Porky's Party (1938) User Reviews

seriously, it was only once we entered WWII that Porky's cartoons really got clever

[lee_eisenberg · 6/10 · 19 November 2007]

If you've seen Porky Pig's cartoons during the first few years after he debuted, you may have noticed that they mostly cast him in various roles and situations: bullfighter, pilgrim, blacksmith. As far as I can tell, his only three cartoons during this era that had truly lasting significance were 1935's "I Haven't Got a Hat" (his debut), 1937's "Porky's Duck Hunt" (Daffy Duck's debut) and 1938's "Porky in Wackyland" (the ultimate exercise in zany surrealism). "Porky's Party" was one of the shorts where the Termite Terrace crowd came up with a routine situation and milked it, with rather childish results.

There certainly are some funny scenes. I couldn't have predicted the stuff with the hat in the guy's body. But seriously, the whole thing looks better on the storyboard (the DVD includes the original designs as an special feature). If they'd continued casting Porky in these kinds of roles, that would have quickly been all for him, folks. Fortunately, when we entered WWII, his really clever roles took off. During and immediately after the war, there were "My Favorite Duck", "Porky Pig's Feat", "Brother Brat", "Baby Bottleneck", "Kitty Kornered" and "Little Orphan Airedale". In the post-war years, he often was the foil to Daffy Duck's craziness.

Warner Bros. was the first to punish Japan . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 7/10 · 23 August 2016]

. . . for its treacherous Rape of Nanking, PORKY'S PARTY STORYBOARD REEL reveals. This 13-minute "Bonus Feature" on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 3, Disc 3 (2005) shows BOTH the Pre-Rape and Post-Rape versions of Uncle Pincus Pig's birthday gift note to nephew Porky, which the elder Missionary Pig has dispatched from Hotel Tapioca, Hong Kong. Though the Pre-Rape storyboard gift note refers to a miracle-working "Japanese Silkworm," the Post-Rape note actually shown in this cartoon's 1938 theatrical release deprives Japan of any credit for this Wonder Worm, simply referring to it as an "Oriental Silkworm." As America tries to retrieve all of its Gold Medal Swimmers and Rowers from the Sewage Troughs of Rio, one can only anticipate the next Summer Olympics--the 2020 Games of the 32nd Olympiad--in Tokyo, Japan, with total trepidation. Everyone knows that U.S. Pachyderm Party Congressman and World Record Miler Jim Ryun saw his Metric Mile Gold Medal dreams vanish when he caught diarrhea from the unsanitary conditions there back in 1964. Now that even more of the World War Two American Occupation Force has been withdrawn, things have gotten worse during the past five decades in terms of Japan back-sliding on the Basic Principles of Sanitation. I've heard recently that some public toilets in Japan do not even feature a reliable stock of bathroom tissue! Maybe Warner Bros. needs to do an animated short explaining WHY U.S. Olympians must always BYOTP to these Games!

There's a lyric that says "Shoe the Shoeless . . . "

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 13 August 2016]

. . . in one of the pop classics of the U.S. Bicentennial year, with a redundant opening line about Time slipping into the Future. The rockers who came up with this stuff seem to have been heavily influenced by Looney Tunes, particularly PORKY'S PARTY, the main theme of which is "Bra the Braless." Porky's Uncle Pincus sends America's favorite pig one silkworm from Hong Kong as a birthday present. Though this caterpillar can churn out nylons, bloomers, or top hats in mere seconds, his specialty seems to be brassieres. Since American Lingerie Pioneer Howard Hughes had yet to invent cantilevered, push-up, and rocket-cone boulder holders at the time PORKY'S PARTY hit the Big Screen, the many-hued melon-minders popping up here are of a kinder, gentler variety than Howard's future output. However, Warner Bros. was responding to an urgent need recently highlighted by National Geographic Magazine's photo spreads documenting the dangers of unbridled drooping among the naturalist ladies of developing nations. It was bad enough that America's own economy was sagging in the 1930s, Warner felt. Deflation was rampant, so it was up to America's Womenfolk to perk up their unemployed male peers with the Wonder of Silk.

Absolutely hilarious

[davew-5 · 10/10 · 14 January 2006]

There's not much logic or plot in this gem of a cartoon, but it is side-splittingly funny from start to finish. Bob Clampett was on top form here, squeezing the most absurd slapstick comedy out of every tiny detail. Porky Pig has a birthday party with his dog, a penguin and a goose (reminding me of the Dodo from "Porky in Wackyland") as the guests. He gets a silkworm as a gift from his uncle in Hong Kong. The greedy penguin accidentally swallows the silkworm, so top hats keep popping up inside the penguin, which the goose then tries to flatten with a mallet. Meanwhile the dog gets drunk on hair tonic. My favorite moment comes near the end where the penguin, running away from the dog, disguises himself as a hat-stand. It cracks me up every time I see it! Despite all the cartoon violence, all the guests keep smiling and have a great time -- with the exception of poor old Porky, of course.

This cartoon is included in The Looney Tunes Golden Collection volume 3.

An under-appreciated classic and one of the greatest early Porky Pig cartoons

[phantom_tollbooth · 10/10 · 3 November 2008]

Bob Clampett's 'Porky's Party' is a classic piece of inspired lunacy which was one of the director's earliest cartoons. Based on the innocent premise of Porky Pig having a party for his birthday, 'Porky's Party' goes off the rails the moment the guests arrive. As was often the case in these early cartoons, Porky is given star billing but does very little compared to the bonkers antics of a drunken dog, a goofy goose and a gluttonous penguin. Essentially plot less, 'Porky's Party' relies on great set pieces and the wild energy that is so unmistakably Clampett. There's a really strange and inspired bit in which the penguin tries to rid himself of a top hat that keeps popping up inside his body! The whole thing culminates in a wild chase and a hilarious climax in which Clampett stuffs tons of gags into literally a couple of seconds. An unforgettable cartoon that helped push forward the increasingly loony agenda of the Warner studio, 'Porky's Party' is one of the greatest of the early Porky Pig shorts and a personal favourite of my own which deserves a wider audience.

One of my favourites of the early Porky Pig cartoons

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 12 November 2012]

I do like Porky Pig. There are other Looney Tunes characters that are stronger leads than him(ie. Bugs, Daffy) but Porky is still a likable and quite endearing character all the same. Porky's Party is one of the best of his early cartoons, not only is it hilarious but it allows Porky to be part of the action rather than just be a bystander who appears every now and then. The dog and the penguin are great supporting characters, both of them have some really great gags, the dog with the alcohol/hare tonic and the razor and the penguin with the wild but very funny gag of the top hat propping up inside him and when he disguises himself as a hat-stand. The last minute or so is wild chaos and in that unmistakable Bob Clampett style, which I loved. There is even a bird/ostrich character who turns up briefly, but with a visual gag involving a sign that still makes its mark. The animation is crisp and colourful, and the music is full of that vibrant energy you'd expect from Looney Tunes. Mel Blanc's voice work is spot-on as well. It is true that there is not much of a plot but the humour, animation and interplay between the characters makes that not matter at all. 10/10 Bethany Cox

You Reap What You 'Sow' - For Little Kids Only

[ccthemovieman-1 · 4/10 · 8 May 2007]

Wow, what an unusual birthday present. While Porky is set to blow out the candles on his birthday cake, singing "Happy Birthday to me," he hears a knock on the door. It's a delivery man with a package, and a note which reads, "I'm sending you a genuine Oriental Silk Worm as a present. Lovingly yours, Uncle Pinkus Pig. P.S. When you want him to do his stuff, just say 'sew.'"

Porky tries saying that to the devilish-looking worm and the little thing instants sews a sock. The scene changes though Porky has to get ready for his supper guests. For some reason, he splashes hair tonic on himself. The dog tries it, slurps up the excess and then finds he loves the 99-percent alcohol liquid. In seconds, the dog is hammered. There are no segways in this cartoon, just one totally different scene after another, apparently. Porky mentions the word "so" a few times and the silkworm goes crazy knitting things everywhere. He gets in the birthday cake and a guest is suddenly finding clothing in the cake.

That premise sounded like this might be a fun cartoon, but it turned out to be very silly and geared more for little kids in the audience. The humor wasn't much more than third-grade mentality. Most of it involves the dog, "Black Fury," who re-enters the picture.

Recommended for little kids, but not adults.

"Happy Birthday Fat Boy!"

[slymusic · 18 April 2007]

"Porky's Party" is an excellent Porky Pig cartoon directed by the wackiest of all animation directors: Bob Clampett. Clampett gave his cartoons at Warner Bros. a great amount of youthful energy and a kind of craziness that is UNMATCHED, with "Porky's Party" certainly being no exception to the rule. The plot of this film can be summarized quite easily: Porky invites two of his friends over to his house for his birthday party, where they all undergo some hilarious misadventures. One of the causes of all the trouble is a mischievous silkworm that Porky receives as a birthday gift from his uncle. Accompanying all these wacky adventures is the wonderfully swinging music score by Carl Stalling.

My favorite scenes from "Porky's Party" include the following (but DON'T read any further until after you have seen this cartoon). Porky is absolutely hilarious at becoming embarrassed by all the feminine undergarments that the silkworm sews from underneath Porky's coat. Porky becomes no less hilarious upon spotting his dog Black Fury with exceptionally long hair and a mouth covered with shaving cream, after which Porky gyrates wildly in all directions while shouting, "Mad dog!" And the penguin, after having accidentally eaten the silkworm, just cannot prevent his own head from popping into a top hat; the ending of this cartoon features the wildest sight gag of all, in which the exasperated penguin becomes an unbelievable conglomeration of garments sewn by the silkworm!

"Porky's Party" can be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 Disc 3, with an additional audio commentary by contemporary animators John Kricfalusi and Eddie Fitzgerald, who are both huge fans of Bob Clampett. During the aforementioned scene of Porky with the undergarments, Fitzgerald simply cannot control his rather contagious laughter!