Porky's Poor Fish (1940)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Robert Clampett

Writer:

Melvin Millar (story)

Release Date:

27 April 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Short | Comedy

Plot:

Porky Pig owns a fish store and goes out to lunch. After a cat is not having much success with a mouse...

Plot Keywords:

Porky Pig | Looney Tunes | Miniaturization | Cat Versus Mouse | Electric Eel

Cast

Mel Blanc

...

Porky Pig / Cat / Whistling Mouse / Lunch Whistle / Turtle / Tuna (voice) (uncredited)

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Leon Schlesinger Studios

Quotes:

Porky Pig: B-Boy, when it comes to eatin', I'm a r-r-regular pig.

Movie Connections:

References Popeye the Sailor (1933)

Soundtrack:

I am Porky the Pig

Porky's second brush with the piscine world

If you've seen most of Porky Pig's early cartoons, you've probably observed that they mostly put him in a series of black and white Looney Tunes* portraying various walks of life: bullfighter, pilgrim, firefighter, etc. Most of these cartoons consisted of rather corny - but still really funny - spot gags and word jokes. Bob Clampett's "Porky's Poor Fish" is a prime example. The plot has a street cat sneaking into Porky's fish store with the aim of turning the piscine inhabitants into lunch, only to see them go all Rambo on him. But most of the cartoon has stuff like "Twenty Thousand Leaks Under the Ceiling" and "Tiny Shrimps with Giant Mussels".

I probably speak for most Looney Tunes fans when I say that Clampett's best cartoons made heavy use of his penchant for contortionism. Examples include the iron lung in "The Daffy Doc", the garbage can in "A Corny Concerto", and any scene in "Porky in Wackyland" and "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery". I suspect that this one was a place holder. But still, it provided its fair share of laughs during its few minutes. Worth seeing.

PS: the first time that Porky Pig had a run-in with fishes was in 1936's rare "Fish Tales", in which he goes fishing and dreams that the fishes try to cook him. In 1940, he also starred in "The Sour Puss", featuring a piscine who behaves like Daffy Duck.

*At this time, the Looney Tunes were filmed in black and white and usually featured stars Porky and Daffy, while the Merrie Melodies were filmed in color and usually featured miscellaneous characters. After the Looney Tunes went color, the series became indistinguishable except for the opening songs.