360. Crazy Cruise (1942)

Warner cartoon no. 359.
Release date: March 14, 1942.
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Bob Clampett, Tex Avery (uncredited).
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Robert C. Bruce (Narrator), Mel Blanc (Various voices / Bugs Bunny).
Story: Michael Maltese.
Animation: Rod Scribner.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: This travelogue parody takes us to a crazy journey from a cruise liner.

This is another cartoon which is missing a supervision credit, even though it's another short that Tex started, and supposedly finished by Clampett. Though both director's style clash in the short, this marks the end of Tex Avery's official tenure at Warners. The man who helped revolutionise the wit and humour into these cartoons, a very venturesome director.

Since his departure from the studio; this proved to not be a heavy loss for the Schlesinger Studio. Everyone else learnt from Tex, and managed to produce some brilliant input that is on par with Tex's work, and it only gets better from then on. Tex's last official Warners cartoon ends with another typical spot-gag cartoon, set in a cruise liner; complete with recycled formulas, and the liner takes the viewer to random scenic locations of the world; which sounds in perspective unfocused even as a travelogue parody. At first, you see the cruise liner in the Caribbean, then you see the liner across the Alps, the Sahara Desert, etc. This parody sure lives up to the cartoon's title.

I suppose the unfocused of where the cruise liner heads to sequence to sequence is satirised brilliantly in the navigational map sequence occurring around the beginning of the cartoon. Mike Maltese writes and plans a great sequence which not only creates great satire, but a great challenge to animate timing-wise. The ship, seen docked from the coast of Florida, sets sail to Havanna, Cuba.

The ship stops to the "world's famous Sloppy Joe's" bar which is based on the Florida bar, famous for regular customers like Ernest Hemingway. As portrayed on the map, its clear everyone (inc. the captain) went to the bar before embarking back on the ship.

The next part features the uncoordinated paths the cruise liner follows emphasising that the sea crew are drunk, such as sailing in swirls (before stopping with the cruise liner hiccuping). This is a beautifully executed and exaggerated gag that shows great dynamics in the crazy route they are travelling. Not to mention this would have required a lot of careful attention for an effects animator in handling the scene, as not only does it need to be laid out and planned precisely; but not to mention comical timing-wise. Stalling adds to the comedic touch as he plays How Dry I Am while the cruise drunkenly sails.

For aspects that feature a lot of Tex Avery's humour; it's scattered throughout the cartoon. Not to mention, it also looks like a Avery production, judging by the rich backgrounds created by Johnny Johnsen, as well as the use of tight, realistic drawing in some scenes that Tex strictly required from his unit.


The sequence in the Egyptian desert is a striking example of continuous humour elements that you'd expect in Tex Avery's cartoons. After a camera pan of the outback in the desert, the scene takes the viewer to the Sphinx. The stone rendition of the Trylon and Perisphere, (displayed in the 1939 New York World's Fair) is wonderfully referenced and parodied in that shot.

As the narrator describes it, the Sphinx has been standing for many centuries: "Year in, year out", as well as standing there "motionless, silent, quiet". The Sphinx kills the narrator's commentary by speaking: "Monotonous, isn't it?". This is a regular gag punchline which works well in that sequence, contradicting the narrator's commentary to a tee.

Other aspects of Tex's own humour appears in the camouflage sequence. As reported by the narrator, due to "unconditioned world conditions" (supposedly referencing World War II), all ships were to be camouflaged. The ship sailing past is S.S. Yehoodi, a direct reference to Jerry Colonna. The gag itself showing the camouflage, though   corny in perspective, but as a layout it looks painstaking to make the gag as realistic as it could go.

As for scenes that show some Clampett influence in humour and timing; it's possible some of the sequences could've been his own work. Scenes which come to mind is the opening sequence in the short. The short begins at a Southern plantation in Louisiana, and the narrator reports on the financial difficulties that tobacco farms earn because of the tobacco bug. In a close up scene, the tobacco bug is revealed; eating a tobacco leaf.

Whether it was Tex or Clampett who worked on both the scene, its uncertain; though the cutout hand holding the microphone has a unique and blessing touch to it. The microphone is described to be "super-sensitive" that viewers would be able to listen to the bugs for the first time.

Of course, the gag is that the bug responds by satirising the fast-speech patter of the tobacco auctioneer from the Lucky Strike cigarette commercials heard in Your Hit Parade.) Another great scene which appears to share some of the wackiness and spirit in animation is evident in the insect-eating plant sequence.

The 'victim', being a bumblebee, flies at the scene, and ends up caught in the trap from the plant. The bee flies over the plant causing it to spit out shouting "OUCH!" in agony. Such sharp delivery on voice as well as timing.

Other scenes which show some great aspects of delivery and gag punchline are also evident in some scenes. A scene that sticks to my mind fondly, with an unpredictable punchline would be during the oil field scene. In this scene, the narrator looks at the ground rumbling, and remarks with amazement: "Oh, here comes a gusher for them now".

Just as the ground rumbles, one would expect the oil to strike immensely, but the irony of the gag is that it doesn't. Instead only a small drop of oil falls out from the field, landing on a spittoon. This was a great gag which can pleasantly surprise you.

Another scene with a pleasant sendoff would occur during the Alps sequence, featuring the mountain goat. The narrator explains of how the goat enjoy the dangers of leaping peak-to-peak in the alps. During the leap scene, Stalling adds to the right touches: matching the timing precisely by playing London Bridge is Falling Down in the underscore. And then, the goat falls to the ground after leaping all the peaks. Nevertheless, the goat continues to leap in rhythm to the rhyme until at the last note, the goat falls off the cliff by continuous leaping. Another great scene which is entertaining gag-wise, as well as becoming a n advantage for Stalling to make the sequence work.

As for gags that I think don't hold up too well, it would be the some scenes centring on animals. Another scene featured in the Alps, is the group of St. Bernard dog who carry spirit drinks in aid of those who are lying unconscious in the snow. The leader of the pack is seen carrying a keg of scotch, next in line is another St. Bernard carrying a keg of soda. As for the puppy St. Bernard, he carries a small keg of 'Bromo'. Bromo, of course, is medicine which is mostly used for indigestion and heartburn.  I don't personally understand the perspective or purpose of that gag? Was the gag supposedly that each St Bernard in line are seen carrying small pieces of aid, going from strongest (spirits) to weakest (indigestion pills).

In the Africa sequence, another corny gag features a line of animals; which at first are seen lining up with alertness and patience. As it turns out, the camera pans to the right revealing a mother zebra aiding its child by a 'water hole'. As you know, its a rancid pun on 'water holes' which are popular for animals to bathe in the wild lands of Africa.

The next to last sequence in the film, is another satirical scene in creating suspense killers. The narrator gives some commentary to add depth and tension to the scene; a territory which is dominated by "ferocious giant cannibals". The territory is known as the "Brawla-Brawla Soo-it Region". For those who don't know, this is a parody name taken from the lyrics of then popular song: The Hut-Sut Song.

The next scene features a pair of famous, experienced hunters who are caricatures of Friz Freleng and Ted Perice, follow the pgymy into the deep canopy of the dangerous territory. As the narrator says, "They plan to capture a couple of these giants alive!".

After a clattering off-screen sound, the pygmy rushes out gibbering in his native language. In a close-up scene animated by Bob McKimson, he continues to speak in that gibberish tone; until he converts to English, "Look, they got them! They got them!". "They" is revealed in the next shot that the two giants have indeed caught hold of the hunters, but they are compressed between the giant's fingers, resembling rollup cigarettes, leading to the humorous "King Size" lineup from one of the giants.

The final sequence is almost certainly Clampett's own sequence. Note how the gag is the same conception seen from a previous Clampett spot-gag cartoon: Africa Squeaks. Instead of deers looking cute and helpless, we get a group of cute bunnies scampering around looking harmless and lacking self-defence.


At the height of World War II, it seemed the right way to stereotype the Japanese by caricaturing them as a vulture, a metaphor on the enemy. Just as the vulture dive-bombs towards the bunnies, they immediately respond by hiding behind some weeds, and reveal some aircraft artily they use to fire at the vulture.

Note however that during the gag, you will find one rabbit facing its back away from the camera, whilst the other two are facing front as they play. It's a difficult challenge to animate, in not revealing the rabbit's face before the gag can be revealed. Much of that sequence was given to Rod Scribner, who met the challenge greatly. And so, the bunny who was hiding behind this time was Bugs Bunny, seen wearing his Civil Defence helmet. He has the last line, "Eh, thumbs up, doc! Thumbs up!". Just at the iris-out, Bugs' ears form to a "V for Victory" sign, whilst the underscore heard is We Did It Before (And We Can Do It Again). Thus, this ends the cartoon on a patriotic note.

While it's a shame that the blog will no longer be reviewing shorts directed by Tex Avery, it is without doubt for the greater good. As a cartoon, this wasn't much of a great sendoff to a brilliant legacy Tex brought to Warner Bros., though this was unintentionally the last Warner short he worked on. Not to mention, Tex gets a fresh start, a better start once he hops over to MGM Studios, making himself an even bigger name. As a spot-gag cartoon, this was average at best. It had some charming, innovative moments like the navigation map sequence, which to say the least was original. Bugs Bunny's little cameo at the end was also a pleasant surprise to end the cartoon, for his popularity was only growing rapidly in the beginning of his career. In all, it was an average short; which doesn't have too many exciting moments but for the sequences I've given good comments about, I'd suggest you'd take a look.

Rating: 2.5/5.

359. Conrad the Sailor (1942)

Warner cartoon no. 358.
Release date: February 28, 1942.
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Chuck Jones.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Daffy Duck), Pinto Colvig (Conrad Cat).
Story: Dave Monahan.
Animation: Ben Washam.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Conrad Cat is busy cleaning the deck, but gets distracted by his duties when he becomes a target of bullying from Daffy Duck.

It's worth to mention before we review the cartoon that what really stands out greatly about the cartoon; is not just Chuck Jones' drastic change in direction, or that Conrad Cat represents Goofy; but it's the art direction of the cartoon. Chuck's layout artist from this era, was John McGrew who designed a lot of unique and ambitious backgrounds for classic animated shorts. It was unusual for McGrew's work to appear in such cartoons, as many audiences were used to seeing watercolored, oiled backgrounds seen from Disney as well as other studios. McGrew and Jones both helped revolutionise the look of classic animation, as well as making the cartoons a lot of fun at the same time.

Compare his work to some of the cartoons he worked on like: The Dover Boys, Case of the Missing Hare, etc. All of his work in those shorts show how very versatile he was in terms of designing as well as providing the right atmosphere for cartoons. In this cartoon, not only does his layout work in all scenic locations of a navy ship look modern in art direction, but pleasantly realistic too. These screen grabs were borrowed from the late Michael Sporn's ever-so-inpsiring Splog; for more of McGrew's artwork on the short. Mike writes a great analysis here, complete with breathtaking frame grabs.

You can tell how risky and complex, both Jones and McGrew wanted to be artistically; they were willing to use their artistic abilities to the point where it could sometimes sidetrack from story purposes, as well as the animation itself; which to itself is a disadvantage in animation. A real shame he never received screen credit for his great work at Warners, much like the many other background and layout artists working in that era.

Conrad Cat, in his final appearance, is once again interpreted differently by Chuck. Perhaps judging by the lacklustre of The Bird Came C.O.D., Chuck switched to turn to comedy; giving him a Goofy persona. To add to that, have Pinto Colvig provide the voice.


Chuck's approach to humour has also drastically changed in the course of this cartoon, compared to what we're used to his approach. His pacing and timing has lived up to the Warner Bros. standards, as well as the gags.

The gags work coherently, and have that looney sensibility that lives up to the series' name. Perhaps this can be attributed to Dave Monahan, who had written shorts mostly for Tex Avery and Friz Freleng, who were the funniest directors Warner's had in 1940-1941.

From the start of the cartoon, it's clearly established that Conrad is working as a sailor for a navy ship, cleaning the decks. While the navy crew sing Anchors Aweigh together, Conrad sings the song alone; and it's clear he's established as an outcast.

Conrad's introduction scene is 45 feet of animation (30 seconds), and the action mostly consists of Conrad singing and cleaning. This was a real challenge approached to animator Ken Harris, who animated the scene. He had to create some inventive animation as well as gags to not lose the audience's attention, especially as the scene shows little descriptive action. So, he adds some decent touches like Conrad swinging the mop, and positioning his hand for the mop to hand neatly.

Another great addition to the cartoon is none other than Daffy Duck. Daffy had been appearing sporadically such as in a few black and white Looney Tunes, though this is his first colour cartoon since Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur, directed by none other than Chuck himself. This cartoon; Daffy's characteristics well interpreted by Chuck and Monahan. Daffy is not only mischievous and looney, but he's cynical, he can dominate people; and Chuck nails that kind of persona in this short.

He becomes an instant menace to Conrad once he discovers Daffy's footprints on the floor, and finds Daffy loitering on top of a mast. There, Daffy mocks Conrad's singing by singing in a mockery voice: "We're shoving right off, again", before leaving a forth-wall remark to Conrad, "Phew, is that guy awful? Gee, it makes me sick."

The sequence with Daffy pestering Conrad's duties is a brilliant showcase of how Chuck Jones has nailed the comic standards which you'd expect from a Warner Bros. short. Not to mention, it's also very inventive in giving Daffy more of a wacky personality.

As Conrad is scrubbing firmly of the deck singing angrily: "We're shoving right off for home!", Daffy replaces the water bucket with a bucket of paint; to make Conrad's navy life a living hell. Conrad sweeps the deck, not realising at first he is using red paint.

Daffy responds to this by disapproving Conrad sarcastically, "Very sloppy, Roscoe. You're a slovenly housekeeper". Conrad reacts to the criticism harshly and aims the mop directly to Daffy's face. Daffy grabs the mop, leading to a brilliant scene with Daffy grabs the mop and improvises by performing a short act in the style of vaudeville. The dry-brush effect on that scene is just delightful.

Daffy tosses the mop up in the air, and shouts to Conrad: "Catch! Catch!". The 3/4 up shots from Conrad's POV of the mop falling is another brilliant angle, as well as another great reason to admire how gutsy McGrew and Jones were in laying out the angle.

The mop falling in perspective is very complex to animate, and it would require only the ambitions of Jones' unit to accomplish it well. The next shot of Conrad's mini eye-take is just a brilliant showcase of timing. Chuck was never afraid to exaggerate poses, especially with eye-takes; and he used some of the most subtle kinds such as in shorts like Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur or Prest-O Change-O. After the mop smacks Conrad's face, the camera pans to Daffy sitting on top of the mop once again taunting Conrad; "Very petite, Betsy. Very, very petite". Once again, its a brilliant showcase in representing the potential of what the rest of the cartoon.

Despite the potential of having really good characters in creating an all-round funny cartoon; Chuck Jones is just not quite there yet. Sure, he has Daffy; and an improvement on the Conrad character (even if it means a rip-off to Goofy), as well as a really good sequence; but the only part that's really lacking in the short is the hyperactivity and energy from the characters.

Daffy acts looney like he'd usually behave in any other Warners cartoon, but its his looney energy that makes him somewhat tamer in this cartoon. Not to mention, in the latter half of the cartoon; both Conrad and Daffy remain silent a lot of the time, occasionally speaking a line of dialogue, and since the mop gag; the energy and characterisation just faded.

An example can appear in the crow's nest scene, where Conrad holds out his telescope on the lookout for Daffy. After placing the telescope back and supposedly grabbing hold of it again, he grabs Daffy's neck mistaking him as a scope. This leads to Daffy's sarcastic remark at Conrad, "Swell view, eh doc?".

Much of that sequence is performed in pantomime, and by doing that; you feel you are losing the personality already established from the characters. It just doesn't work in a cartoon which has a lot of fast-paced action. Note another scene which shows characteristics but lacks energy and motivation. Daffy has slider down a very long chute, but lands from the threatening hands of Conrad. Just as his hands get cleansed, Daffy licks Conrad's lips; unintentionally freeing him. It would've been more motivating a gag if Daffy's hyperactivity was there, such as his 'hoo-hoos'.

Despite some problems with characterisation and energy, you've got to appreciate the big change in Chuck's own pacing. Every scene is evenly paced, with no scene dragging too long whatsoever. This was a big step for Chuck, and this is what he's done right.


You'll notice Chuck certainly expressed a keen eye on dry-brush effect to help gain weight and anticipation into the action, and a lot of the time it's beautiful to look at frame-by-frame.

A clear example of that is seen in the cannon cleaning sequence. Conrad believes he is rid from Daffy, but finds Daffy is only standing right by the cannon. This leads to a childish game where Conrad's and Daffy's hands both overlap one another, and Daffy swirls Conrad's arms to get them into a sticky tangle.

Conrad manages to unfree himself easily by swirling into a frantic motion, which is seen in the screen shot. Another scene with some great, loose animation is the scene where Daffy plays the nursery rhyme clapping game Pease Porridge Hot with a perplexed Conrad. Note how Chuck's animators at that point were already very liberal in animation, and had this sense of freedom that you'd be under the impression that Chuck's allowing them to go loose. Daffy's little hitch dance in that scene is wonderfully loose and expressive.

Chuck always liked the idea of having a random, passing-by character interrupting the action, and passinby throughout the short before getting a sendoff. He's used that in cartoons such as the sailor in The Dover Boys, Humphrey Bogart in 8 Ball Bunny, and not to mention: the Mynah bird. Here, the recurring passing-by character is the sea captain. The captain is represented small in size, but big in power; hence the irony in size. During the action and chase scenes, the characters freeze when they are seen by the captain and both salute him in his presence. The timing of the captains' walk as well as Stalling's cue is entertaining comically, but it doesn't really have an edge, or a purpose; other than distracting the action.

It doesn't have much of a sendoff in the cartoon's ending, either. A scene with the captain passing by that does really stand out is the scene of Daffy and Conrad both sliding into the scene to salute. Watch how layers of Daffy and Conrad slide into the scene, with the characters starting out as transparent to opaque. It's difficult to create in terms of ink and painting, as the lighting has to be slightly different each layer. This is also another prime example of just how inventive Chuck's pacing is, and to pull it off takes a lot of ambition.

During the cartoon's climax, the short appears to built back the pace again: with Daffy's energy restored into the cartoon. Hiding inside a cannon, he hums to himself inside, but unaware of his knowledge Conrad has placed a giant bullet inside. Daffy points out obviously as a forth-wall gag, "Big bullet". Conrad lights the cannon, and the cannon fires, leading to Daffy riding the bullet.


He shouts, "Look at me, hoo-hoo-hoo, I'm a dive-bomber!". Once again, it's another great sequence which has the right pacing for an action-filled sequence. Daffy's attempts to dodge the bullet are very fluid in movement as well as impossible in action.

Believing that he has disposed of Daffy for good, Conrad walks among the deck with his mop to resume to his duties. To his surprise, he finds that the bullet has backfired leading to the bullet chasing Daffy. Realising the bullet and Daffy is leading directly to him, he expresses a "Here we go again" pose. Such a rich expression, too. This leads to the final gag where the trio (inc. the bullet) both stop at the presence of the sea captain as they salute before the bullet continues to chase them.

After almost four years of Chuck Jones directing almost consistent, tepid cartoons; this is the cartoon where he has finally broken out of the habit and started to pick up the pace much like what Friz Freleng or Bob Clampett were doing. It's got some great pacing, and not to mention even some coherent gags which in Chuck's earlier cartoons were not. Daffy Duck and Conrad in the opening scenes were great characters who created some good comedic situations, mainly in the mopping sequence; but then for a while the energy goes for a while. Though many do consider Chuck's real breakthrough in creating good comedy to be The Draft Horse, they to some extent correct. If there was a cartoon which Chuck Jones finally started to make his pacing slicker, and that none of his scenes dragged: it's definitely this short. However, in making an all-round fast-paced and great all-round entertainment: he's only so close. Like I said, the only lacklustre in the short is centred in the middle of the short, where you get long scenes of time of little to no dialogue, which doesn't quite combine well into the earlier sequences. I would personally attribute the problem to Conrad, who as a character just isn't adaptable as a character to match Daffy Duck, especially if Chuck prefers to have him silent much of the time. All in all, this was certainly an entertaining short, and from then on in his long career at Warners, Chuck could do no wrong.

Rating: 3/5.

358. Porky's Cafe (1942)

Warner cartoon no. 357.
Release date: February 21, 1942.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Supervision: Chuck Jones.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Porky Pig).
Animation: Rudy Larriva.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Porky runs a cafe, which is operated with mechanical gadgets that help prepare a meal. Meanwhile, Conrad Cat finds he is in a pickle in various circumstances: such as an ant and a pancake mixer.

Still trying to create new characters who could successfully act through pantomime, Chuck Jones still attempts to make Conrad Cat work, but still hasn't make the character adaptable for a Warner Bros. short, except you could say Conrad has a little more character and emotion form the previous failure, The Bird Came C.O.D. Now, Chuck has regular characters like Porky Pig or Daffy Duck team up with Conrad, to perhaps make him appear more along the lines of a Warner Bros. character, though it doesn't meet such results.

Perhaps the most pivotal aspect of this cartoon would be Chuck Jones' timing. This isn't a criticism on his "slow pacing" which I've criticised over the past four years of Chuck's career; his timing has actually improved validly, starting from this cartoon.

Chuck appears to have at last capture the sense of speed and pace in his characters, that make his pacing sharper to the point it meets the other director's standards. From the first scene in the cartoon, Chuck appears to show security and confidence in his pacing and even gag development.

The opening scene which is set in Porky's Cafe, Conrad is seen working as a chef in his diner, and he flips the pancakes from the grill precisely in synchronisation of the popular Gavotte. A known popular melody for its time, it works itself as a gag; and Chuck's improved capability of slicker pacing has made a complete difference compared to what he attempted to accomplish previously.

Though Chuck's pacing is seen improved in many scenes of the short, I'll give another shout-out to his great timing delivery would be the sandwich scene during a communication scene between Porky and the customer, who we'll meet in further detail. He is given layers and layers of sandwich slices combined together, and he eats the whole lot. Moments later, his neck spontaneously reacts as the sandwiches are caught stuck in his throat, representing the shape of an accordion and reacting like a pair, too.

Though Porky's role in the cartoon is more predominant than normal; he is still represented as a weak character. Yes, he is presented as a loyal, hardworking employee who wants to meet the customer's expectations, but that's about it. His lack of temperament as well as a cynical attitude really lacks the spark with Porky here.


The scenes where he is first seen communicating with a customer who wears a feathered hat and a long moustache. Close enough to be considered a prototype Yosemite Sam, which I'm sure wasn't the case.

The customer himself shows more personality than what Porky presents, even though the customer's only motifs in the film is yelling for food to Porky. Despite the dictions on the character is what makes the character broader than Porky in that retrospect. Keith Scott suspects the voice of the customer is Bob Bruce, though the evidence is inconclusive. Most of the sequences with the customer is mainly a string of gags of Porky's poor service to the customer, whose services tend to lead to a circumstance, and yet this all leads up to a potential climax. This isn't a bad concept for a short, but Chuck hadn't used the right gag material to make this fulfilling as a cartoon.

With Porky issues asides, the cartoon itself still appears to function like its a pantomime short. The only real dialogue occurring in the cartoon is in scenes featuring the customer and Porky, but its not the sort of dialogue you'd be inspired by. Conrad Cat still is presented as a silent character, except for the occasional grunt, scream or even a rare speaking part in the scene. The two characters with different characteristics don't blend very well together in his cartoon, personally.

You get scenes that Chuck could have used in previous cartoons like The Bird Came C.O.D. where Conrad is looking suspicious on the missing pieces of pancakes, but takes some time to realise they're sitting on top of his chef hat. Having moments of dialogue as well as sequences where there is silence for long periods of time, especially on a particular character really makes the cartoon look inconsistent altogether. It's not that its terrible, but having Conrad and Porky together just isn't the right casting for the cartoon.

Most of the scenes featuring the customer and Porky aren't all interesting, though one that comes to mind shows some great visualisation that makes up for such a scene. The customer has requested to have soup served to him as a meal, which Porky serves to him immediately.

Forgot to mention, Porky's quick pacing from the entrance and exit doors of the kitchen really do look effective, adding depth to the sense of speed to emphasise his dedication to the job. The meal that the customer is served is alphabet soup, except Porky adds the final ingredients by typing random letters which spring to life, and then land on the customer's soup. For a wacky concept, Chuck sure made this visualisation look very appealing to watch.

From the start of the customer's dilemma gag, it seems a little aggravating to watch. The gag centers on the customer attempting to blow the steam off his soup, but only for the steam to return directly to the bowl, preventing himself from eating in fear of burning his tongue. Its a gag parallel enough to Elmer attempting to extinguish a candle in Good Night, Elmer. As that gag itself was incoherent and poorly conceived, the steam gag in the short is more exaggerated visually, on how it would be interpreted in real life.

 In reality, the steam returns from the bowl in an attempt to blow the evaporation away from a hot meal, and a lot of folks would get the general feeling. Chuck Jones not only beautifully visualises it into a gag, but gives the evaporating steam a little bit of personality too. After the customer supposedly blows the steam away, the steam is seen hiding around jars in the table; it then returns unnoticed to the bowl. This leads to a great take from the customer who sips with the steam surrounding him. He quickly places his hat under the bowl with great disturbance.

A sequence that will probably stick to the minds of others who have viewed the cartoon before would the mechanical gadgets who are seen baking a fried egg and preparing toast. The assembly line begins with a rooster who is seen nesting, but gets grabbed by the neck from a robotic hand and the outcome leads to an egg being hatched.


And so, this leads to some more assembly line business involving conveyer belts as well as mechanical hands doing the work, such as putting the toaster on or scraping the crusts off a piece of toast with a knife. Would've have been a more effective sequence had Stalling used Raymond Scott's infamous Powerhouse, even though it didn't become a cue by Stalling until late 1943.

It's a little straightforward in terms of gag approach. You've seen it in other motion pictures before, and in terms of an idea its cliched. But animation wise it was very complex to stage, and Chuck Jones as well as Warner's camera department knew how to handle such complicated staging without going too costly.

Conrad, in the short's subplot is mainly seen dealing with an invading ant who has entered the kitchen area, and becoming a clear distraction to Conrad's work. The ant at first hides inside a bowl full of cream, and as Conrad pours the cream in the grill to form a pancake; the ant is seen alive, and thus making the pancake walk.

It's a great little sequence when viewing character animation, as well as Chuck's sharp posing and the volume of his glorious facial expressions. Conrad fails at stopping the pancake from moving, at first placing the hand on top of the grill (causing his hand to burn), and continues to stop at nothing.

Watch Conrad in close-up as he is seen counting furiously to ten. The inner feelings of the character are greatly expressed and can be sympathised with. Bobe Cannon animation? Chuck Jones' timing is also pretty slick too, once more, especially in the fast-paced action of Conrad attempting to splatter the pancake with his spatula. The scene with Conrad swinging his spatula intensely that it causes his body to swirl like fireworks is very surreal itself in gag approach and timing. Beautifully crafted.

After a series of struggles from the kitchen, Conrad chases after the 'pancake-ant', leading into a chase sequence. Reading to the cartoon's climax, Porky is seen carrying a huge cake with several layers standing; and the climax only reaches its peak when Porky finds he is slippery around the cafe, crashing through tables, breaking china, etc. And at that point, Porky crashes towards the customer's table leading to an ultimate crash amongst Claude Cat and the ant.

The final scene, Porky is presented as a gag; for he's laid out in the style of a suckling pig; the customer and Claude are both trapped inside the cake. As for the ant, the ant has proved victorious towards Claude; for he ironically stands next to the bride figurine on top of the cake, kicking the husband away. From my point of view, the ant has a striking resemblance to the pygmy ant Porky faced in two truly terrible shorts: Porky's Ant and Porky's Midnight Matinee. Mmm, this doesn't sound like a good sign..

In all fairness, this short is no worse than Bird Came C.O.D., which is the truth. Chuck Jones' comic timing has a much more slicker and more appealing approach compared to previous cartoons where he is trying to be as successful with timing compared to the competence from Friz Freleng or Bob Clampett. Chuck's nailed it here, but from creating an all-round entertaining cartoon: he's not there yet. Chuck still isn't yet comfortable from breaking out from poor habits such as sequences that tend to drag, or incoherent gags; and also a heavy reliant on pantomime when it isn't really connecting. It's a starter for Chuck, but with a touch of comedy, a competent writer, and good characters: Chuck would be the great director we all would worship.

Rating: 2/5.