. . . in PORKY'S CAFE? The answer is a resounding YES!! Warner Bros.' crack Extreme Early Warning System for We Americans (of The Then) Far Future, aka Warner's Animated Shorts Seers division, have been about 83% more accurate overall in their prognostications about America's 21st Century Calamities, Catastrophes, Cataclysms, and Apocalypti than that so-called clairvoyant, Nostradamus, according to 92% of the Leading Futurology Experts surveyed. PORKY'S CAFE provides a perfect example of the predictive prowess we have come to expect from Warner's savants. A gluttonous customer enters the title eatery, ordering everything on the menu (and MORE!), and tucking it all away in his cavernous belly with single ill-mannered gulps. This uncouth ruffian will put every perceptive viewer in mind of Red Commie KGB Chief Vlad "The Mad Russian" Putin, who has installed his sock puppet into the once-hallowed U.S. White House to loot the American Treasury on behalf of the KGB Oligarchs, now that they've gotten away with stealing all the medals at the Sochi Olympics (see NIGHTLINE for August 9, 2017) and filching half of Russia's net worth (a whopping $1 TRILLION!). Sock Puppet-in-Chief Don Juan Rump is represented by the ineffectual Conrad Cat here, who spends this entire cartoon chasing after Barack Obama's Birth Certificate (symbolized by the elusive pancake with legs). Warner's ending to this fiasco is intended to remind We Patriotic True Blue Loyal Normal Average Progressive Union Label Americans that it's OUR Sacred Duty to FIGHT BACK!! and make sure Putin can't have his cake and eat it too!!
4 Reviews
Have the famed Looney Tunes Prophets provided much food for thought . . .
oscaralbert10 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
go on, have a meal
lee_eisenberg31 July 2019
For the first few years of his existence, Porky Pig got cast mainly in mundane roles (fireman, hunter, caveman). One of these was Chuck Jones's "Porky's Cafe", wherein he owns a cafe. The stuttering swine takes a customer's increasingly over-the-top orders, while Conrad Cat (who soon got a lead role in "Conrad the Sailor" with Daffy) sees his attempts to make pancakes foiled by a playful ant.
This year marked a turning point for Jones. His early cartoons were more like Disney cartoons: simple and often short on comedy. It seems like once the US entered WWII, Jones's works took a turn for the wacky, setting the stage for his later cartoons starring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner (as well as the ones starring Marvin the Martian).
Anyway, this is a neat short. The customer's orders reminded me of the restaurant scene in "L.A. Story".
This year marked a turning point for Jones. His early cartoons were more like Disney cartoons: simple and often short on comedy. It seems like once the US entered WWII, Jones's works took a turn for the wacky, setting the stage for his later cartoons starring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner (as well as the ones starring Marvin the Martian).
Anyway, this is a neat short. The customer's orders reminded me of the restaurant scene in "L.A. Story".
Best viewed in the original black and white version
llltdesq7 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I've seen both the original black and white version and the later, colorized, version and the shadings in the original version look much nicer than they do in the colorized one. I will discuss some details, so consider this a spoiler warning:
The cartoon starts off with Porky singing, "Start the Day Right" while Conrad the Cat is flipping pancakes. Porky spends much of the cartoon waiting on one rather odd little man who has some very strange orders. At one point, he orders a sandwich with everything on it but the kitchen sink and, after Porky has taken his order and leaves, the little guy says, "Hold the onions!", which is a semi-regular gag in Warner Brothers shorts.
Some very nice visual gags surround the preparation of the little man's orders, like a very "Rube Goldberg" type of device to prepare poached eggs on toast and a fairly predictable but still funny aftereffect when the little man eats his sandwich.
A sub-plot involving Conrad and an ant he manages to cook inside a pancake kind of slows the momentum down, but it's mildly amusing.
There's a beautiful end to this, which has a great bit with Porky in the last scene-look at him very closely as the camera pans up at the end, as it's hilarious! Excellent short which I hope to see on a future Looney Tunes Golden Collection (actually, I want to see everything wind up on the Golden Collection series at some point). Most recommended.
The cartoon starts off with Porky singing, "Start the Day Right" while Conrad the Cat is flipping pancakes. Porky spends much of the cartoon waiting on one rather odd little man who has some very strange orders. At one point, he orders a sandwich with everything on it but the kitchen sink and, after Porky has taken his order and leaves, the little guy says, "Hold the onions!", which is a semi-regular gag in Warner Brothers shorts.
Some very nice visual gags surround the preparation of the little man's orders, like a very "Rube Goldberg" type of device to prepare poached eggs on toast and a fairly predictable but still funny aftereffect when the little man eats his sandwich.
A sub-plot involving Conrad and an ant he manages to cook inside a pancake kind of slows the momentum down, but it's mildly amusing.
There's a beautiful end to this, which has a great bit with Porky in the last scene-look at him very closely as the camera pans up at the end, as it's hilarious! Excellent short which I hope to see on a future Looney Tunes Golden Collection (actually, I want to see everything wind up on the Golden Collection series at some point). Most recommended.
One cafe you'd want to go to
TheLittleSongbird6 September 2017
Love Looney Tunes, and while Porky is not one of my favourite Looney Tunes character, tending to fare better paired with stronger personalities (particularly Daffy Duck) than as a lead character (where he can be too much of a supporting character or outshone).
Porky does not feel like too much of a supporting character and he isn't outshined here. He is a very likable and amusing enough lead, and Conrad the Cat (in perhaps his best appearance of the few cartoons he appeared in) is a good partner. 'Porky's Cafe' is a great cartoon, but do agree that it looks better in black and white than in colour, the drawing in the black and white version is smoother and more natural, though the colour version looks lovely elsewhere. Also agree that, while admittedly entertaining, the ant/pancake subplot sags the momentum just a tad.
On the other hand, the animation is very good. The black and white is crisp and there is meticulous background detail and smooth character drawing.
Carl Stalling to me was always the best Warner Brothers/Looney Tunes composer as well as the most consistent. 'Porky's Cafe' is another example of consistent greatness, his music is lushly orchestration, cleverly synchronised, vibrant, characterful and not only fits and adds to the action but actually enhances it.
In terms of gags and the cool gadgets, they are clever and funny. Can't fault the voice acting at all.
All in all, great cartoon and one café you'd want to go to. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Porky does not feel like too much of a supporting character and he isn't outshined here. He is a very likable and amusing enough lead, and Conrad the Cat (in perhaps his best appearance of the few cartoons he appeared in) is a good partner. 'Porky's Cafe' is a great cartoon, but do agree that it looks better in black and white than in colour, the drawing in the black and white version is smoother and more natural, though the colour version looks lovely elsewhere. Also agree that, while admittedly entertaining, the ant/pancake subplot sags the momentum just a tad.
On the other hand, the animation is very good. The black and white is crisp and there is meticulous background detail and smooth character drawing.
Carl Stalling to me was always the best Warner Brothers/Looney Tunes composer as well as the most consistent. 'Porky's Cafe' is another example of consistent greatness, his music is lushly orchestration, cleverly synchronised, vibrant, characterful and not only fits and adds to the action but actually enhances it.
In terms of gags and the cool gadgets, they are clever and funny. Can't fault the voice acting at all.
All in all, great cartoon and one café you'd want to go to. 9/10 Bethany Cox
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