In the summer of 1989, one year after the huge success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a brand new cartoon short starring Roger (Tummy Trouble) was shown in theaters in front of Honey, I Shrunk the kids. This was actually quite a big deal and often credited for selling a lot of extra tickets for the Rick Moranis vehicle in a summer full of blockbusters. One year later, Disney did it again with another Roger short (Roller Coaster Rabbit) in front of the already high profile Dick Tracy. But hardly anybody went to see the third and last Roger Toon (Trail Mix-Up) at the cinemas when it was paired with 1993's A Far Off Place. A title I never even heard off until I read about it here on the IMDb.
Now I just found out that similarly, in 1997 Warner Brothers decided to make a brand new Looney Toons. However it didn't star any of their big name cartoon characters like Bugs, Daffy or even Tweety & Sylvester, instead they went with Foghorn Leghorn. And they put it out in front of one of the most forgettable and little known animated features ever made: Cats Don't Dance. At least they had the good sense to pair it with an animated feature. But I can't help but wonder if it was because of Foghorn's second class WB status that his first starring role in 32 years or the fact that they didn't have much faith in Cats Don't Dance (which didn't receive a big marketing push).
Still, I happen to like old Foggy Leghorn breakdown, voiced here by the infamous Frank Gorshin, who actually used to be known as a great impressionist and not just 'the guy who played the Riddler on TV'. Interestingly, our rooster is paired with Pete Puma, who hadn't had a big part since 1952, but was still being voiced by his original voice-giver: Stan Freberg. Well, unlike Leghorn's usual nemesis the Barnyard Dog, Pete doesn't stand a change. He's not exactly gifted in matters of the mind. Foghorn keeps pulling fast ones on poor old Pete, telling tall tales involving a Venezuelan Racing Chicken, an Irish Wrestling Chicken and even a Mongolian Disappearing Chicken. And Pete just keeps walking into everything. Therefore the gags all play out as one sided as the relationship between the characters: Foghorn tells Pete to do something and Pete falls for it.
However, the animation looks fine and everything from the character design to the art direction is very reminiscent of the classic Looney Toon style. Even Gorshin's voice sounds almost exactly like Mel Blanc's version of the big old rooster. But wait, what's this? I just found out that there was yet another new Foghorn Toon produced in 2003, but that one didn't even get a theatrical release. I say, must go and find it right away.
7 out of 10
Now I just found out that similarly, in 1997 Warner Brothers decided to make a brand new Looney Toons. However it didn't star any of their big name cartoon characters like Bugs, Daffy or even Tweety & Sylvester, instead they went with Foghorn Leghorn. And they put it out in front of one of the most forgettable and little known animated features ever made: Cats Don't Dance. At least they had the good sense to pair it with an animated feature. But I can't help but wonder if it was because of Foghorn's second class WB status that his first starring role in 32 years or the fact that they didn't have much faith in Cats Don't Dance (which didn't receive a big marketing push).
Still, I happen to like old Foggy Leghorn breakdown, voiced here by the infamous Frank Gorshin, who actually used to be known as a great impressionist and not just 'the guy who played the Riddler on TV'. Interestingly, our rooster is paired with Pete Puma, who hadn't had a big part since 1952, but was still being voiced by his original voice-giver: Stan Freberg. Well, unlike Leghorn's usual nemesis the Barnyard Dog, Pete doesn't stand a change. He's not exactly gifted in matters of the mind. Foghorn keeps pulling fast ones on poor old Pete, telling tall tales involving a Venezuelan Racing Chicken, an Irish Wrestling Chicken and even a Mongolian Disappearing Chicken. And Pete just keeps walking into everything. Therefore the gags all play out as one sided as the relationship between the characters: Foghorn tells Pete to do something and Pete falls for it.
However, the animation looks fine and everything from the character design to the art direction is very reminiscent of the classic Looney Toon style. Even Gorshin's voice sounds almost exactly like Mel Blanc's version of the big old rooster. But wait, what's this? I just found out that there was yet another new Foghorn Toon produced in 2003, but that one didn't even get a theatrical release. I say, must go and find it right away.
7 out of 10
