Leonard Maltin's description of Porky Pig on the back of a video release in the 1980s identified the cartoon world's most famous ham actor as "(not) as much an actor as a reactor." Of course, anyone who sees what sorts of individuals Porky has to confront can attest that the porker has little other choice. Chuck Jones's "Trap Happy Porky" works as an example. When some pesky mice keep Porky awake one night, he gets a cat to scare the obnoxious rodents out of the house. But sure enough, the felines become the new pests! And nothing's gonna stop them!
Most people will probably agree that Porky was funniest when facing off against Daffy Duck. But I see this cartoon as sort of a turning point for the stuttering swine. For much of Porky's first decade as a cartoon star, the Termite Terrace crowd cast him in very pedestrian roles trying to represent every part of life: farmer, bullfighter, even a pilgrim in one cartoon. But here we see him in his irascible form (with someone other than Daffy), the type of guy who seeks to deal with perceived irritations. Two years later, Jones cast Porky in "Little Orphan Airedale", his first teaming with intrusive canine Charlie Dog; I interpreted the cartoon as having the same gist as the Alan Bates movie "Le roi de coeurs" ("The King of Hearts"). A few years later, Jones started having Porky bring some order to Daffy's crazy miscast roles ("Drip-Along Daffy", "Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century"); this brought Porky to his full potential.
Anyway, this is a worthwhile cartoon.
Most people will probably agree that Porky was funniest when facing off against Daffy Duck. But I see this cartoon as sort of a turning point for the stuttering swine. For much of Porky's first decade as a cartoon star, the Termite Terrace crowd cast him in very pedestrian roles trying to represent every part of life: farmer, bullfighter, even a pilgrim in one cartoon. But here we see him in his irascible form (with someone other than Daffy), the type of guy who seeks to deal with perceived irritations. Two years later, Jones cast Porky in "Little Orphan Airedale", his first teaming with intrusive canine Charlie Dog; I interpreted the cartoon as having the same gist as the Alan Bates movie "Le roi de coeurs" ("The King of Hearts"). A few years later, Jones started having Porky bring some order to Daffy's crazy miscast roles ("Drip-Along Daffy", "Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century"); this brought Porky to his full potential.
Anyway, this is a worthwhile cartoon.