''Porky Pig's Feat'' is a 1943

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

animated cartoon Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

directed by

Frank Tashlin Frank Tashlin (born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, February 19, 1913 – May 5, 1972), also known as Tish Tash and Frank Tash, was an American animator, cartoonist, children's writer, illustrator, screenwriter, and film director. He was best kn ...

. It was released on July 17, 1943, and stars

Porky Pig Porky Pig is an animated character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created ma ...

and

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon fictional character, character created for Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American black duck, black ...

. Directed by

with musical direction by

Carl Stalling Carl William Stalling (November 10, 1891 – November 29, 1972) was an American composer, voice actor and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts produced by War ...

, and produced by

Leon Schlesinger Leon Schlesinger (May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949) was an American film producer who founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the Golden Age of American animation. He was a distant r ...

, the original release was black-and-white, though colorized versions were later produced.

Plot

The cartoon centers around Porky Pig and Daffy Duck's attempts to escape the Broken Arms Hotel manager without paying their bill (on which they are charged for every luxury, including breathing air, sunshine, and goodwill); they are trying to evade payment because Daffy lost all their money playing

craps Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, "street c ...

. Despite numerous methods to elude the hotel manager (using the elevator, throwing the manager down a large spiral staircase, knotting sheets and rappelling from a window, swinging from a window to a building across the street), he gets the upper hand every time and eventually locks them in a room, in shackles, where they will stay until they pay up. Winter arrives and Daffy is beginning to lose his sanity. Porky (who has written "Porky Loves

Petunia ''Petunia'' is genus of 20 species of flowering plants of South American origin. The popular flower of the same name derived its epithet from the French, which took the word ''petun'', meaning "tobacco," from a Tupi–Guarani language. A tende ...

" on the wall, and is keeping track of their incarceration with prison-style

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

) says, "Gosh, if

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

was only here." Daffy concurs and decides to call Bugs for advice, as the trickster is famous for being able to get out of seemingly inescapable situations. Once on the phone, Bugs asks Daffy if they have tried the various methods of escape which they did indeed try. Daffy replies "Yes" each time and adds, "We tried all those ways." The door to the next room opens and Bugs is seen in shackles. He says, "Ahh, don't work, do they?"

Reception

Animator Mark Mayerson writes, "Frank Tashlin had a very personal style of cartoon direction. He chose unusual camera angles and was never afraid to cut shots quickly for humorous effect. His characters were often posed in 'extreme' (exaggerated) positions, and these poses were held far longer than other directors would dare. Tashlin's direction is so flamboyant that it is as entertaining to watch as the characters. ''Porky Pig's Feat'' is fairly standard from a story standpoint, typical of Warner Bros. cartoons that pit characters against each other. It's how Tashlin tells this story that makes it so memorable."

Production

The title is a

play on words Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...

, referring to " pigs feet." This was the first Schlesinger cartoon directed by Tashlin after his return to the studio following a five-year absence for stints at the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

and

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

studios. It is also the only appearance of

, and final appearance of

, in a black-and-white cartoon. The cartoon was colorized in 1968 (just after

Seven Arts Productions Seven Arts Productions was a production company which made films for release by other studios. It was founded in 1957 by Eliot Hyman, Ray Stark, and Norman Katz. History Seven Arts' first film was ''The Gun Runners'', released by United Ar ...

, successor to

Guild Films A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

, to whom the black-and-white cartoon library had been sold some time before, acquired Warner Bros.) by having every other frame traced over onto a cel. Each redrawn cel was painted in color and then photographed over a colored reproduction of each original background. The cartoon was colorized again in 1990, this time with a computer adding color to a new print of the original black and white cartoon.

Music

''Porky Pig's Feat'' contains the first use of the music " Powerhouse" in a cartoon.Raymond Scott's Music in WB Cartoons, Official Raymond Scott site, RaymondScott.com
Composed by

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

, "Powerhouse" became iconic through its use in over forty Warner Bros. cartoons. " Blues in the Night" is heard after Daffy loses the rent money gambling in the elevator. "The Penguin", another Scott composition, can also be heard when Porky and Daffy run to the elevator with their bags.

Home media

The cartoon is one of several from WB to have fallen into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

. The cartoon appears on: * ''

Looney Tunes Golden Collection The ''Looney Tunes Golden Collection'' is a series of six four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Home Video, each containing about 60 ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' animated shorts. The series began on October 28, 2003, and ended on Octo ...

'', Volume 3 * '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3''

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

* ''Porky Pig 101''

References

External links

* * {{Bugs Bunny in animation 1943 films 1943 animated films 1943 short films 1940s American animated films 1940s animated short films Short films directed by Frank Tashlin Looney Tunes shorts American black-and-white films Animated films set in hotels Bugs Bunny films Daffy Duck films Porky Pig films Films scored by Carl Stalling Films produced by Leon Schlesinger