321. Porky's Bear Facts (1941)

Warner cartoon no. 320.
Release date: March 29, 1941.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Supervision: Friz Freleng.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Porky Pig / Bear / Mouse / Dog / Bull).
Story: Michael Maltese.
Animation: Manuel Perez.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: A lazy bear and his hound would rather sit and do no work, whilst Porky does all the harvest work. The laziness doesn't pay off when they go to starvation.

Porky Pig's stardom was already meeting a steady decline, even though ironically he would become a funnier comic personality. Schlesinger's policy for having stars appear in the Looney Tunes series was becoming more relaxed, where a few long-shots would be exceptions, but supposedly enough Porky Pig output would still be required.

Porky's job in this short is as a farmer; which as I said before, appears to be an occupation most featured in Porky cartoons. As you might expect, the cartoon shows Porky significantly less in this short. He only appears briefly as a farmer who is harvesting for the winer, and doesn't return until the film's conclusion.

One could say that with the black-and-white short input becoming relaxed, the short would have worked better as a one-short cartoon, considering how the main focus of the short is of a lazy bear and hound dog.

I suppose that judging on how the story is set as well as its location, Porky is the only suitable candidate then to have worked as a farmer (Elmer Fudd isn't quite  established yet--even though Friz Freleng certainly knew made the character very versatile).

Instead: Michael Matlese being the main writer of the short focuses on satirising the infamous tale of Grasshopper and the Ants. Instead, Maltese would use the same theme but explore further ways of making a great satire. The story mainly focuses on Porky's neighbour, who is a lazy bear who spends all afternoon in his porch playing his guitar, singing a parodied version of the song: Heaven Can Wait, which is replaced with Working Can Wait.

Maltese manages to pull off the laziness into the characters' personality in a exaggerated and charismatic form. The dog itself is very lazy that when a black cat is walking past the porch, the snoozing dog looks up and the only effort he can make is a groaning 'woof' to the cat.

The opening sequence finely establishes the two principal characters of the short, as only the audience are aware their sluggishness will only lead to disadvantages.

Despite being a great set-up for the sequence, you cannot help but make a little fuss over the lame puns Maltese pulls in the short, such as a mouse reading Of Mice and Men, or a bull reading the children's story: Ferdinand the Bull, though they are only brief and Maltese's other greater gags and comical situations later, do pay off the lame puns. Mel Blanc also attributes to the laziness of the bear, as he pulls off a voice of the bear very well. It's not a voice that Blanc rarely had used, and it sounds like the blacksmith from The Village Smithy; that's how far Mel's versatility goes.

Looking at Friz's own comic timing that he pulls off in this short; there are certain pieces of animation timing that have intrigue me.

One part at the beginning of the short, shows a trio of chickens nesting, and it is a egg-laying gag, which is in synchronisation to the xylophone playing from The Girl with the Pigtails in Her Hair. 

The last hen to lay her egg shows a decent form of exaggerated timing is is executed well. Another piece of animation is some effects animation which I find to be rather rich in terms of attention to detail and delicacy, even for a Warners cartoon. I suppose one would make the assumption that the leaves falling is just putting emphasis on the seasons changing drastically towards winter, though I also believe it was Warners going in some small competition towards Disney animation. Let's face it, around 1939-1941; Warners definitely did go through a brief artistic period, where they animated their characters, perhaps a real too realistically, though their style would eventually be settled roughly a year later.

Moving on forward towards the winter sequences; the disadvantages of being lazy during the summer then finally takes its toll on them. The bear and the hound are inside their shelter, as they shiver, with food being bare in the house.

Mike Maltese even makes a nursery rhyme joke amusingly portrayed, as he finds the cupboard empty, but with a note attached reading: "Now you know how I felt - Mother Hubbard", which I suppose is also a great pun which relates to the "cupboard being bare" like the nursery rhyme.

Mike Maltese really establishes the starvation and behaviour effects on the bear and the dog rather well. The bear bellows, "B-O-O-O-OY am I hungry!" which is well-delivered by Mel Blanc.

Whilst the hound and the bear are scattering for food, in search for any possible leftovers; Treg Brown's soundtrack really add to the emphasis of the starvation and desire for food.

The bear finds there is one bean left in the can, in which they plan to share between the dog.  Whilst the two say grace, a mouse rushes at the scene to steal the bean, in which Maltese is already getting up suspense for a mini-climax. The bear then ends up cracking up laughing which results in a near nervous breakdown. Maltese adds a sense of irony, where the dog remarks about the bear: "Say, the guy's out of his head. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to eat me". Just at that moment, the bear in fact attempts to eat the dog as he slowly approaches him as he's holding cutlery. The suspense then increases as the bear is still approaching the dog, and only to find that in each different shot they reach closer to Porky's home.

Porky, who had worked hard in harvesting for the winter then finds he is disturbed from his meal as the bear and the hound beg. Just as they beg, Porky refuses in which he retorts: "You buttered your bread, now sleep in it", which is wonderfully stuttered. Just then, Maltese then uses creed to play a part of the short's conclusion--in order to create a settling conclusion.

Porky's creed is evident as he has "Love Thy Neighbor" displayed in a picture frame on his wall, next to the door. He relents by accepting the pair into his house for a feast, in which they feast themselves. What appears to be much later; the bear has already been well fed as his proportionate size has increased.

Just at that moment, spring has arrived, and the audience would  believe the bear has learnt a lesson for slack work. In fact, Mike Maltese reverses the cliche by having the two main characters rush from Porky's home.

They go back to their spring/summer ways by sitting lazily on their porch singing Working Can Wait. The ending itself is a rather well-executed reversal, as the bear and dog don't learn from their mistake, and thus taking advantage of Porky's religious beliefs. This reversal ending is what set Warners apart from many other studios.

Overall: I believe the short is a well-executed satire of the Grasshopper and the Ant story--which only Mike Maltese could handle; with the right characters as well as melodramatic gags. The bear character has a lot of appeal thanks to Mel Blanc's great performance of the bear, as well as Maltese's great use of character establishment and comical circumstances. The Warner cartoons are only getting better and better as Mike Maltese is already attempting to revolutionise the humour and wit of the cartoons in the first three of his cartoons, though as we all know this is the beginning. Personally, I find that the Grasshopper and the Ant segment used in Foney Fables (released a year later) a lot more satirical than the short today, though this is still early days for Mike, and his efforts are already recognised. If I had any small issues; it would be that the short could have worked better as a one-shot cartoon, from either colour or black-and-white. By the way, does anyone else think the hound strongly resembles Willoughby? I wouldn't be surprised if Freleng used the same model for this short.

Rating: 3.5/5.

320. Tortoise Beats Hare (1941)

Warner cartoon no. 319.
Release date: March 15, 1941.
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Tex Avery.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny / Cecil Turtle / Other Turtles).
Story: Dave Monahan.
Animation: Charles McKimson.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Bugs, disgusted of the predicted title, protests at Cecil Turtle by challenging him to a race in an attempt to prove the title otherwise, though Bugs is oblivious to the Turtle's many tricks.

Bugs Bunny is already the growing star of the Warner cartoon series. After appearing in two shorts, the directors have finally managed to establish Bugs' personality as a trickster with a Brooklynese accent. In his third appearance, being directed by his creator, Tex is already experimenting further with his character very early on.

Tex, having a love for satire and parody has set the idea of satirising The Tortoise and the Hare tale; which is what the short really does; so Avery is already playing his cards right rather early.

He is already attempting to challenge Bugs' wise-cracking personality very early on, similar to how Clampett interpreted Bugs. Bugs is portrayed as the loser of the short, and Tex is already attempting different personas for the rabbit, by giving him a cocky and brash attitude, as well as give him common appeal for his popular audience. Perhaps Tex only attempted the persona for laughs, or including a moral that sometimes you just can't win. Bugs's position in the short is handled very properly in a satirical matter. Bugs has already become a popular character, that a parody version of the Aesop fable featuring Bugs blends in very well, making the satire more hysterical.

Bugs has also given Tex more fresh gags which is one step further than what he would usually go. The gag and the satire already starts at the very beginning at the short, at the hilarious title card sequence. Bugs walks in, chewing his carrot and curiously reads the credits as well as the title for what would appear to be a predictable short, much like Sniffles Bells the Cat. The gag works greatly as Blanc gives Bugs more of an identity by making him pronounce the artists' names (save Carl Stalling) in the credits incorrectly, like Dave Monahan, Charles McKimson, and of course Tex. However, at the point Bugs double-takes on the title Tortoise Beats Hare, Tex has already got the plot going. Bugs protests, "Why those screwy guys don't know what they're talking about! What a big bunch of jerks!", and then directly references his creators: "And I ought to know, I work for them".

At that point; Bugs' outburst was a deliberate setup by Tex and Dave Monahan, as already the short turns straight to unpredictable. Bugs wants to challenge against the title, as he tears the credits away frantically opening doors to people's homes demanding, "Where's that toitle?".

Notice how Bugs starts off with the casual, streetsmart trademark the audience already came to know him for. Tex wonderfully blends the cocky and brash personality in, as the thought of a tortoise beating a hare has ticked him off, perhaps its Bugs' instincts.

After frantically searching through homes, he discovers the home of "Cecil Turtle" through a letterbox, and proceeds to bang at his door. He lets out a deliberate mistake by demanding the door to open or "I'll huff, and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in", in which Bugs sheepishly corrects, "Sorry, wrong story".


This suggests Bugs is only human, though Tex thought it was a great opportunity for chuckles, and it is executed well.

After the door opens, Cecil Turtle is introduced to the short; and Blanc's performance of the character compared to Toby Tortoise from the Silly Symphonies are indeed, parallel. Bugs' brash attitude is also similar to Max Hare, though most of the Warners directors claimed more than once his personality was heavily influenced from the Disney character. Full of rage, Bugs demands the turtle to challenge Bugs in a race match, as he is willing to bet as much as $10 that Cecil won't win. Adjusted for inflation, $10 is worth today, about $159.71, which back in 1941 would have been a crusher. At this point, the story is already off at a great start; as Tex is already satirising the tale by having gambling playing a part.

At that point, Cecil Turtle plays a part in this story; whereas in the fable he was just a humble character who went slow and steady, with little identity. His third-dimensional personality is evident when the race has started. He quietly sneaks into a telephone service tree, where he begins to make a few calls to some local relatives.

Cecil already has plans to sabotage Bugs secretly cheating by using his local relatives to help trick Bugs, by giving him the impression that Cecil is in the lead, Cecil gives out the commands: "Get out the works".

The diversion is well-baited with excellent satire. Only Tex would have revealed a double-crossing side for a supposedly meek turtle. The sequence is a great bracer for what is to happen. Then the sequence evolves into a series of montage shots where quick close-up of hands and fingers dial numbers calling further relatives to be on the gag which creates great suspense and overture. Stalling uses the piece the Athalie Overture which fits in with the suspense wonderfully.

Afterwards, the rest of the short mainly turns to a string of gags one-by-one, in which the audience experience Bugs being the victim. The story construction has already been handled greatly; setup and personality play a part in the first act, whilst in the second it focuses on the jokes on Bugs.

Despite being a great satire to the fable, as the character personalities as well as caricature was ahead of its time, Tex still hadn't quite got the ability to achieve faster and broader timing.

Compared to even Disney's The Tortoise and the Hare, where the short not only pioneered faster animation, but the speed was very believable--the pace Bugs is racing at seems very adequate. Perhaps this was to emphasise that the mediocre pace would be no match for the turtle?

And so the tricks begin, Bugs turns puzzled when he finds Cecil has showed up, supposedly ahead of Bugs Bunny. Baffled, he removes his shell acting like a bad sport and proceeds to keep running, until he pauses feeling more puzzled. "I can't figure it out back there, I'm going along at a good clip, didn't see him pads me. Then, bingo--just like that, and there he was in front of me". Tex's timing couldn't go perfectly as the camera quickly pans to Cecil, indeed standing in front of Bugs whilst he made that delivery point. Puzzled, Cecil and Bugs' personality appear to trade unnaturally as Cecil gives Bugs a peck in the lips.

And so, more gags are pulled in the climax of the short. Bugs waves back "So long shorty" so what was Cecil off-screen, until an off-screen reply yells, "So long, speedy?" Bugs is tricked into believing he is not watching his own speed, especially as he notices "Cecil" standing on the other side of the bridge. Just as Bugs zips past, Cecil also lets out a cutting remark, in one of Tex's usual forth wall lines: "We do this kind of stuff to him all through the picture", which again suggests that every gag will be predictable.

Bugs then proceeds to block a path, using lumber, stones and barbed wire to prevent Cecil; but only to notice that the turtle has supposedly overtaken Bugs. Every trap Bugs creates becomes more climatic, and yet he is still falling for Cecil's great diversion. He proceeds to cut off the ropes of a bridge, but yet still finds that Cecil is on top of him on a tree.

At that point, Bugs then goes to his frantic speed, though the pacing of the animation tells otherwise. He hops, and rushes with great capacity, until he skids towards the finishing line. The animation of Bugs, relieved is beautifully character animated by Bob McKimson himself.

The chuckling and the subtleness of the animation is rather remarkable, as it suggests how Bugs went through a lot of strange experiences with the turtle, and Bugs certainly feels very "alive" in the scene.

Until that point, an off-screen "Speedy" is called to Bugs with a distinctive voice. Cecil is seen sitting quietly by a tree, asking plainly, "What kept ya?". At that point Bugs, lost for words, vows to strangle Cecil:

 "Ooh you blankety-blank-blank turtle!", in which Cecil reminds him of the $10 bet. Bugs reluctantly hands over the money and scoffs: "And I hope you choke!". The character animation for the closing sequence by Rod Scribner definitely displays how subtle and human Rod's animation could be, even though his exaggeration is quite evident. At that point, Bugs paces back questioning how he had been beaten by Cecil. For challenging Bugs' personality very early: it has been pulled off successfully, and also ambiguity as it suggests how the Turtle is one of a few Bugs can't outwit, especially how Clampett and Freleng interpret it that way in future shorts: Tortoise Wins By a Hare and Rabbit Transit. At this point, Bugs questions: "I wonder if I've been tricked". This concludes with a hilarious payoff by Tex where multiple turtles respond, "Mmm, it's a possibility" and kisses Bugs in the lips. The payoff works well so successfully that Tex has used it several more time, all wonderfully too.

Tortoise Beats Hare is a wonderful portrayal of how Bugs was given a different layer of personality. Already having been given the street-smart personality that was cherished by everybody, Tex already is playing around the character's personality, by experimenting how Bugs can work in several levels. Real people's personalities are constantly evolving, which I believe is what Tex was trying to achieve, not making predictable all the time. Clampett would take inspiration with the different personality, and would interpret Bugs Bunny very differently compared to the other directors. It's one of the few exceptions in character personalities, that is naturally accepted by everybody. Overall, the satire of the fable is beautifully caricatured, as Cecil Turtle has more of an identity, as well as having a crafty personality being no match for Bugs. At the same time, the moral of the fable is also blended in the story, except the moral appears to be you can't always win a battle of wits, instead of the infamous "slow and steady wins the race". If the short had been made a couple of years later, it would have been a beautifully paced short with faster timing by Tex, which to be is lacking in the short, though Clampett would improve on that two years later, with a sequel...

Rating: 4/5.

319. Joe Glow, the Firefly (1941)

Warner cartoon no. 318.
Release date: March 8, 1941.
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Chuck Jones.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Joe Glow's Yell "Good Night!").
Story: Rich Hogan.
Animation: Philip Monroe.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: A curious firefly, named Joe Glow, flies around a tent, inspecting items which turn to perilous situations.

This time Chuck Jones is assigned to a black-and-white short, though this is no similar to any of Jones' productions that he was producing. Instead of directing a Porky Pig short, he introduces a new character which perhaps could have been considered a potential Jones star, like Inki or the Two Curious Dogs.


All of Jones' characters and stories were very consistent in this very period, that a regular viewer of the Warner shorts, would be able to identity the distinction between Jones and the other Warner directors.

Chuck's formula consisted of using frequent mood pieces for his shorts. He wasn't looking for laughs, he evidently wanted to be different from the other Warner directors, though by being "different" it is executed poorly. Joe Glow is much like a character who would be equivalent to Disney one-shot characters like Abner Mouse in The Country Cousin. He is silent like much of Jones' other characters. With most of Jones' characters in situations or adventures like Joe Glow, it usually would end with a climax or even a conclusion that pays off the molasses-timing, whereas with this short--it appears to go absolutely nowhere.

The short only focuses on an annoying firefly who just flies around, and almost getting caught the entire time. Although, Joe Glow getting caught or in a perilous situation is good in terms of pacing as it shakens up the short, but having it too many just runs all together, with the sequence being monotonous. It's incredibly dull.

If the perilous situations are of any interest towards you, being too many: Joe Glow starts off inspecting the sleeping man's face; almost causing accident. Then he stands on top of the sleeping man's philtrum.

Feeling the firefly standing on his sleep, he moves his cheeks and mouth which scares Joe Glow away. He almost wakes the man up by clicking the torchlight on by mistake, and almost creates a noise by stepping onto a cracker, causing cracking noises.

Then this relates to the short's supposedly climax, though none of the sequences have a climatic feel at all. This leads to Joe Glow walking into a pepper shaker, he sneezes and causes the ketchup bottle to tip at an edge of a table. Joe Glow desires to prevent the bottle from falling, and creates a lasso from a wool set, where Stalling uses the piece March of the Fairies.

Why the firefly would wish to stop the ketchup bottle from falling is unexplained and clumsy. One would make an assumption he evidently didn't wish to make a sound, though for a firefly he could easily fly away easily, and it would create even more exciting suspense of the man, possibly awakening--though the idea is wasted with this action  scene.

If I were to declare the short is absolutely worthless to watch, I would be lying. In my opinion, all animated shorts are worth seeing: no matter how bad or good they are, and depending on what level. To me, the short is worth taking a look at at least from Jones' artistic side--which is perhaps the reason I could give to the rest of Jones' other slow-paced shorts.

These would have been layouts done by artist John McGrew who did create, bold layout designs for Jones in that era. The realism he gives to the human proportions are splendid and glamorous, that it distracts the viewer from watching the dull action by Joe Glow. Note the glowing effect in long-shots which identifies Joe Glow, which is well crated as an effect.

Another great little scene which is very fulfilling is Joe Glow entering inside the sleeping man's fist, where his lamplight glows from the outer part of his fingers. Also, Jones' attention to detail is evident, especially in the down-shot of the firefly who flies towards the human's head. The use of shadows and shades gives the sequence a rich looking piece of animation. By the way, does anybody else agree with me if the sleeping man is a subtle caricature of Benny Washam, who was possibly already animating by that point in Jones' unit?

Animation-wise, Jones was always willing to let his animators to go ambitious as well as to challenge his animators. During the torchlight sequence, the sleeping man has been beamed from the light and struggles to open his eyes, obviously very disturbed of the light. The posing, as well as the caricature is pulled off beautifully. Whoever animated it (Harris?) has managed to capture the feel of being awoken abruptly, with the disgruntled face of disturbance being the right touch.

Jones' own use of posing and expressions are rather limited in the short. The firefly is very expressionless throughout the short, and hardly has an identity. The only identity he is given is for Stalling's leitmotif of using the music cue On Wings of Songs.  The only sequence he appears to show character, is accidentally stepping on a cracker, making cracking noises. The sheepish expression is pleasing, though its the same expression Jones used with all of his previous characters, so it's nothing new. One particular pose which is not very Jones-like shows Joe Glow's eye-take of the ketchup tipping over off-screen. The posing and exaggeration is rather extreme for Jones in that period, considering how he had tight control over his animators, though there is always going to be a scene where an animator would quietly let that get through.

What appears to be not unusual at all in an early Jones short is that during its climax: a character who is generally silent would tend to have an outburst as a conclusion.

After having to endure the burden of almost disturbing the sleeping man, as well as taking perilous forces such as a pepper shaker or a ketchup bottle, Joe Glow stomps over towards the sleeping man's ear; and bellows "Good night!" in one of Blanc's infamous yelling tones, before flying out of the campsite. I suppose the ending was Jones' way of trying to give a comedic payoff from all the tiresome, monotonous situations the firefly went on, but it doesn't pay off well. I feel its the sort of conclusion that Jones has done too many times before with no elements of new ideas being used in the short at all.

My overall views on the short, it's as though I have seen this before, so many times. Jones' consistent formula is really running altogether and the use of silent characters as well as the supposedly dangerous situations for tiny, meek characters and the useless payoffs. Jones has already used these to death for a majority of his shorts, though this short appears to be lacking so much in terms of gags or ambiguity. Even for Jones' slow-paced shorts in this ear, this short has very low standards for Jones, and quite possibly one of the poorest entries of 1941 so far. The short is obviously not intended for laughs, as it is really just a mood piece, which explains the lack of gags that appear in the short, though the "Good night" shout isn't really funny at all. With all my insights, my overall thought of the short can be described in one word: boring. It just seems a very wasted and worthless short as it leads to nowhere, save the fine layout work and animation details.

Rating: 1/5.