The Wearing of the Grin (1951) User Reviews

Very exciting and well worth a view

[Mightyzebra · 8/10 · 21 December 2008]

I have not watched all that many Looney Tunes cartoons where Porky is the main character (and he is accompanied by side characters), but I am starting to thoroughly enjoy them. Why more cartoons with Porky in the spotlight were not made is something that I cannot really understand, but in a way I guess that makes it all the more exciting to watch these kind of cartoons (ones where Porky is the main character). Here he is in Ireland(!) and is on his way to Dublin, when he realizes that it is: a) Late at night and b) That the rain is coming down in obvious torrents. Porky makes up his mind to stay in the "quaint little castle at the top of the hill" (yeah right) and makes his way up to ask for lodging. On the way he reads the sign "Beware of Leprechauns." If only Porky pays attention to the warning more carefully...

I very much enjoyed this cartoon for the Irish theme (I am partly Irish and anything with an Irish theme tends to excite me), which works very well. I also liked the leprechauns, who are mean characters but very likable. The other things I enjoyed about this cartoon was the randomness, the animation and the character of Porky. One of the reviewers here, magicunicorn, says this cartoon is not very exciting. I think his brain was not working properly. This is anything BUT not exciting. It's very exciting. :-)

I recommend this to people who like exciting cartoons (unless you find very odd stuff exciting), Ireland, Porky Pig and wacky cartoons. Enjoy "Wearing of the Grin"! :-)

8 and a half out of ten.

Chuck Jones' The Wearing of the Grin is a wonderfully whimsical Porky Pig cartoon

[tavm · 8/10 · 5 January 2008]

In The Wearing of the Grin, Porky is stuck in a haunted house in Ireland inhabited by a couple of leprechauns. They attempt to banish the pig to wearing green shoes because they think he's going to steal their pot-o-gold. Another very amusing short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The music here is not by Carl Stalling but Eugene Poddany who would eventually do the scores of Jones' cartoons for MGM. Loved the way Porky dances whenever he's wearing the shoes. Highly whimsical dream sequences also abound near the end. This is on disc 2 of Vol. 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection on DVD. If you're a big animation fan, I highly recommend you check that out.

"Leprechauns indeed! What nonsense!"

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 28 December 2014]

Porky Pig takes shelter from the rain inside an old Irish castle, despite a sign outside that warns "Beware of Leprechauns." Sure enough, there are leprechauns inside the castle. Two of them, to be exact. Believing Porky to be after their pot of gold, they make him wear a pair of magic green shoes that force the tired pig to keep dancing an Irish jig. It's a beautifully animated cartoon with lovely colors. Nice voicework and music. It's not hilarious but it is amusing and fun to watch. The visuals are amazing for such a slight cartoon, particularly after Porky puts on the shoes and has his freak-out. By the way, some remarks here about stereotyping with the leprechauns? Really, people? Has it really come to that?

Fun taken in the spirit it is intended

[bob the moo · 15 December 2003]

Caught in a rain storm while on his way to Dublin, Porky seeks refuge in an old castle despite warnings that it is inhabited by leprechauns. When he arrives seeking a room for the night, the two leprechauns assume that he is after their gold and decide to keep him away from it, one way or another.

I could get all up in arms about Irish stereotypes and so on, but who cares? If you ignore this rather crude image and take it in the affectionate spirit it was intended then this is quite funny. Porky does some good double takes when first discovering the identity of his hosts (especially when approached by one of the leprechauns who says `pardon me sir, but have ye seen the lower part of me about?' - had me rolling!).

The characters keep it amusing, even if the plot takes it places that don't totally work, but it is still quite funny and is different enough to hold it's own. One thing I didn't get was the way that the little fellas smoked their pipes upside down - is this the way it's meant to be done? Ah well, probably doesn't matter!

Any American who sets foot outside of the U.S. . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 5 January 2016]

. . . (without being part of an attacking Yankee military unit) is totally nuts, Warner Bros. warns us with THE WEARING OF THE GRIN, just one in a continuing series of world travel alerts Warner produced in the form of animated shorts. GRIN does for Ireland what MY BUNNY LIES OVER THE SEA did for Scotland. Porky Pig has thrown caution to the wind, and has reached suburban Dublin as GRIN opens. Expecting to enjoy the hospitality of a nearby castle as the Emerald Isle's notoriously rugged weather sets in, the trusting porker is struck down in a booby-trapped fortress entry way. Stunted bearded bozos then try to drown this stunned American tourist. Failing at that, the loony locals terrorize poor Porky out of his wits. (Water boarding may sound a tad harsh, but it pales in comparison to the Horrors of Involuntary Tap Dancing!) If director Eli Roth's GREEN INFERNO and HOSTEL flicks haven't been enough to make your impressionable youngsters swear off "study abroad" programs and other forms of foreign travel forever, show them Warner's THE WEARING OF THE GRIN and the many related Looney Tunes. (And if they're STILL hankering for dangerous adventures, you can suggest that they try to jog through the streets of North Charleston, SC, to find out if they'll be stoned, as I recently was there.)

Artwork And Dream-Like Visuals Elevate Story

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 25 February 2007]

It's pouring out and traveler Porky is looking for some refuge in the storm. He wonders if the people in "that quaint old castle" on top of the nearby hill will put him up for the night. En route, he sees a sign that says, "Beware of the Leprechauns." What nonsense, Porky thinks. Upon entering the castle, he meets "Seamus O'Toole," caretaker of the "Clarey Castle."

"Seamus" is really two leprechauns standing on top of the other. They are "O'Pat" and "O'Mike" and they think Porky has come to steal their pot of gold.

What happens after that, with the magical green shoes, is bizarre with dream-like sequences. There are some very cool visuals.

The artwork in here is just beautiful, start-to-finish. Most of these cartoons in the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" are restored to bold, bright colors and give the excellent artists who drew these animated short subjects their due.

Sure and tis Porky himself as has dealing with the wee folks in auld Eire

[llltdesq · 10/10 · 17 March 2001]

Top o' the mornin' to ye. The rest of the day to you as well. Young Porky, bound for Dublin in the rain, meets the Little Folk and has the harder part of it, to be sure. O'Pat and O'Mike make it a time he'll remember the length of his days, I'll be bound! Great dialogue, including one line I have to quote here or a banshee will haunt me: Sure and it's sight enough to set the heart crossways in ye! Tis a fine treat for all the children of Erin and those that are Irish only one day a year! Tis recommending it strongly, that I am!

A genuine oddity, attractive but not all that entertaining

[phantom_tollbooth · 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.

Back to Wackyland for Porky's final solo cartoon

[wilhelmurg · 9/10 · 17 March 2015]

This was the final solo cartoon starring Porky Pig, and fittingly, it is also one of his most surreal. The whole thing is a dream (or is it?) where Porky goes into the Daliesque world he inhabited in Bob Clampett's 1938 classic PORKY IN WACKYLAND, only with an Irish bent to it this time around. The short is also satirizing the Hans Christian Andersen story, THE RED SHOES, which had recently been adapted for the screen, in 1948, by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger when this cartoon went into production. The Leprechauns popped up later in the audience watching the basketball game in SPACE JAM. Porky would go on to be teamed with Daffy or Sylvester throughout the golden age, but never again as a solo performer.

this cartoon has the luck of the Irish

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 16 June 2005]

One stormy night, Porky Pig is hiking through the Irish countryside to Dublin, but it's still twelve miles. Then, he comes across a castle and decides to spend the night there. When he arrives, the owner warns him that no one has lived in this castle for hundreds of years except for...The Leprechauns. Needless to say, Porky doesn't believe this. But, he should have, especially since the Leprechauns are always worried about people coming after their Pot o'Gold which they will do literally anything to protect.

Okay, so I admit that associating Ireland with leprechauns is a stereotype that seems a little out of place, especially given the situation in Northern Ireland. But "The Wearing of the Grin" is rather harmless; just a funny amusement for children. A pure four-leaf clover it is, it is.

Visually imaginative and funny

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 20 May 2010]

The Wearing of the Grin is not a favourite by all means, but I liked it a lot. The animation is very good, with beautiful colouring, convincing character features and dream-like visual effects. The music as pretty much always is a delight as well, as are the sight gags(beware of the leprechauns was a good one). I for one enjoyed the climax, it was funny if a tad predictable, and the dialogue comes by thick and fast. The story is effective if slight, and the characters are good too. Porky is suitably timid here, but it is O Pat and O Mike who steal the show, they could be seen as stereotypical but they were funny, that's what mattered to me. And of course Mel Blanc is excellent. Overall, it is visually imaginative and definitely worth a look at least once. 9/10 Bethany Cox

"Is anybody home?......Is anybody home?......Anybody home?......Body home?......Home?"

[slymusic · 8 June 2009]

"The Wearing of the Grin", directed by Chuck Jones, is a wonderful Porky Pig cartoon. Porky seeks a room for the night and ends up inside a large castle occupied by two leprechauns who are not helpful in providing the hapless pig some rest.

Here are my favorite sequences from this cartoon (if you haven't yet seen it, don't read any further). The green shoes Porky is forced to wear cause him to dance a jig; when he removes the shoes, they chase him through a magnificent fantasy landscape (reminiscent of 1938's "Porky in Wackyland"). Watch how Porky reacts when he discovers that one of the leprechauns seems to have lost his lower half! The two leprechauns also hide a couple of surprises underneath their hats.

"The Wearing of the Grin" can be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 Disc 2, with an optional audio commentary by a very knowledgeable cartoon historian named Michael Barrier.

this short made me wear a grin

[movieman_kev · 23 November 2004]

Porky Pig looking to get out of the rain while in Ireland, stops in an old castle inhabited by the wee' people, don't ya know? They think he's after their pot o' gold, and so sentence him to were the Green shoes, it's at this point that the film takes a surreal tone. Does this film stereotype the Irish? Yup, but who cares, I'm Irish and it didn't bother me (when I first signed onto IMDb, I typoed my last name, but trust me I'm Irish with a capital O'). It was funny and when it comes down to it, that's all that matters. This cartoon is on Disk 2 of the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1" It also has an optional commentary as well as a small featurette.

My Grade: B+

Decent Short

[Michael_Elliott · 12 April 2009]

Wearing of the Grin, The (1951)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

It's a dark and stormy night so Porky Pig tries to get shelter inside a dark castle but he turns into a couple leprechauns who think he's there to steal their gold. This has never been one of my favorites and this latest viewing just affirmed that for me. The thought of Porky going up against a couple leprechauns should have made for some great entertainment but that's not the case here as we only get a couple small laughs. The whole gimmick of the two leprechauns coming together as one was an interesting idea but not enough is done with it. The same could be said about the joke dealing with the dancing shoes. Even Porky himself doesn't have too much to do. Considering it only runs 7-minutes you're going to stay entertained but there's so much better out there.