''Raw! Raw! Rooster!'' is a 1956 Warner Bros. ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American 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. ...

'' cartoon directed by

Robert McKimson Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DeP ...

. The cartoon was released on August 25, 1956, and features Foghorn Leghorn. The voices were performed by

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy r ...

and an uncredited

Daws Butler Charles Dawson Butler (November 16, 1916May 18, 1988) was an American voice actor. He worked mostly for the Hanna-Barbera animation production company where he originated the voices of many familiar characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry H ...

Plot

The opening shows Foghorn Leghorn lounging in the barnyard, being fanned and serenaded by several hens, when a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

arrives saying that his old college roommate,

Rhode Island Red The Rhode Island Red is an American breed of domestic chicken. It is the state bird of Rhode Island. It was developed there and in Massachusetts in the late nineteenth century, by cross-breeding birds of Oriental origin such as the Malay with ...

, will be paying him a visit. Red is voiced by

, and is a takeoff on

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

's "Loudmouth" character, Charlie Bratten ("Here's CHARLIE!!"). Foghorn decides that he had enough of "that loudmouth" Red in college, and puts up several signs and

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is ...

outside the barnyard fence to discourage Red from visiting. Meanwhile, Foghorn does not realize that the delivery man that brought the telegram is actually Red in disguise, so Red sees everything that Foghorn is trying to do to prevent his visit. Foghorn sees Red, who extends his arm for a handshake. Foghorn shakes hands and receives an electrical shock from an unseen joke buzzer in Red's hand. Red then pulls another joke by squirting Foghorn with a fake carnation on his lapel. Red sees the hens and tries to impress them by singing and playing a rendition of

Freddy the Freshman ''Freddy the Freshman'' is a 1932 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' animated short film, directed by Rudolph Ising. The short was released on February 20, 1932. Synopsis Raccoon coat-clad Freddy the Freshman, "the freshest kid in town" and a c ...

. Foghorn tries to get back at Red by rigging a camera with a boxing glove in it and asking the self-absorbed Red if he wants to have his picture taken. Red obliges, but Foghorn cannot get the glove to fire from the camera. Red then reverses positions with Foghorn and gets him to squeeze the shutter mechanism on the camera, which causes Foghorn to get punched by the glove. Foghorn then falls backwards into a hole that he dug and is hit on the head by a boulder, traps that were intended for Red. Foghorn breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

by looking at the viewer and saying: "I thought I had a sitting duck, but turned out he had a pigeon." Red then asks if Foghorn is going to take his picture and this time Foghorn gets behind the camera and points a double-barreled shotgun at Red, who puts his fingers into each barrel, causing the shotgun to backfire on Foghorn. Red is then seen walking with the hens outside of the barnyard and asks them if they want to see the "star halfback at Chicken Tech" in action. He asks Foghorn to replicate an old football play, the "23 Skidoo", which is a long pass. Unable to find a football, Red gets a

casaba melon The honeydew melon is one of the two main cultivar types in ''Cucumis melo'' Inodorus Group. It is characterized by the smooth rind and lack of musky odor. The other main type in the Inodorus Group is the wrinkle-rind casaba melon. Character ...

and hikes it to Foghorn, then goes out for a pass. While Red is waiting for the pass, Foghorn cuts an opening into the melon, lights a stick of

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germany, and patented in 1867. It rapidl ...

, and stuffs it in the melon before throwing it to Red. In the distance Red is seen catching the melon but quickly yells "punt formation" and kicks it back to Foghorn, who catches the melon right before it explodes. Foghorn then tries to get back at Red by challenging him to a game of golf, and sneakily replaces the golf balls with fake ones that are supposed to explode on impact. Foghorn gives Red a ball then runs into the distance with a flag stick. Instead of the ball exploding on impact, Red hits it right to Foghorn and the ball explodes when it lands. Feeling cheated that he has been victimized again, Foghorn runs back and takes one of the balls and tries to tee off. This time, the ball explodes on impact as it was supposed to before. Foghorn then finally figures out how to get rid of Red. He disguises himself (using the same costume that Red used in the opening scene) and delivers a fake telegram to Red saying that he must leave immediately to claim a large

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Of ...

. Red is anxious to leave but Foghorn stalls him, saying that Red can't leave without a gift. Foghorn then gives Red an "electric"

bowling ball A bowling ball is a hard spherical ball used to knock down bowling pins in the sport of bowling. Balls used in ten-pin bowling and American nine-pin bowling traditionally have holes for two fingers and the thumb. Balls used in five-pin bowl ...

with a clock attached to it (to tell Red when its time to bowl). The ball is really a time bomb, but Red does not realize it because he is in such a hurry. Red leaves as the bomb detonates, leaving Foghorn to finally getting his revenge on Red who returns and says to Foghorn: "With a friend like you, I'll never need an enemy."

Home media

''Raw! Raw! Rooster'' is available on '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6'', Disc 1.

References

Succession

{{Robert McKimson 1956 animated films 1956 short films 1956 films Looney Tunes shorts 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Films directed by Robert McKimson Films scored by Carl Stalling Films produced by Edward Selzer 1950s English-language films Foghorn Leghorn films