Foghorn Leghorn agrees to babysit Widow Hen's troublesome son Junior but lives to regret it. An amusing Foghorn short with all of the laughs coming from the character of Junior, who is very obviously based on Red Sketon's "Mean Widdle Kid" character right down to stealing that character's catchphrase. I respectfully disagree with other reviewers that this is Foghorn's worst short but I agree it is far from his best. For the most part, I thought it was fun. This is mainly due to Mel Blanc's wonderful voice work. The animation is decent with nice, bright colors. The music is lively and upbeat. All of the gags are worth at least a chuckle.
5 Reviews
Mine your business
fayremead3 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Several cartoons in the long-running Foghorn Leghorn series gave the rooster a break from his rivalry with Barnyard Dawg. Of these, "The Slick Chick" was the last, and the least funny ... although one still gets the impression that the film was made by capable people.
Tedd Pierce's story is well-structured, but verbose. Widow Hen (obviously unaware of Foggy's earlier mishaps with other youngsters such as Henery Hawk and Little Egghead) lets Foggy babysit her mischievous son. Foggy scoffs at Mr. Cackle's warning that the boy is incorrigible, but changes his mind after falling from a balloon and striking a land mine. "I still say he's not a bad boy. He's the worst! Worst, that is!"
That's how the cartoon ends, and it's lame. McKimson and Pierce wanted to avoid a spanking-type ending (rather common in older cartoons), but their alternative was flat. The film needed to let Foggy deliver a clever punishment, or show the aftermath of such (picture the kid sitting on a white cushion which turns out to be an ice pack).
-Tony
Tedd Pierce's story is well-structured, but verbose. Widow Hen (obviously unaware of Foggy's earlier mishaps with other youngsters such as Henery Hawk and Little Egghead) lets Foggy babysit her mischievous son. Foggy scoffs at Mr. Cackle's warning that the boy is incorrigible, but changes his mind after falling from a balloon and striking a land mine. "I still say he's not a bad boy. He's the worst! Worst, that is!"
That's how the cartoon ends, and it's lame. McKimson and Pierce wanted to avoid a spanking-type ending (rather common in older cartoons), but their alternative was flat. The film needed to let Foggy deliver a clever punishment, or show the aftermath of such (picture the kid sitting on a white cushion which turns out to be an ice pack).
-Tony
Who could "a destructive little kid like me . . . "
oscaralbert13 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
. . . who makes "Dennis the Menace look like an angel" represent in the Pantheon of the always eponymous Warner Bros.' Threats to We Americans (of The Then) Far Future? As long-time Looney Tunes director "Mr. Jones" says during one of the "Behind the Tunes" episodes, these brief cartoons CANNOT be viewed in any other context than Current Events. Sometimes a "Merrie Melodie" may reflect a few thoughts about things of concern for contemporary audiences; that is, there more be portents of a danger in the offing in the Near Future. However, more often than not, these prophetic prognostications are aimed directly at US, as Warner's Gloomy Clairvoyants outline the threats with which we're dealing in These Troubled Times. Hence, throughout THE SLICK CHICK "Junior" is standing in for America's Buffoon-in-Chief, while the bloated "Foghorn Leghorn" (aka, "Foggy") clearly represents "The Menace's" so-called "base." These mindless miscreants are gambling way America's Future in a doomed attempt to address their pet peeves, as indicated when Junior gets Foghorn ranting about "Applejack" at the horse track toward the conclusion of THE SLICK CHICK. We can only hope that Warner is not correct in picturing a land mine as the "safe zone" awaiting all of us!
For me, Foghorn's weakest
TheLittleSongbird4 April 2013
This saddens me as I like Foghorn Leghorn and find his cartoons very entertaining. Is it among the worst of Looney Tunes? No, the likes of Devil's Feud Cake, Pre-Hysterical Hare and See Ya Later Gladiator are worse. But The Slick Chick was disappointing. Does it have good things? Oh yes, absolutely. The best assets were Mel Blanc's voice work and the music. Blanc, apart from Foghorn sounding more subdued than usual, is as exuberant and versatile as ever, while Milt Franklin's music(though not as good as Carl Stalling's) is beautifully orchestrated and rhythmically energetic, merging with the visuals very well. The animation is also decent, it has been more colourful before but it is beautifully drawn and detailed. Foghorn doesn't really shine in The Slick Chick, here he is the butt of the joke, which is against his persona as usually he's the craftier character, and the charmingly sharp wit doesn't come out. His chick counterpoint(Junior?), aptly likened to Dennis the Menace but worse, takes on the crafty role but manages to be both annoying and bland. He and Foghorn have none of the chemistry that Foghorn has with Barnyard Dog and Henery Hawke, and the only entertaining thing about him is how remarkably like Bugs he sounds. The story is predictable and the pacing is not as crisp as before, I felt that some of it dragged. And apart from the amusing delivery of Foghorn's final line the ending falls flat. And sadly, The Slick Chick is not very funny. The gags felt drawn out and tired, and while the dialogue has its moments like Cackle's description of Junior and Foghorn's final line it was lacking in freshness. All in all, has its moments but Foghorn's weakest cartoon. 4/10 Bethany Cox
All talk and no action
Chip_douglas20 March 2004
Right at the start, Foghorn Leghorn (Esq.) treats us to a rendition of the 'Camptown horses' that swings more than usual. Unfortunately, this is probably the high point of "The Slick Chick". Widow Hen is looking for someone to baby sit her little Junior, who, according to first choice Mr. Cackle, "makes Dennis the Menace look like an angel". Predictably Mr Leghorn offers to look after the little angel, so the Mrs. can be of to her hen party. Before long the little brat is blackmailing Foghorn about his horse gambling habits.
There are more new characters than usual in "The Slick Chick", most without purpose (old Mr. Cackle springs to mind), all with speaking parts. In fact, their beaks never stop yapping. Junior continually talks about hatching dirty schemes, leaving little time for the actual gags. We do get to see some parts of the farm we never saw before, like the barn with the cement mixer, but it is obvious they were cutting down on the costs of animation considerably. This gives the proceedings the feeling of a Hanna Barbera TV show. Only the laugh track is missing.
2 out of 10
There are more new characters than usual in "The Slick Chick", most without purpose (old Mr. Cackle springs to mind), all with speaking parts. In fact, their beaks never stop yapping. Junior continually talks about hatching dirty schemes, leaving little time for the actual gags. We do get to see some parts of the farm we never saw before, like the barn with the cement mixer, but it is obvious they were cutting down on the costs of animation considerably. This gives the proceedings the feeling of a Hanna Barbera TV show. Only the laugh track is missing.
2 out of 10
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