Porky Pig

Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators (particularly Bob Clampett) created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig. Even after he was supplanted by later characters, Porky continued to be popular with moviegoers and, more importantly, the Warners directors, who recast him in numerous everyman and sidekick roles.

Porky as sidekick

Porky's post at the pinnacle of the Warners' pantheon was short-lived however. In 1937, Avery pitted Porky against a plucky black duck who would soon be christened Daffy and would become the studio's biggest star (until replaced himself by Bugs Bunny). In fact, Friz Freleng would satirize this very phenomenon when he directed "You Ought To Be in Pictures" (1940). The film features up-and-comer Daffy convincing Porky to quit his job at Warner Bros. to find better-paying work elsewhere. In turn, Porky convinces studio head Leon Schlesinger to release him from his contract. After a highly unsuccessful foray into the real world, Porky returns happily to the studio that created him.

Related Topics:
1937 - Daffy - Bugs Bunny - You Ought To Be in Pictures - 1940 - Leon Schlesinger

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Porky always remained a sentimental favorite of the Warner directors. His mild-mannered nature and shy demeanor made him the perfect straight man for zanier characters such as Daffy Duck. He still starred in a few solo cartoons, as well, such as Frank Tashlin's "The Swooner Crooner" (1944). Other cartoons dumbed Porky down and cast him as a duck hunter after Daffy, largely paralleling the Elmer Fudd/Bugs Bunny pairings. Chuck Jones perfected the Porky-as-straightman scenarios, pairing the pig with Daffy Duck in a series of film parodies such as "Drip-along Daffy" (1951), "Deduce, You Say" (1956), and "Robin Hood Daffy" (1958). Jones also paired Porky with Sylvester in a series of cartoons in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in which Porky plays the curmudgeonly owner of the cat and remains clueless that Sylvester is constantly saving him from homicidal mice, space aliens, and other threats. Porky, of course, also kept his trademark line, "Th'-th'-th'-th'-th'-th'-that's All, Folks!" that became the signoff for many Looney Tunes cartoons. Prior to Porky's arrival, the line had often been spoken (without the stutter) by a cartoon court jester. Sometimes Bugs Bunny would also do the honors; in those closing segments, Bugs would munch on a carrot and say, "And dat's de end!" But Porky's closing line was so memorable that Mel Blanc's will provided for it to be carved on his own headstone.

Related Topics:
Straight man - Daffy Duck - Frank Tashlin - The Swooner Crooner - 1944 - Elmer Fudd - Bugs Bunny - Chuck Jones - Film - Drip-along Daffy - 1951 - Deduce, You Say - 1956 - Robin Hood Daffy - 1958 - Sylvester - 1940s - 1950s - Looney Tunes - Carrot - Mel Blanc

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