143. Porky's Moving Day (1936)

Title card courtesy of Dave Mackey.

Warner cartoon no. 142.
Release date: September 12, 1936.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Supervision: Jack King.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Series: Joe Dougherty (Porky Pig) and Elvia Allman (House owner).
Musical Score: Carl W. Stalling.
Animation: Paul Smith and Joe D'Igalo.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Porky and his assistant move items out of a house at peril as they work at Porky's moving service. They get nowhere with moving all of the items out on time before danger arrives.

This is the final cartoon to be directed (supervised) by Jack King who would leave Leon Schlesinger's to return to Disney to direct the new Donald Duck series; and was probably the best Donald director. Now the Schlesinger studios consists of three directors: Tashlin, Avery and Freleng - which is good since they're talented directors.

Our cartoon begins with Porky Pig's cart outside his service station that simply reads Porky's Moving Van. The musical score at the beginning is definitely Stalling as it's an improvement to what Spencer would do - make it a musical piece.

Porky is seen inside the service station having a snooze as he is sleeping on top of a cot resting on a pillow. There is a snoring gag that pops up as it shows Porky snoring in (the lamp and chest of draw) is forced forwards by Porky's snoring in; and as he snores out; the force of the snore pushes the chest of draw back as well as the oil lamp. This sequence is repeated quite a few times. An assistant to Porky -who appears to be a black person or even a chimp is sleeping on the cot as well; as he appears to be snoring in and snoring out pushing the bed down  the ground as his snoring causes the amount of weight into it.

Meanwhile at the edge of a cliff there is a very stormy sea  going on down there with very choppy waves as there is a house is built on the edge of the cliff. The owner of the house is a Clarabelle Cow type - Damn; why did Jack King like to use that type of character - and if that's weird - it's even more weird since Elvia Allman does the voice.

The waves then start to crash upwards as it forces the house to jump and crash back to the ground which is very dangerous for the cow owner. She shouts "Help!" as she's calling for help. Well; THAT won't help as she's going to need to phone for help. The house suddenly starts to rock as all the objects inside the house start to slide down one side. The cow house owner tries to push a table upwards to stop it from falling down. She does the same as she tries to push the stove away but it's proving to be useless. As the house is rocking sideways; the stove lands back to position as the house owner falls while holding onto it but slides back into the centre. The cow then picks up the phone shouting "Operator, operator - I want Bunyan" and I'm assuming she means American legend Paul Bunyan. The wire of the phone snaps and how can she still get access to who she's calling with no wire?!

The assistant to Porky Pig in the moving company service is still fast asleep but listens to the telephone wringing. He wakes up thinking somebody is going to pick a fight on him as he starts to aim his fighting positions. The animation is terrible as it's just poses (no full animation) and the movement is so unrealistic; it reminds me of 1970's Hanna-Barbera animation when they draw real humans.

Porky walks into the scene as he whacks his assistant in the head to control himself. He replies, "Okay, boss". Don't worry; he'll be repeating this all through the cartoon and that's all he says - which I guess is part of the joke since he's a lazy character but gets annoying of hearing it all the time. Huh? I don't mean to be mean but as it appears he's caricatured as a black person but also looks more like a chimp. Some might deny that it's a black stereotype - but I'm inclined to believe it's a chimp and I don't want to start confusing people or turn it controversial.

Porky picks up the phone as they speak to each other on the phone with Porky starting off with "Porky the mover [speaking]" and the cow replies as she is going chaotic and talking too fast with words acting very panicky. Porky ends the call with "We'll be right over".

Porky then calls his assistant, "C'mon Dopey; we got a job". So it turns out his assistant is called Dopey. Not the Dopey that we see in 'Snow White'. Dopey replies to him "Okay; boss". Lulu the ostrich makes her second appearance as she is parked outside with the moving van as Porky calls her to get ready. Porky gets Lulu to "giddy up" and before that the chimp Dopey says it's clear to go; "Okay; boss" - Man, King can make up many ways to make the repeated quotes work. Porky's moving van then starts to speed up very quickly as the animation of the moving van is pretty forceful as it moves in good speed. Perspective animation pops up again as the can spins around 360 degrees.

The lady houseowner then finally finds Porky and his assistant Dopey as she fastly nags at them to get everything out of the house. A funny scene sort of pops up but it involves repetition since Dopey hits the door and it appears to be everything he gets smacked or hit by an object he wants to pick a fight.

He rings the doorbell but accidentally whacks the cow house owner. The cow then whacks Dopey on the head with a mallet as he replies; - "Okay boss" and enters the door. Yep; we saw that comin!". The animation on that sequence is very rough and not fluid at all. Porky is throwing everything out of the windows of the house and into his moving van. The seas are still very choppy - but from the window angle I'm seeing - it looks like as though he's tossing all the items either on the boat with the choppy sea - or it appears to be a layout error.

Porky handles the difficult task to try and push the piano out of the way and I think he says to us audience; "Boy; this slow we'll never get out of here!" Porky then drops out a mattress out the window for the piano to land safely but at least realism is shown since the piano falls lower to the ground with piano marks around it. Oh, it turns out Porky is throwing the objects out the window just at the edge of the cliff not in the winter - Duh?! Who'd have thought of that?

 A bike then falls down the sloped living room as Porky bumps into it and is in position of the ride. As the house rocks again; the bike then starts to fall down and hits Dopey onto the floor. Porky stands back up ordering; "Hurry up Dopey, and snap out of it!" as Dopey replies - do I REALLY NEED TO SAY THIS?! We all what he is going to say - "Okay, boss" - my goodness it does annoy me everytime it's heard.

Dopey is up as he is trying to grab some items to take away into the moving van. Dopey being very slow-witted tries to tug the fireplace out but it is impossible since the fireplace is part of the house and not a property to the house owner.

Dopey continues on a couple of attempts to try and pull the fireplace out and luckily; to my astonishment he managed to pull it out 0_0. Attached to the fireplace is of course the chimney which he managed to bring out as well which I guess is a pretty funny gag since fireplaces are long as they reach the roof and Dopey being dim-witted is REALLY going to need to take that not knowing that it's part of the roof. The house is starting to collapse as a huge wave covers the entire screen as a piece of wood used to hold the house is finally removed and it's starting to collapse. Looks like Porky and Dopey need to hurry; and quick!

Porky starts to unroll the rug as he uses his feet to unroll most of it which reminds me of a circus act. The funny part is that the rug appears to be split in some parts as it travels door to door via corridor with not all of it rolled up. It's crazy I know but it works as it reminds me of what Avery would want to do.

While Porky is still rolling the rug up; Lulu the ostrich walks into the scene not knowing about the rug until she is caught rolled up inside the rug making these funny squawking noises as the rug rolls down the stairs. Porky rolls the rest of the rug at the bottom floor and boy it SURE is a long rug. Porky slams into the wall while the carpet rolls up and the ostrich is rolling all the way upstairs. The carpet continues to keep on rolling all the way back as it's very disastrous since it means Porky would have to go all the way back up again. The animation is very simplistic of Lulu the ostrich that I'd be willing to think it could be Paul Smith animation as Jerry Beck confirmed his trait in Warner Bros. cartoons.

Dopey is carrying out a group of tables in size stacked up (smallest to largest) and he is not careful as he drops them  one at a time as they form steps but as he tries to toss them out the window he spins around and doesn't bother to stack it up. Dopey is therefore standing around plucking his lip with his finger like a useless twat.

Dopey then starts to stack up a group of dishes as he tosses them inside a barrel where it he thinks the barrel has a end part to it at the bottom. But it turns out that the barrel has two holes on it as he it just going to do the difficult job of stacking the huge part of it as he walks out of the door.

 Meanwhile Lulu the ostrich is in the next room as she swallows an alarm clock as it brings inside her neck where it's visible. As soon as Dopey hears the alarm clock (just as he heard it earlier in the cartoon) he drops the entire dishes and cups as he prepares to fight another person. Boy so far; about about 5 minutes of watching this cartoon; I've come to hate that character.

A huge plate lands on his head as he shouts "Okay, boss" - thinking it was either Porky who whacked him on the head like he often does to him. Porky runs through the hallway trying to toss a table out the window but spins around numerous times as the table is caught on the door. Dopey is then starts to walk down holding what appears to be some type of harp; but the harp is also caught on the door as he is holding onto the strings that stretches pretty far as we are expected to see a gag pop up.

The gag does pop up since it shows that Dopey is pulled back by the strings in which Porky is whacked out of the door while attemping to pull a table off. Porky flies out of the window as he is holding onto the legs of the table that shows that the stools have stretched and it's exaggeration.

The funnel of the tugboat by the edge of the cliff them starts to produce smoke coming out as the smoke touches Porky's rear end although I would imagine it would be very hot if it touched Porky's ass but it doesn't appear to be that way which makes the gag not funny at all. Porky then flies back into the house as the stools of the table legs then start to go back into normal size and he bumps while landing back into the house.

The waves then start to rise very high again and this time it starts to go through the window which soaks Porky as he tries to swim to the window but he cannot make it.

While Porky is attempting to swim far off. All of the items that did belong to the Cow house owner then start to go inside the moving van as the job is done for Porky since throughout the entire cartoon it was just gags showing us their failures of dumping stuff out of the house.

After the water is all gone from the waves; Lulu the ostrich pops up with an alarm clock still in her neck as that damn Dopey character starts to try and pick a fight but Porky whacks him on the head in time by Porky. Dopey then says smoothly "Okay, boss" as he's done this all through the picture. Everytime Dopey gets hit by Porky or the cow - he gets what he deserves since he's such a lazy cow.

 Overall comments: That Porky Pig assistant character Dopey sure is an asshole and nothing but a chimp. That "Okay boss" line that is repeated over and over again is only probably funny once; or maybe twice but it just isn't funny to me. I know that King was using it for a joke to make him funny and dim-witted but he can't make funny dim-witted characters unlike in later cartoons directed by later directors who could make funny dim-witted voices. The animation was rather rough at times but I imagine this was the same animator assigned on that cartoon; but of course animation was crude back in the 1930s so this is no surprise but the animation here is cruder than what King did before.

This is Jack King's last cartoon for Warner Bros. as this will be a difference since Avery and Tashlin will be turning in with more great cartoons whilst Friz Freleng is showing signs of improvement with good cartoons but they're not great. Jack King's last short for Warner Bros. was probably a disappointing end to it as this is certainly not the best he's turned out. His best cartoon he directed in my opinion was A Cartoonist's Nightmare as it was just a good concept of a studio animator getting revenge from former villains. King also directed his best Buddy cartoon Buddy Lost's World where he goes on an expedition to a lost world. Don't be discouraged if King left without making great cartoons in that era - he would join Disney in 1936 become the best Donald Duck director there was. So it interests me on how his WB cartoons weren't great but his Disney productions were. I guess Warner Bros. was his experimental studio where he was still learning on being a director for cartoons.

137. Porky's Pet (1936)

Warner cartoon no. 136.
Release date: July 11, 1936.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Supervision: Jack King.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Joe Dougherty (Porky Pig).
Musical Score: Norman Spencer.
Animation: Cal Dalton and Sandy Walker.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Porky Pig and his pet ostrich, Lulu try to board a train but Porky plans on hiding Lulu in the train as birds are now allowed to board as passengers.

The first Porky cartoon to have "Porky" to have his name in the titles and it pretty much tells us that Porky is the permanent star character of the "Looney Tunes" for roughly five or six years when Bugs Bunny became the true star of the Looney Tunes that we all know of today.

The cartoon starts off with a goat-looking postman who is riding on his bike on the way to Porky's house. The goat then accidentally bumps his bike on the road on a part that looks like it needs reconstruction. The goat mail clerk cycling is probably a cycle but the bump scene is full animation but I wonder if it went back to cycle after that.

The goat postman cycling then makes a turning point by the house that Porky Pig lives in. The goat then makes a bump on the bike leaving him hitting the pavement before walking to the porch of Porky's house. The goat postman does a little merry dance before ringing the doorbell. That goat certainly needs to be aware of safety and considering that he hasn't got a helmet and could've cracked his head.

Porky Pig then walks up to his door in which the goat's hand reaches inside the door shouting "Telegram". Porky signs a cheque to the goat postman and the postman then leaves Porky's house.

Porky unfolds the envelope and reads what's inside. The telegram reads (as you can already see for yourself in the screen grab I've displayed) - Mr. Porky Pig - Can Use you and Lulu [Porky's pet ostrich] in my New Show $75 Week. Stop. Come New York at Once. J. Botts, Producer. Well the last part of the telegram certainly didn't seem like proper English other than a rushed letter. It's appeared to be that Porky and his pet ostrich Lulu are going to be stars for a new show (Broadway or roadshow? I dunno). Porky screams in delight "Whhooppee!" which means that Jack King definitely got influence from 'Gold Diggers of '49' in which Porky shouted it now. Hang on a minute; here is a quote from my "Gold Diggers" review I wrote:

Porky (again) shouts his annoying "Whoopee!" sound in which is the only carton we'll hear it (as far as I know)

Wow! What WAS I thinking when I wrote that down; although it's likely that I had forgotten about 'Porky's Pet' - well most of it that I couldn't remember the "Whoopies" by Porky but only in 'Gold Diggers of '49' since it's most famous of that use. Apologies for that error. I bet you'll be thinking - To err is unacceptable; to forgive is bullshit! ;-)

Porky then runs up the stairs to his bedroom where his pet ostrich Lulu with it's head inside a cage. Porky tells her the news, "Look Lulu, look" as he stutters it of course. Lulu is satisfied with the letter he received. I can't understand what Lulu the ostrich is saying but it appears to be some catchphrase that some dated actor/comedian around that time. Porky informs to Lulu that they're "gonna be big shots".

Lulu the ostrich then starts to rock the rocking chair in which Porky opens the cage to pull Lulu's head out and ties the rope around her neck. "Let's go" orders Porky as they run out of the house trying to catch a train. Porky runs down the stairs with Lulu sliding down the banister of the stairs but gets jabbed in the crotch from the knob of the stairs. The ostrich acts all kooky until it jumps off the stairs as the pair dash out of the house for the nearest train but the door slams on Lulu. Lulu squawks to get out of the house as Porky takes him out. Somehow; that ostrich reminds me of a prototype of Daffy Duck; they're both birds except they have huge differences; ducks can fly, ostriches are flightless; ducks are small and ostriches are huge; and the MOST important part is DAFFY IS A FRIGGIN DUCK! Although it's highly improbable that his was a prototype of Daffy since Avery is the creator but the ostrich has the kookiness of it but that's it.

Porky and Lulu arrive at the platform of the train station as the nearby train is coming by in which Porky and Lulu are trying to wave at the train to grab attention but fail. The incoming steam train has a lot of speed lines which is similar to 'Gold Diggers' when Beans'  car goes fast after pouring it with moonshine.

The train then streams past the train station in which the entire train station including Porky and Lulu spin around with these twisted speedlines. Porky who is feeling very weary then shouts "Stop!" in which he spins around carefully. Lulu the ostrich has her head dunked onto the hole on the wood - as the gag shows that ostriches do dunk their heads in the sand but instead it's on a plank of wood. Another train then arrives in which it makes a very bumpy stop.

Porky and Lulu then step inside the train as they try to buy to enter the train. The conductor on the train shouts "You can't bring no birds on this train" in which he tosses out Lulu the ostrich and Porky himself. The voice of the conductor is unknown but also heard in 'Country Mouse'  and 'A Cartoonist's Nightmare' but he voice however is unknown.

Porky thinks of a Plan B when whispering to Lulu in the ear of her going by the tracks while he boards the train in order to try and get her in without any of the crew members of the train noticing. Okay but that ostrich squawking is just annoying to me. Porky boards the train in which Lulu the ostrich follows
 

I do like that animation that shows the train tracks moving that has careful drawings; AC Gamer wouldn't have been at Warners already by then since he was the Studio's effects artist

?Lulu is then standing on the side of the tracks waiting for Porky to grab Lulu in the neck for her to arrive on the train. Porky already has his hand out in which he manages to grab Lulu in the neck on time. The animation of the neck stretching shows some pretty good, loose animation. The woman looks outside of her window probably rather terrified at an ostrich approaching the train but I wouldn't blame her - I hate ostriches.

Lulu the ostrich then starts to make squawking sounds which annoys Porky since all the passengers will find out about an ostrich (well they already knew from outside the window) but anyway the conductor of the train then. Porky Pig then insists on hiding Lulu the ostrich under the seat in which Porky is sitting on.

Porky starts to stutter to Lulu "Quick Lulu, before they see us"; as Porky is still pushing Lulu's behind under the seat until Lulu's neck and head pops out at the end of the cushion which I guess is meant to be a gag; but there's not enough weight in the animation to make the gag funny. This whole Porky pushing Lulu's behind with the head popping up is repeated a couple of times and the only way it's made funny is by Treg Brown's marvellous sounds of course. As Porky hears the bell; he sits down stuffing the ostrich's behind through the chair to try and not to make the conductor notice until Porky jumps out after being bitten by an ostrich. Boy if that was me doing that to the ostrich and being bitten I'd probably die of horror as I have a phobia over ostriches but not cartoon ones.

As Lulu's head is stuffed back down the cushion again; the ostrich then starts to peek under the seats being rather nosey and all. Lulu the ostrich then eats a hairpiece from a sleeping passenger of the train as she guzzles it down her throat with that funny guzzling sound effect. I do not know why but for some reason the close-up of the ostrich's face seems to have been drawn in a realistic form that is shown here.

Meanwhile we see what looks like a resemblance or Ham or Ex that is playing with a remote control toy plane. Lulu the ostrich is eager in looking at the look of the plane.

The ostrich's neck then starts to move while it's looking at the plane after it forms into a twist in the neck since the ostrich is spinning it's head around and around. Lulu the ostrich then starts to swallow the plane inside her neck in which starts to cause some type of crazy scene in which Lulu's neck starts to spin around until it flips around hitting the wall with some pretty loose stuff.

Lulu the ostrich then starts to walk around nosily again until he finds an accordion lying on a chair. Lulu then walks around with her neck going up and down with the accordion sounds heard. This wakes up the sleeping passengers on the train as they look at what Lulu is doing.

The ticket collector then walks into the coach asking for tickets as Porky is frightened to see him since it's the same person who picked the ostrich out. Porky now has to try and find a way to hide Lulu again instead of hiding her under the seat again. Porky grabs out a spare guitar case in which he stuffs Lulu inside. He manages to make Lulu swallow the accordion down her neck. Porky closes the case but Lulu's feathers are sticking out in which Porky grabs out a pair of scissors to cut them.

The ticket collector then walks up shouting "Tickets please, tickets please". The guitar case with Lulu inside there then starts to move squawking as the legs pops out and almost runs over the ticket collector while he was sitting on top of the guitar case. The ticket collector (probably conductor) then grabs Lulu by the neck and tosses her out of the window and does the same for Porky.

Porky and Lulu are already tossed out of the train but then they find a trolley car for them to go on and catch up with the train. They can't go anywhere since there is a cow mooing but Porky holds onto it's tail in which the ride for the cow to catch with the train arrives. The ticket collector is standing outside looking rather stunned to find that Porky and Lulu have already catch up with them with the running cow. I do wonder what Porky is exactly doing with the hand position since he's doing the peace time but backwards; it's like as though he's swearing.

Overall comments: It feels to me as though Jack King created a new pet character for Porky probably help boost his star position for the Looney Tunes in which the ostrich is kind of a screwball but it's pretty clear that the audience didn't care for the character as she was only used in this short and 'Porky's Moving Day'. Jack King probably only showed some improvement in his cartoon in terms of speed and such; but his humor hasn't been adapted very much although at least shows some improvement of gags; I guess. The animation wasn't very snappy at times but at least we got the knack to see some loose movement of the ostrich. There really isn't a whole lot to comment about in this cartoon at all since it's pretty much a lack luster but I think this cartoon tells us the point that Porky is the new star to the 'Looney Tunes' after it took him about a year for that to happen. Question is; I wouldn't understand why Porky Pig would want to have a pet ostrich.

135. Shanghaied Shipmates (1936)

Warner cartoon no. 134.
Release date: June 20, 1934.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Supervision: Jack King.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Billy Bletcher (Captain), Joe Dougherty (Porky Pig).
Musical Score: Norman Spencer.
Animation: Paul Smith and Joe D'Igalo.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Porky Pig and a group of drunkards are shanghaied by a tyrannical sea captain - and are met with harsh punishments at sea.


[REVISED: 13/11/2017].

Based on Warner Archive's exciting new release of the Porky Pig 101 set last month; I've experienced new insight and appreciation for the earliest Porky Pig cartoons. As the title promises, the set features the first 101 Porky Pig shorts - including every short of the character produced in black-and-white. For years, I've had colourised copies of several Porky shorts produced from that era, and the DVD set did justice to rekindle my interest and re-visit several cartoons.

One of those cartoons happen to be Shanghaied Shipmates - a very early Porky Pig, directed by James Patton King - otherwise better known as Jack King. King might not be a celebrated name in the Warner Bros. legacy in comparison to Chuck Jones or Tex Avery, but he certainly left a mark on its legacy - as he helped put Porky Pig in his place, alongside Tex and Friz Freleng.

By the time of the cartoon's release; the Beans gang were being quietly replaced, save one member, Porky. He had appeared in several independent cartoons directed by Tex Avery, namely Plane Dippy and The Blow Out. Whilst Porky was being "groomed" to become the studio's star - it was evident that the stuttering pig provided a lot more comic possibilities, that Beans or Oliver Owl couldn't do.

A number of Jack King's Warner cartoons were adventure-oriented, as he directed a handful like Buddy's Lost World or The Phantom Ship. This cartoon is also adventure-packed, as the characters sail at sea - under the scrutiny of a ruthless sea captain.

The premise of the short feels loosely inspired by MGM's 1935 historical hit, Mutiny on the Bounty - based on arguably the most well-known naval mutiny on the HMS Bounty in 1789. Charles Laughton's portrayal of Captain Bligh depicts a strict, tyrannical captain whose harsh punishments lead to the infamous mutiny. Although the film's portrayal of Bligh has been questioned historically - it worked fine from a cinematic story perspective.

Like the film, Porky and the shanghaied crew also overthrow the captain during its climax. It only alludes towards Mutiny in a small way. To begin with, the cartoon's villain is a standard villain - enhanced by Billy Bletcher's vocal performance.

Also, shanghai comedies weren't unheard of from that period. Laurel and Hardy appeared in one for the 1934 short, The Live Ghost - and Charlie Chaplin appeared some twenty years earlier in Shanghaied (1915) for Essanay Studios.

Jack King might not have inherited comedic traits like the freshly arrived Tex Avery, but there's no denying that he thought cinematically for his cartoons - whatever the results became. For the opening sequence, a mist effect is applied for the exterior scenes of a seaside town.

The effect is a little amateurish, as it looks like an overlay effect done by the camera department. It still remains a valiant effort of the restricted budgets King had to work under. The effect was used an effort to create a suspenseful atmosphere for the opening - and to introduce the sea captain.

We first see him pacing on deck; whilst his ship is docked. Norman Spencer provides a musical theme for the captain to capture his sinister nature - and it's heard frequently throughout the cartoon.  His assistant, Mr. Stew returns to captain, informing him frantically - "Aye side, captain! The crew's deserted the blinkin' ship!". 

And so, the pair decide to shanghai a group of drunken customers at the Ye Black Barnacle Tavern. Whilst, inside the tavern - King experiments, in one scene, a very unusual piece of staging that lasts a second on screen.

In one scene, the captain looks upwards at a drunken barfly - with his head facing backwards at the camera, and the camera panning vertically upwards to enhance the illusion. Frank Tashlin hadn't arrived yet at the studio, and it comes close to his unique ideas for composition. It's executed quite sloppily as far as continuity is concerned, but King deserves his dues for trying.

Once Tex Avery amazed and inspired the entire Schlesinger studio with his unique brand of humour and timing - it became clear Jack King couldn't match his originality and innovations that came pouring in. Jack King appears to try to keep up with Tex's style of humour that was gradually beginning to transform the cartoon studio.

Most of King's attempts however, end up being more conventional gags - that doesn't even match some of Tex's more weaker gags. In an earlier scene at the tavern, a goat uses a lot of his strength, by pulling a piece of rope from the table. The gag reveals that he's pulling a large pint of beer - which he consumes.

During the shanghai, the sea captain punches all of the barflies like cartwheels onto the ship. One barfly even grabs his hat, before he wheels away outside the tavern. Simple speedline effects are applied that was used more successfully in Avery's first WB short, Golddiggers of '49. Unfortunately, it's hampered by Jack King's lack of imagination and execution.

For the most part, a lot of the gags in this cartoon are relatively old-fashioned in concept. Whilst the crew are shanghaied at sea, Porky Pig is forced to scrub the deck; whilst the sea captain promenades along the deck. In an act of childish rebellion, Porky slides a bar of soap down the deck - causing the pompous captain to slip and hit the floor.

The timing and impact is very conservative as a gag; and King uses the captain's hat hitting his head as the only extra touch. Of course, cliched gags have been done endlessly afterwards - but in a more slicker and less conventional fashion. Jack King appears to be intimidated in experimenting.

Infuriated, the captain forces Porky to swallow the bar of soap as punishment! Porky begins hiccoughing bubbles in predictable fashion. He receives help from a shipmate; who pulls his tail, and releases the bar of soap like a catapult.

And so, the sea captain falls and slams, the same as the first time. Second time's a charm, I suppose. However, a shanghaied hippo laughs at the sea captain's humiliation. To indicate this review won't slate Jack King consistently - the hippo's punishment is more creative and amusing.

The captain has the shipmate's feet locked up in a pillory. He pours milked cream on both feet - and entices a black cat to torture the punished hippo, by licking the cream off its feet. Both characters laugh, but with different emotions! The captain's is more sinister, whilst the shipmate is laughing from his torture. The scene serves as an amusing and yet ironic take on the ruthless sea captain and his merciless torture devices.

For economic factors, Porky Pig's dialogue is kept to a minimal in this cartoon. For most of the cartoon, a lot of his appearances are served through pantomime - like Porky's little dancing scene at the tavern. Porky's lines are fairly straightforward, as he confronts the captains, and stutters: "Y-y-y-y-ou c-c-c-c-can't do this to me!", which is several times in the short. 

It was a decision also enforced by Tex Avery and Frank Tashlin, whilst Joe Dougherty provided Porky's voice. Recording sessions, in those days, were shot entirely on sound film - and Dougherty's uncontrollable stutter likely wasted a lot of valuable film. And not forgetting, lengthy recording sessions!

Potentially, it could've driven the cartoon budgets up, and likely their profits down! Unlike Porky's first appearance of a recital, heard in I Haven't Got a Hat, his dialogue was kept limited not long afterwards, until Mel Blanc became the most appropriate replacement for Dougherty.

During the mess hall sequence, King attempts to build suspense of the shipmates slowly reaching their breaking point - attributed by the captain's cruel nature. Whilst all the crew are seated; the gluttonous captain eats up all the juices of a chicken leg. He passes the bone over to the rest of the crew.

A few of them start to reach madness: one crew eats up his hat, whilst another slices the bone to pieces with his knife. The camera pans horizontally to each crew member - experiencing each of them suffer.

King's staging and camera work works well in observing the shipmates. The whole sequence is hampered by very weak drawing, and simplistic character animation that strikingly bears the work of Paul Smith.

Smith's work for Warner Bros. and Walter Lantz is very conservative and basic. His conception of movement is very simple, and a lot of his animation lacks subtleties - that esteemed animators like Bob McKimson or Virgil Ross were known for. Smith's animation during this sequence, results in a relatively straightforward sequence that doesn't bring richer qualities of the characters.

One week later, the crew grows more restless! They begin chanting and banging inside the mess halls - demanding food, after all their harsh treatment. The sea captain arrives, armed with pistols. And so, this results in a mutiny - as the crew fight the captain. 

Jack King applies a gag with a nice, subtle touch in a small scene. Porky is wrestling the captain's assistant, Mr. Stew. He points to his glasses, and takes them off - signalling "You wouldn't hit a little guy with glasses?"; and Porky resumes fighting. It's a nice gesture that sums up Mr. Stew's cowardice.

The action scenes for the mutiny are handled relatively well - with a great scene of Porky and his shipmates charging at the captain in perspective! The captain's attempt to hold off the crew with a cannon backfires, as he lands inside a gunpowder room. And so, the ship explodes into debris.

For the final scene, Porky and the crew finally have their way - as they sail on a raft. Porky is holding onto a whip; as a camera pan reveals the sea captain pulling the raft with a rope, as he swims!

Despite Jack King's lack of artistic innovations at Schlesinger's, I'd likely attribute that his efforts hadn't blossomed then. King had a more successful career as a director of Donald Duck cartoons at Disney - which he did well on! King was by no means a terrible director. He was certainly an ambitious one - as he took an adventurous perspective, and had an eye for unique composition. His timing and execution partly brings him down - especially by the arrival of Tex Avery, who represents such talents. As a standalone cartoon, it's fairly straightforward with an adventurous locale that would've been satisfying enough for 1936. Personally, I'd rather highlight King for his late 30s Donald Duck shorts. With Avery's rampant style taking the studio by storm; the cartoon begins to lose its place within the studio.

Rating: 2/5.