phantom_tollbooth Review of The Wearing of the Grin

The Wearing of the Grin (1951)

A genuine oddity, attractive but not all that entertaining

[5/10 · 18 August 2008]

Chuck Jones's 'The Wearing of the Grin' is a genuine oddity. While he would ultimately utilise Porky Pig brilliantly as Daffy Duck's sidekick in several genre spoofs, Jones seems here to be struggling to find a use for a character whose personality doesn't extend far beyond his stutter. 'The Wearing of the Grin' largely eschews gags in favour of a creepy atmosphere and a sense of the surreal. Caught in a storm, Porky seeks refuge in an old castle where he encounters a pair of Irish leprechauns. While the strange sense of otherness is well evoked, 'The Wearing of the Grin' fails to generate that much interest. This is due largely to the boring characters of the leprechaun antagonists. The short build to a brief surreal set piece in which Porky is pursued by a pair of shoes. This is undoubtedly the high point of the cartoon yet it falls short on inventiveness and is ultimately quite dry. This sense of disappointment is compounded by a predictable and unfunny climax. All in all, 'The Wearing of the Grin' is notable for its unusualness but has little else to recommend it.