going to brand a lamb.

Egghead then runs over to try and brand the lamb but the lamb tries to escape afraid of the branding iron but all the other cowboys rush into the scene to stop the lamb from escaping by sliding through the fence and keep it positioned. Egghead runs into the scene to keep it positioned; and we find that a gust of smoke rises into the scene covering up the cowboys and what is happening at the scene. We find that Egghead has accidentally branded the humans' rear ends by mistake and that the lamb walks out of the way completely unharmed. Now that was a very funny scene considering that Egghead had the chance to brand a lamb that was blocked but is too clumsy and brand the cowboys instead. The walk that the lamb does whilst walking away is rather funny.

The cowboy then runs up to Egghead and shouts, "Get that calf and you get the job". Egghead raises his hat with acceptance. We find Egghead trying to jump over one of the bigger horses to get the calf but the gag is that he ends up riding a pony as it's even for his size. In that scene of Egghead riding the pony; you can briefly hear 'The Merry Go Round Broke Down'.

The calf discovers that he will be branded and jumps up jumping over the fence running for his life. Egghead then jumps over the fence to capture the calf. Notice that whilst he is riding the horse he hasn't got the branding iron with him. The next shots is rather amusing as the calf is running and jumps over the fences as though the calf is hurdling. I like how that the backgrounds are animated to make it look rather appealing and as though the calf really is running; and saves the background artists from having to paint a very long canvas. Egghead is also jumping over the fences shouting "Egghead rides again!". That scene of Egghead and his horse jumping looks like it might be Irv but I'm not too sure.

The calf is still running away from Egghead and then it leads to a path. There is a traffic light that halts the calf from running. The calf waits for any traffic and once it's safe then the calf runs. If the lights switch to green then it would've made more sense. Egghead also stops for traffic before running. That is rather funny as the action is interrupted with traffic before the calf can continue.

The calf continues to run but then thinks of a wise idea while reaching at the edge of a cliff; the calf rides under the cliff and Egghead jumps over on top not taking any notice as to where the calf has ended up. Obviously in reality; the calf would fall but at least it shows Avery isn't trying to follow realism at all and pushes the boundaries. The calf finds that it is safe to go back to the other side of the cliff and climbs back to the top and then runs off. Egghead is still riding but finds that the calf has run back the other way in which Egghead makes a turn to chase the calf. I like that stretch the horse makes whilst Egghead makes a turn to get the calf back. Egghead and the horse then jump back from the cliff where the calf was hiding.

The calf then reaches to another edge of the cliff in which the calf decides to slide down the cliff in order to escape Egghead. Egghead also reaches the edge; but finds that he is too cornered to make a risk of jumping off the edge; but instead decides to take the safety zone of descending down the steps. That is also funny; and typical of Avery to add a gag to the spot.

There is a long-shot of the action going on as Egghead starts to chase the calf around and around these small mountains and then back. The music played in the background is In the Stirrups which is a Stalling cue that he has used sometimes for action scenes. The chasing then continues as Egghead manages to chase the calf back into the farm where Bar-None Ranch is. The calf is cornered in which he ends up exhausted from all the running and this would be Egghead's chance to brand the calf. Egghead then starts to approach to the calf quietly hiding a piece of rope behind his rope attempting to try and keep the calf in position. I must say I find Egghead's voice a little degrading; at least in this cartoon. Egghead jumps straight at the calf as we see nothing but clouds of dust of the fighting on the screen; and after the dust dissolves - Egghead is seem tied up from the rope and the calf proved Egghead to be an idiot.

The other cowboys sitting by the fence then start to laugh at Egghead for not successfully completing the tasks and the fact that his chances of becoming a cowboy is pretty slim. From Egghead's failure; he pulls himself out of the ropes. He starts to rub his eyes as he's starting to cry. In the close-up shot of Egghead; he begins to sniffle and then a tear runs down his eye; I wonder if Avery was trying to intimidate Disney deliberately?

The close-up shot of Egghead trying is rather detailed but I'm not going to guess the animator; but it looks like an animator more controlled and detailed than Irv Spence who appears to like to focus on the structure of the drawing. Egghead then places his hat on top of his bald head as he walks out of the ranch dejected. It's all pretty solid character animation of Egghead walking glum and turning his head to look at the laughing cowboys not giving a hoot as to what had happened. After what Egghead has gone through; the head cowboy then walks into the scene to congratulate Egghead for the trial.


This turns out to be a miracle for Egghead as he thought that he was an utter failure but has now won the job. The head cowboy annoucnes to Egghead; "You are now a member of the ol' Bar-None Ranch". Egghead is amazed with excitement as they go into dialogue:

Egghead: You mean I'm okay; you mean I got the job?
Cowboy: (laughs) Why sure you do, shorty. Sure you do.

The head cowboy then replaces Egghead's cowboy hat as though he's not going to be needing that and replaces it with a white hat and gives Egghead the job for being a sanitary worker. He is given a wheelie bin; as well as a mop as he's the ranch's new cleaner. Now that is a rather funny twist to the end since Egghead's wish of becoming a cowboy doesn't come true and has to end up working as their janitor. The cowboy continues: "There you are" and then leaves him to do the job.

At least Egghead has the job but just not becoming a job as he must feel like crap. From that point where the cowboy announces he's "got the job" that's Irv Spence's animation that goes clean through to the very end. Egghead then starts to try and conclude the cartoon by shouting "But Egghead rides again" but as he says that; he's interrupted with a horse neigh and concludes "But Egghead (horse-neigh heard)...sweeps again" looking rather disgusted from facial features being given a humiliating job to him.

Overall comments: Of course; Egghead is a new character created by Avery and it would become his regular character through to the 1930s before turning into Elmer Fudd. I imagine that Avery would be using Egghead as his main character for the 'Merrie Melodies' to break the old rules for the series to only allowing one-shot characters. I find that this cartoon has great satire since Egghead suffers from humiliation although determined to become a cowboy. I like how Avery decided not to show sympathy for the character in the cartoon even though getting the job; but not becoming a cowboy. There were some gags in there that was typical of Avery such as when Egghead fires the gun at Red in which his body disappears for a bit with only his shoes and hat standing.

Tex Avery sure must've loved Egghead back then as he continued to use Egghead for the next two years but also Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton used Egghead too - unless this cartoon was a hit with the box-office which encouraged Tex to make more of those cartoons. The animation is also fun to watch; especially if it's animation by Irv Spence who makes it rather loose and funny looking; while the other animators back then working for Tex were more bland. Irv would animate on a lot of those Egghead cartoons that Tex was making in that era as it was the character he was often assigned to work on. 

169. Porky's Super Service (1937)

Title card courtesy of Dave Mackey.

Warner cartoon no. 168.
Release date: July 3, 1937.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Supervision: Ub Iwerks
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Porky Pig).
Animation: Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Porky Pig works in a service station and while fixing a car; he gets harassed by a brat.

This cartoon is Ub Iwerks' last cartoon he is credited for being the supervisor; even though Clampett and Jones sort of were co-directors of the cartoon and after that; Clampett would take the director's chair and direct nothing but black-and-white Porky Pig cartoons until 1941...

The cartoon begins with the sign which simply reads: Porky's Super Service which is the name of his service station as well as the name of the cartoon itself. After the background view shot of his small service station - we see the price signs; as the price for Gas is only 3 cents. Then sign then lists on taxes onto the sign which I guess is a gag but is probably dated as it lists the price for State Tax, City Tax, County Tax, and even Unemployment Tax with the total price adding to 43 cents. Is this supposed to be a Great Depression gag or something.

Porky Pig is seen busy working at his job as he is holding onto a petrol tube in which he is loading the car with gasoline. Porky Pig looks under the car; and you'll notice a question mark pops up the top of his head to show confusion before it disappears; now here is a little Ub Iwerks trait that popped up here. Porky asks the driver, "Where do you load the gas?". The driver then pops his head replying back to Porky with a French accent and go into dialogue:

Driver: You want to know?
Porky Pig: (stutters) Yes, I want to know.
Driver: Humph. Shall I tell him?.

The driver breaks the fourth wall in this part.

The car moves upwards in which Porky Pig finds the gas tank to load it. Porky Pig then starts to load up the gas by using the handle to load it. At the gas tank there is a timer that counts up how much gallons is being used up and on how much Porky should fill up as it makes a *ding* sound each time Porky fills up a gallon on a time.

A bird pops out of the tank once the hand on the clock reaches "9". The bird announces, "At the sound of the gong; it will be exactly 10 gallons". I know that this has been used before in cartoons but I'm not sure if this a reference or whatnot. The bird then places his hand by his hear to hear the gong sound and once's it's reached 10 gallons - the cuckoo then pops back inside the tank. That was an interesting little gag to add a cuckoo inside a gas tank. After the job has completed Porky is seen flipping a coin to show that he is doing a satisfactory job. The next car then rides along and asks Porky to fill his engine up with more oil in which Porky agrees to do so as part of his duty.

Porky then starts to fill up the radiator inside the car with an oil can in which we hear that guzzling Treg Brown sound effect in which Porky slams the front part with the job completed, and he replies with an "Okay".

Meanwhile the next car to ride along has got a burst tire and it's moving very well in which Porky Pig reminds the driver inside the car, "(stutters) Hey mister, you've got a flat tire". The driver bursts out of the roof of the car ripping it and exclaiming, "Why don't somebody tell me these things?!". I believe that is also a catchphrase used in Listerine commercials - probably from the 1930s. The driver then stretches out his arm to grab the burst part of the tire in which he ties it into a knot to believe that it's good as new. The car continues to drive on but still moving unusually and making squeaky sounds. I like how that Porky Pig in these cartoons is more on-model here and cuter than Avery or Tashlin's version in that era.

The next customer that Porky Pig goes off to deal with is has got a problem with the front part of the car which is just a bump on top which makes the car looks rather hideous. The customer asks Porky, "See this bump?" Porky nods knowing it's there as the customer continues, "Well, take it out". Porky Pig accepts ("Yes, sir") to do his duty.

Porky Pig is holding on to a mallet in which he whacks the top part of the tire as the bump vanishes but then it pops up on the front part of the car which makes it a funny cartoon gag considering that it's going to be a lot of work for Porky to get rid of the bump. Porky slams on the front part of the car to get rid of the bump but the bump returns in a different location in which Porky slams it again. The bump even ends up on top of the roof in which Porky slams it and the bump keeps on ending up at different parts of the car as Porky has to climb through the car to get rid of the bump which is a bit of a funny sequence as it creates a problem for Porky. It's even more of a problem for Porky as the bump even ends up inside the glass (not so visible to see in version I'm watching) and Porky slams the glass window as the glass smashes which means double trouble for Porky and even the customer to find his car ruined.

After that entertaining sequence there is a mother standing outside her car as she is beeping her horn continuously and is rather impatient waiting for Porky to come over. We already learn from the mother (beeping the horn) that she's incredibly impatient. Porky Pig returns as he is already doing a job for her, the woman asks "Have you fixed that tire?" Porky replies with a guaranteed "yes". The woman asks to fix the other tire and warns, "But be awful careful and not wake up Junior".

Porky then walks over to the side of the car and watches Junior sleeping on top of the car seat. Porky comments, "Cute little fella". After Porky Pig turns around away from Junior we find that Junior opens his eyes and pulls a face at Porky taking an immediate dislike towards him. While Porky is busy fixing and adjusting the tire on the woman's car - Junior pops out of the window car and whacks Porky on top of the head with a baby bottle. Porky Pig looks around to see who was the culprit but resumes at his job not going to bother taking any notice. Mmm; Porky being harassed by a baby; I wonder if that type of plot would inspire Frank Tashlin 7 years later making Brother Brat?

The brat is already seen at the front part inside the car as the brat pulls the ignition in which the wheel starts to spin around and so does Porky as he's still seen fixing the car.  The wheel then ends up falling out of the car in which Porky whacks himself into a pole. I like how that Porky creates a reflection effect on the pole. After Porky has hit the ground; he has a tire stuck on him.

Porky is whacked in the head by a type of iron ball on top of the pole. Porky finds that his body is caught inside a tire as he crawls out of the way like a tortoise which is a funny walk. Porky then attempts to stand up normally but when he stands; he falls back down to the ground as the tire kicks him down. Porky Pig then attempts to tug himself out of the fire by grabbing hold of it and pushing forward so his rear end isn't caught. After Porky uses up a lot of his strength; he flies upwards from the tire and then hits the ground again as it's almost impossible for him to have the tire taken off. He even pulls his own rear by accident making a mistake of it being the tire. Junior, sitting inside the car then starts to stretch the bottle-cap from his bottle like a slingshot and straight at Porky's behind. 

Porky Pig reacts to the bottle hitting him but luckily he falls out of the tire but is facing trouble from a brat. Porky finds that he's been harassed by a baby by looking at the bottle and throws it out of the way causing it to break off-screen and walks towards the car disgruntled.

Porky looks over the window but finds that Junior is sleeping as a plan to trick Porky by acting innocent. Porky is puzzled by what has happened but remains with his duties. Porky is busy fixing the radiator inside the car with the front roof open so Porky can do some repairs. Junior decides to cause some shenanigans towards Porky by closing the roof in which Porky almost suffocates and pops his head out to remain with his duties and trying to ignore the baby. Porky Pig even rips off the front part of the car so that it wouldn't have to close on top of his head again. After that bit of mischief caused by Junior; Porky then grabs out a stethoscope in which Porky checks to see if the radiator is still pumping and Junior turns it on in which Porky ends with with a quick electric shock. The animation of the shock effect is rather interesting with the color flashes even though the timing isn't particularly funny (could this be a different handling from either Clampett or Jones organizing the timing?).

Junior then continues to annoy Porky as he beeps the horn which gives Porky a fright. Porky Pig throws away the stethoscope annoyed at what is going on but not even taking any notice of Junior at all. I find that this sequence had slower-paced timing and probably was handled by Jones with slow-paced timing but I don't know...

Porky Pig moves onto another part of the car as he is squirting oil with an oil can as he appears to be working inside an engine or a tank doing his job which would be enough for Junior to cause as much trouble as he can. Junior then presses one of the buttons in which Porky is being attacked by the machines that slide up and down from the holes and gets whacked. There is some interesting drawings of Porky getting beaten up as there are multiples of Porky showing up creating a type of effect. Porky Pig then ends up being pumped out by the exhaust pipe as his face is covered in black soot. The cuckoo then pops up making a "cuckoo" sound which is demonstrating the craziness of what is happening.

Porky Pig then walks up to Junior finally taking notice of him and beginning to make such a suspicion. Porky looks at Junior who is faking his innocence as Porky begins to wonder by scratching his head. Porky turns around not bothering to go into detail as Junior wakes up to blow a raspberry at Porky but immediately goes back to the pose faking sleeping as Porky quickly glances his head.

Every time when Junior makes any movement or a pose; Porky Pig turns around to suspect if he is being tricked on but he is being tricked by as this is a good use of experimenting with timing. I wonder what the exposure sheets for that particular scene looked like. Porky Pig then thinks of  an idea to prove that he's not turning mad by dashing to the other side of the car to check what Junior is up to. Junior then wakes up trying to pull a face at Porky but realizes that he's not there and that he's been caught by a cunning Porky. Junior then turns around to see where Porky went but makes a take when he finds Porky behind him as he tries to fake sleep again. Porky just stares at him with dirty looks but Junior just falls down the seat away from Porky.

Junior then starts to think of more cruel practical jokes towards Porky by pulling the car window upwards in which Porky's stout is caught from the top of the roof and from the glass of the car window. Porky is now squirming as he struggles to let himself go and even demands Junior to let go of Porky but Junior opens the door and leaves Porky Pig there.

Junior walks out of the car but then back as he returns with a hose to place on Porky and walks to a small handle where the sign reads "Air" which would mean Porky will look like a balloon in a minute. As the air is caught on Porky; he starts to swoop along and move while still caught on the door. For the animator I do wonder if that would've been a challenge since the only part that cannot move is the stout that is caught stuck. Porky's nose then manages to fall off the car window as the pipe pulls Porky off as he is seen in the air floating with helium and a lot of movement made in the air. Porky is giggling with the amount of helium that he has got which probably means that it tickles. Junior then grabs out a can that has got oil in it and squirts it straight at Porky. Gee, Porky sure laughs like a 1930's Daffy Duck character.

Junior misses when he tries to aim at Porky as he is moving too much and it's hard to aim for him. Junior then turns off the air with the handle the as Porky stops moving and falls straight to the ground. Junior then squirts oil in front of Porky's face in which Porky grabs out his hand for Junior to hand it in. Porky stutters, "Gimme that gun". Junior sprays even more oil on Porky until he is completely covered in oil and trips.

Porky tries to stand back up as he is standing on slippery oil but as he stands he starts to slip and slide  on slippery oil in order to try and keep up his balance. Porky then starts to spin around from the amount of oil and slides out of the pool of oil and down those stairs that probably lead to a type of underground basement. Junior then tries to squirt even more oil towards Porky but then finds that he's probably run out of oil after pumping it a few times. This is one of them cartoon moments when Junior turns the squirt gun towards his face to test it and ends up squirting straight at his face which is a result of bad luck. After Junior is completely covered in oil; he starts to wail like a baby and Porky grabs the squirt gun away from him.

The mother walks into the scene after she has returned from (I don't know - it hasn't been mentioned; shopping presumably). Junior then starts to point at Porky as though he was the culprit for squirting the oil on Junior in which Porky wouldn't have the time to explain to what would be complicating to the mother.

The mother immediately criticizes Porky Pig for his "treatment" towards Junior stating "You oughta be ashamed of yourself! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Junior is still crying in the background as the mother tries to comfort him, "There, there not now Junior; mother's talking". Junior still cries until the mother whacks him on the face with her glove. Now that was a funny little part and even Junior deserves it after giving Porky a real hard time which leads up to a misunderstanding. The mother then ends up telling off Porky shouting, "I'm going to report the authority for beating up little children, etc." and this is definitely bad news for Porky Pig as no-one will believe his true story.

As the mother is still telling off Porky for what has happened set up by Junior; the baby (still covered in oil) then grabs out a petrol hose. Junior ties it by the tire of the car to try and destroy Porky's service station as his last setup.

The mother has finished off telling off Porky and she leaves to drive off in her car. Porky is unaware that Junior has set up one final trick which is to damage his service station and cause it to fall apart - and it does so. So, the whole service station falls down leaving Porky Pig's business in real trouble. This is definitely a bad, unlucky day for Porky. The cartoon ends with the sign "Porky's Super Service" crashing on top of Porky's head.

Overall comments: I imagine that most of the cartoon has been written by Clampett and Jones; the gags since I don't believe they even had a gagman or a storyman writing their cartoons for Iwerks. There were a few Iwerks traits that popped up with the question mark popping up on Porky early in the cartoon. It pretty much feels like the overall cartoon was directed by Clampett and Jones before Clampett would get the director's chair after or during this cartoon. I like the gags that mostly appear around the beginning of the cartoon such as the sequence with the bump on the car and also some of the naughty parts of Junior's shenanigans also early in the film. However I feel that the cartoon towards the end ended up being a little bit cruel as I feel sorry for Porky as he's just harassed by a baby who manages to even destroy his business all in that day. I do like here that this cartoon shows Porky Pig a more close resemblance to the character we would know today; while Frank Tashlin would make Porky beefier and Avery often more child-looking; but here it feels more like the notorious Porky Pig except Porky is probably a little taller through design. The screenshots may not be excellent as this is just a colorized version with screen-shots edited into black and white from a photo editing website.