Tacodidra

After this year, we'll have had a full decade of the Looney Tunes! And what a year it is – as the success of the Looney Tunes and the Merrie Melodies grows, the two series release a combined total of 44 cartoons this year! For various reasons, this number would never be matched in the later years. The Lone Stranger and Porky Directed by Robert Clampett Porky is delivering gold when he gets robbed. Thankfully, the mysterious hero the Lone Stranger and his horse Silver are there to save the day (and pretty much relegate the pig to a side role). Given the director, you can expect the whole idea not to be played straight – there are many comedic scenes, parodying everything from Snow White to serials, and the characters interact with both the narrator and the audience. Clampett just doesn't disappoint or fail to surprise me! 9 Dog Gone Modern Directed by Charles Jones Two dogs enter an all-electric model home. They have a lot of trouble with the machines in the house, and a chase ensues, of course. An interesting cartoon – unusually for the series, the dog characters don't have any dialogue, instead just barking and growling like an ordinary dog. They're quite expressive, though, meaning that the comedy here is largely visual. It's much more fast-paced and comedic than Jones' first effort, already showing some signs of things to come. Enjoyable, but he'll naturally do a lot better later on. This short also features his first recurring characters – the dogs that are often referred to as the Curious Puppies. 8.5 It's an Ill Wind Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton Porky and the annoyingly talkative Dizzy Duck go fishing, but their plans are interrupted by a storm. They find shelter in an abandoned house, but there's a lot of chaos, as they think it's haunted due to a dog and turtle wreaking havoc there. An amusing and chaotic cartoon, not quite reaching the randomness and wackiness of a Clampett cartoon, but the characters' antics are still nice to watch. The crew seems to have kept trying out new co-stars for Porky, as Dizzy appears here just as much as he does. While he works well in his role, I still prefer last year's three (Daffy, Petunia and Gabby). 9 Hamateur Night Directed by Fred Avery It's amateur night at the Warmer Bros. Theater, with the best act being chosen after all the performances. The acts aren't well received by most of the audience, and there are also interruptions from Elmer singing "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" and a laughing hippo (the latter voiced by Avery himself). The idea is similar to the earlier "Into Your Dance" (and to a lesser extent, "I Love to Singa" and "A-Lad-in Bagdad"), but in this one, there are more gags and they're even funnier. The hippo is my favorite character here with his contagious laughter, though the disastrous performances are also very amusing! 10 Robinhood Makes Good Directed by Charles Jones Three squirrels read a book about Robin Hood and decide to play the characters. "Who's gonna be Robin Hood?" The big one, while the middle one is Little John, and the small one has to take the role of the villain they'll rob. But a fox notices the squirrels' game and pretends to be Maid Marian. "Robin Hood" and "Little John" go to save her, and soon the little squirrel has to save them! Jones' early efforts are often known as having been very cute, not having the comedy of his later shorts. This is one of those, being quite slow-moving at times. But at the same time, it's definitely not without its positives. I love the voice work here – Mel Blanc does a great job as always, and Berneice Hansell gives the squirrels an adorable voice. The animation and backgrounds are also really well done. 8 Porky's Tire Trouble Directed by Robert Clampett Porky is working at the Snappy Rubber Company, making car tires. No dogs are allowed in the factory, but Porky's pet Flat Foot Flookey sneaks in, causing a lot of chaos, especially after swallowing some rubberizing solution. I've heard Clampett was getting sick of doing nothing but Porky cartoons, and I think it's starting to show a little – Porky is officially the star here, but most of the cartoon seems to focus on the dog instead. An enjoyable cartoon with some good chase scenes, but not one of my absolute favorites. 8.5 Gold Rush Daze Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton A young dog is planning to go digging for gold. But the owner of the gas station he visits thinks it's not a good idea – he tells about his experiences and failures digging for gold essentially everywhere. After all the great shorts lately, I found this to be among the more underwhelming ones – the animation is good, as is the music, but the gags here are mostly rehashed. The gold digging theme was also something covered before (in "Gold Diggers of '49" back in 1935) and in a funnier way. 7 A Day at the Zoo Directed by Fred Avery It's feeding time at the Kalama Zoo, and we see the various animals there. Another spot gag cartoon with a lot of corny but amusing puns. There's also a running gag with Elmer teasing a lion despite both a sign and the narrator telling him not to do so. These kinds of cartoons pretty much disappeared from the series as time passed, but they're definitely fun in small doses! 9 Porky's Movie Mystery Directed by Robert Clampett A mysterious phantom is haunting the Warmer Bros. studio lot, and the police are desperate to find out who's responsible. Porky is called to the rescue... but this time he's not appearing as himself but as Japanese secret agent Mr. Motto. A strange cartoon – Porky portraying another character for the entirety of the cartoon is something new and an interesting concept, even if I'm not quite sure what to think about the Motto character (his ju jitsu skills are interesting, the stereotypical portrayal less so). The ending here might be the most random one I've seen in any of these cartoons. An interesting experiment that reminds me a little of a few Tashlin Porkys, but as a slightly less serious take. 8.5 Prest-O Change-O Directed by Charles Jones The Curious Puppies are back. This is very similar to "Dog Gone Modern", the difference being that after being chased by a dog catcher, the two dogs end up in magician Sham-Fu's house. Instead of machines, the magician's props are giving the dogs trouble this time, the small one struggling with a rope and the big one being pestered by a rabbit (the Bugs prototype from "Porky's Hare Hunt"). It's an entertaining short – not as good as the rabbit's debut, but the magic theme just manages to make it not feel too derivative of the previous Curious Puppies cartoon. A scene where the big dog puts the rabbit in a trunk, repeating the sequence with bigger trunks, is an early version of a gag Jones would use in some of his later cartoons to more impact. 8.5 Chicken Jitters Directed by Robert Clampett Porky has a poultry farm – there are many gags involving the chickens, as well as a newly hatched duck that ends up on the farm. A fox attacks and the duck is in danger! Besides the obvious "Porky's Poultry Plant", many of the chicken scenes remind me of... pretty much every cartoon so far that has had chickens in it! But with Clampett's involvement, there are some unexpected things here (the fox has a gun!) and the end gag is a good one. 8.5 Bars and Stripes Forever Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton A group of canine prisoners is trying to escape from Alcarazz prison (not the first time they've used this pun), and the warden seems to be quite naive at times. When one of them manages to do it, the police start chasing him. There are some nice comedic scenes here, like the escaping prisoner's musical number and a clever joke involving an electric chair. It's not an all-time classic, but it has its moments. I definitely prefer it to Hardaway and Dalton's previous one-shot with dog characters. 8.5 Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur Directed by Charles Jones And another color Merrie Melody with the lovable crazy duck! This short takes place in the prehistoric days, with Casper Caveman and his dinosaur Fido looking for food. They come across a duck – Daffy, of course! This is the first truly great short by Jones – Daffy comes up with more wacky ideas to outwit the hunter, the supporting characters are also amusing ones (especially the dinosaur), and there are many funny gags including a long sequence with signs and a fairly surprising ending! 9.5 Porky and Teabiscuit Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton Porky is told by his father (now named Phineas Pig) to take some feed to the race track for 11 dollars. He accidentally buys a nag called Teabiscuit with the money and then enters a race with it. The horse race theme is something we've seen multiple times in the series, even with Porky in "Milk and Money". While this doesn't quite match that one, it's still an entertaining entry. The best part here is Teabiscuit himself, a lot of character for a mostly non-anthropomorphic horse. 8.5 Thugs with Dirty Mugs Directed by Fred Avery The Killer and his gang rob all the banks, and police chief Flat-Foot Flanigan vows to catch him! Will he manage to do so before they rob Mrs. Lotta Jewels? This gangster movie parody (with the characters introduced as actors playing roles) features a lot of puns, fourth wall breaking and random jokes. As always, Avery manages to surprise the audience with these. Another one worth a watch! 9 Kristopher Kolumbus Jr. Directed by Robert Clampett Porky portrays the titular character who discovers America despite various setbacks, such as his crew abandoning him and an encounter with a sea serpent. Making Porky play various roles instead of just being himself is something Clampett appears to have tried multiple times to add variety to the series. This wacky take on Columbus includes some funny gags, but I feel it could have been even wilder. It's still an enjoyable one, and even playing a role, Porky feels more like himself here than he did in "Porky's Movie Mystery". 8.5 Naughty but Mice Directed by Charles Jones Sniffles the mouse has a cold (not really a surprise with that name). He sneaks into a drug store and things get weird. He gets drunk, makes friends with an electric shaver (makes more sense with the former in mind) and gets chased by a cat. This is quite slow-paced for the most part, which wasn't unusual for early Jones, and the design and animation style of the mouse wouldn't look out of place in a Disney cartoon (Sniffles' conversation with the shaver also feels like it might have been inspired by Donald Duck and the spring in "Clock Cleaners", though much friendlier). But there are a few animations of wild takes and other moments that are very much WB. A cute cartoon, probably the best one ever with an electric shaver character, but still not at the level of the Jones' later masterpieces. Still an important step for him – out of his early characters, Sniffles was the most successful, appearing in several cartoons and also becoming one of the stars in the Looney Tunes comics alongside an original character called Mary Jane. 8 Believe It or Else Directed by Fred Avery In a parody of "Believe It or Not", we get to see unusual people, events, new developments in science, optical illusions... Elmer doesn't believe any of it, though. Another spot gag cartoon with puns and other jokes, though Avery has done even better ones before. Still some fun moments here, especially the end scene. 8 Polar Pals Directed by Robert Clampett On the North Pole, Porky and his animal friends are having fun, dancing and playing along to the catchy tune "Let's Rub Noses (Like the Eskimoses)". But then the fun is ruined by fur trapper I. Killem who tries to shoot the animals, and it's up to Porky to save the day. With all the animals, this is surprisingly cute for a Clampett cartoon, but of course we get the more typical gags (many of them ice-related) and fast-paced chase sequences too. I can't help but love the corny pun of an "ice-bestos" curtain! One of the best recent Porkys. 9.5 Hobo Gadget Band Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton Hobos board a train and play music, only to get kicked out. As the Junktown Gadget Band, they then participate in an audition for a radio station. This reminds me of the Merrie Melodies from a couple of years ago with its emphasis on music over comedy (though there are a couple of amusing jokes) or significant plot developments. The music is indeed good and the ending is a nice one, otherwise it's a bit mediocre for the time. 7.5 Scalp Trouble Directed by Robert Clampett General Daffy is commanding his troops. After struggling to wake up Porky, they defend the army post from an Indian attack. The subject matter is again quite dated. That aside, the cartoon is another good Clampett entry with fast-paced and wacky fighting scenes. Things get especially wild after Daffy accidentally swallows some ammunition! 9 Old Glory Directed by Charles Jones One of the most unusual cartoons in the series in that it's a completely serious short without a single joke in it. It's also the first time since his debut that Porky has appeared in a Merrie Melody and therefore a color cartoon. Portrayed here as a kid, Porky is struggling to learn the Pledge of Allegiance and wonders why he needs to do that. He falls asleep and meets Uncle Sam who tells him about American history. As the threat of a war was looming (and these fears would soon come true), this patriotic cartoon must have had a big impact on the audience. More than eight decades later and not being American, I don't really get the whole experience here, but I still think it's an effective cartoon with its visuals (realistic, at times rotoscoped animation for Uncle Sam and the Founding Fathers) and message. This isn't really what I expect from the series, but as a one-off, I think it succeeds in what it's trying to do. 8 Dangerous Dan McFoo Directed by Fred Avery The story of the shooting of Dan McFoo. A stranger comes to the saloon and sets his eyes on Dan's beautiful girlfriend Sue. The two dogs proceed to fight, complete with a boxing announcer. Some of the gags in this would have stood out more at the time and have since become more common, such as when the fight gets slowed down and paused. The characters are entertaining, Sue does the Katharine Hepburn impersonation Avery seems to have liked a lot (having used it before in "Little Red Walking Hood"). But what's more notable is Dan's voice – Arthur Q. Bryan gives him the exact same voice, speech impediment included, that would soon be given to Elmer Fudd. These are the interesting things that you'll notice when going through these chronologically! 9 Porky's Picnic Directed by Robert Clampett Petunia Pig returns! Porky goes on a picnic with her, an annoying kid (Pinky from "Porky's Naughty Nephew") comes along, and Petunia and Pinky almost get hit by a train. Sounds just like the 1933 disaster "Buddy's Day Out"! Thankfully, this cartoon is a lot better. There are actual gags in this one, the characters are better (Petunia is actually sweet in this one, unlike in the Tashlin cartoons), and there's a satisfying ending after all the trouble the brat puts our heroes in. Petunia gets a new design (though it was already seen very quickly in a picture on Porky's wall in "Scalp Trouble") which would be used in all of her subsequent appearances, including the Looney Tunes comics. 8.5 Snowman's Land Directed by Charles Jones The "Northeast Dismounted Police" (all of them dogs) want to catch the dangerous outlaw Dirty Pierre, the "Scourge of the North". As everyone else quickly runs away, a goofy Mountie has to "volunteer" to catch the criminal. His incompetence makes the task quite difficult. Fairly ordinary comedy cartoon, but still enjoyable to watch even if it isn't the most memorable one. 8 Wise Quacks Directed by Robert Clampett Mr. and Mrs. Daffy Duck get new hatchlings, and Daffy's longtime friend Porky comes to visit him. One of the hatchlings gets captured by an eagle, and it's up to a drunken Daffy to save it. I loved this one – Daffy is especially fun here, with Mel Blanc's great performance (he could do a hilarious drunken voice). The ending is a particularly hilarious one! Daffy gets a new design here, adding a gray highlight to his face, but this design change would be reverted soon. 10 Hare-um Scare-um Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton Frustrated with rising meat prices, John Sourpuss goes hunting with his dog and comes across a rabbit. The rabbit proves to be too crazy and cunning for the two. Now even called 'Bugs' Bunny (from Hardaway's nickname – note the apostrophes) in promotional material, he is redesigned as a gray rabbit closer to what we'd see later on. The personality is still very close to that of Daffy Duck (and some parts of this short resemble the Hardaway-written "Daffy Duck & Egghead", including another crazy song and the ending), but we get more aspects of the familiar Bugs – the "Guess who" scene would be reused later, and this is the first time he wears a costume (of a girl dog) to fool another character. This is a short of such historical importance in the series that it's hard to look at it outside that context, but I'd definitely count it as one of the best of its era. For unknown reasons, this cartoon had the last 30 seconds cut out before its original release, but thankfully it's since been restored to its original intended length. 10 Detouring America Directed by Fred Avery Another Avery spot gag cartoon, this time showing us many of the U.S. states and their people, animals and nature. The highlight is the "human fly", climbing the Empire State Building. Not the best cartoon of its kind, but still an entertaining watch with its typical puns and comedic reactions. Also very impressive visually, especially the background pans. It truly made an impact at the time – it gave the studio an Oscar nomination (their first since 1931), but lost to Disney's "The Ugly Duckling". The Academy sure had a diverse taste then, as those two films couldn't have been much more different from each other! 8.5 Little Brother Rat Directed by Charles Jones The mice are having a scavenger hunt, and after getting a cat's whisker, Sniffles only needs an owl's egg to win. He goes to get one, but the father owl stops him. He goes there again, only for the owlet to hatch, and while attempting to bring the egg to the party, Sniffles and the owl get chased by a cat! This is an improvement over the first Sniffles cartoon – like its predecessor, it's very cute, but with the addition of better characters (as much as I liked the shaver, the owls are more defined and believable as characters), and Sniffles himself having more personality, including a new catchphrase of "Gee willikers". It might slightly resemble the output of that studio with the other mouse, but I don't think it suffers at all in comparison. 9 Porky's Hotel Directed by Robert Clampett Porky owns a hotel and gets a customer – an angry goat called Mr. Gouty. This character reminds me slightly of Gabby Goat (possibly a relative?), but there's also a Gabby in this cartoon – a duck that's very similar to Dizzy from "It's an Ill Wind". Chaotic antics ensue, as Gabby gets annoyed by a fly, and the goat gets caught up in the whole thing. An entertaining short with some good gags, though Porky himself doesn't appear much. Some nice WB cartoon nostalgia too, as "Honeymoon Hotel" from the 1934 cartoon is heard with new lyrics. 8.5 Sioux Me Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton There's been a long drought in the Indian reservation in Hangnail, Oklahoma. Rainmaker J.Q. Drizzlepuss has to make things better with his rain dance, or else... Thankfully, a doctor arrives to save the day with his weather pills, including the much needed rain pill! A little boy gets the pills. But the rainmaker throws them away, angry that he didn't bring the water he was supposed to get, and they get eaten by animals, as well as some people. A shamefully obvious rip-off of the earlier "Porky the Rain-Maker", to the point I was able to copy and paste the plot outline for that one here without changing much more than the character names. That cartoon was such an enjoyable one that even an inferior remake has some appeal left to it. The ending is a new one and quite funny, but otherwise I'd just go for the original. 7 Land of the Midnight Fun Directed by Fred Avery In this travelogue, people go to Alaska on the S.S. Wrecks. After some ship-related gags, we see some about the Alaskan people and nature. This is another fun watch – these kinds of cartoons with the charmingly corny puns appear to have been very popular at the time. Despite some jokes having been recycled from earlier cartoons, I like how all of these take place in very different settings. 8.5 Jeepers Creepers Directed by Robert Clampett Policeman Porky has to investigate a deserted house that's suspected to have a ghost in it. Once he enters, the ghost starts playing pranks on him. Entertaining short – the highlight for me was the mischievous ghost character with his supernatural abilities and funny voice. The audio is great in general – Mel Blanc is brilliant as Porky, there are many fittingly creepy sounds, and the catchy title song is heard sung by the ghost. The rest of the short is very enjoyable too – we get the usual Clampett wildness with some horror influences mixed in. 9.5 Naughty Neighbors Directed by Robert Clampett After a long feud between the Martins and the McCoys, leaders Petunia and Porky sign a non-aggression pact. But despite the two pigs being in love, the families' animals seem to want to continue fighting. Fittingly for the plot, there are two very different kinds of scenes. The animals keep fighting in comedic ways, while the scenes with Porky and Petunia are very cute. Their duet of "Would You Like Take a Walk" (with changed lyrics, much better than the original!) is definitely the most memorable part of this cartoon – the same song is also used to comic effect in the fight scenes. The ending is quite a daring one for the time! Sadly, Petunia (definitely one of my favorite female characters in the series) would never appear in another classic era short after this one. But like some other dropped characters, she would live on in the Looney Tunes comics for many more years. 8.5 The Little Lion Hunter Directed by Charles Jones Yet again, Jones introduces potential new stars! Young African native Inki is hunting various animals (including the mysterious Minah Bird) but doesn't succeed at catching them. He then comes across a lion and tries his best to get away from the beast. For an African character in the 30s, I think a much worse job could have been done – Inki is quite likable, even if he doesn't completely avoid the stereotypes of the time. The Minah Bird steals the show here, though – the nonchalant bird walking and hopping to the tune of Mendelssohn's "The Hebrides" was used as a running gag of sorts. A chase cartoon with no dialogue and the timing of animation to classical music are both something Jones would do much better later on, but despite being nowhere near that quality, this one still has some appeal of its own, especially with some expressive animation. 8 The Good Egg Directed by Charles Jones All the chickens in the henhouse have new hatchlings, except for one. Depressed, she plans to drown herself but finds an egg on the beach. The egg hatches, and it's a turtle, but the mother hen raises him as a chick. The other chicks bully the turtle and don't let him join them on their sailing trip – one that ends up going very wrong! A cute short, though also a very sad one at times. The little turtle is easily my favorite character here, and I found the ending quite an emotional one. Maybe not your typical WB cartoon, but I certainly enjoyed this one. 9 Pied Piper Porky Directed by Robert Clampett Porky is the Pied Piper of Hamelin and rids the town of rats. This theme is soon swept aside, though – after failing to lure out one mouse with his horn, Porky decides to use a more traditional mouse trap (a cat) instead, and the rest of the cartoon focuses on that. There are some entertaining jokes here, like the cat being afraid of the mouse, and the highlight being the ending. But despite this being a fun enough watch, I think both the director and the character have had much better entries before. 8 Fresh Fish Directed by Fred Avery Professor Mackerel Fishface is trying to catch the rare Whim Wham whistling shark. Meanwhile, we see gags involving various different fish. A running gag features a two-headed fish who's looking for Mr. Ripley, to the annoyance of the narrator. Out of these spot gag cartoons, I'd say this is an average one – entertaining but not quite matching "A Day at the Zoo", for example (maybe the wider variety of animals there also played a part). But in any case, I enjoyed watching these punny fish. 8.5 Fagin's Freshman Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton Blackie the kitten doesn't want to sing childish songs with his mother and siblings, preferring listening to crime shows. After he's sent to his room without supper, he has a nightmare where he's at school being taught how to commit crimes by Fagin, and they soon end up in a shootout with the police. Hardaway and Dalton's output has been a bit of a mixed bag – some very good cartoons, while others are less remarkable. This is in the latter group: while the characters are reasonably entertaining (the criminal Fagin being my favorite one), the predictable ending and moral feel too saccharine. Maybe it would have worked better if Blackie had committed actual petty crimes instead of just preferring exciting radio shows to sickeningly sweet kids' songs (the extremely annoying "Three Little Kittens" which isn't even played for laughs here). Enjoyable cartoon in parts, but others made me feel just like Blackie did in the cartoon itself. 7 Porky the Giant Killer Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton Everyone in town is going to slay the giant living in a castle. Porky joins them, armed with a table leg. When the giant wakes up, everyone quickly runs away, except for the pig who ends up getting locked inside the castle. To make matters worse, he accidentally wakes up the giant's baby. Now he has to make sure he doesn't make too much noise to wake up the father. This is another enjoyable Porky short – the characters all have quite a bit of personality, though I'm not sure why everyone is insistent on killing the giant (he seems like a pretty decent guy, at least when people don't trespass on his property). This one differs from most of the previous shorts by not having a happy ending, but I think the crew manages to make it funny this time, unlike the injustice Porky faced in "Porky's Super Service". 8.5 Sniffles and the Bookworm Directed by Charles Jones A variation on the familiar "books come to life" theme. Sniffles is safe from cold weather in a bookstore. The bookworm (who would become a recurring character in the series) is scared of the visitor and asks a couple of book characters for help in dealing with him. Once they realize the mouse isn't dangerous, they all perform a musical number ("Mutiny in the Nursery") until a real danger pops up. The song performance is good, but ignoring the fact Sniffles didn't exist before 1939, this feels like a cartoon from a few years earlier and not necessarily in a good way. Despite the usual beautiful animation, this is definitely the weakest of the three Sniffles shorts so far. 7 Screwball Football Directed by Fred Avery It's the biggest football game of the year! As you can guess from the title, the game is a very crazy one, with a lot of visual gags and wordplay. There's also a running gag with a baby licking an ice cream cone while the man sitting next to him is also trying to lick it. The best football cartoon yet, as well as one of the best sports-related ones in general, though obviously the humor eclipses the sport itself here. Special mentions to the music (one of the best of the many uses of John F. Barth's "Frat" in these cartoons) and the great ending. 9 The Film Fan Directed by Robert Clampett Porky is supposed to get some groceries for his mother, but when he notices a movie screening with kids admitted free (his age seems to be changing a lot!), he goes to see it. In the style of "Bosko's Picture Show", "She Was an Acrobat's Daughter" and such, we see comedic newsreels and trailers for movies. Another Porky short where the focus isn't really on him, and fairly derivative of several earlier shorts, but we still get some fun gags like a dog wanting to see a movie about trees. Amusing for sure but not one of Clampett's masterpieces. 8 The Curious Puppy Directed by Charles Jones Or two curious puppies, as they return for their third appearance in the same year. A dog sneaks into a closed amusement park and accidentally turns on the master switch. After that, he gets chased by a watch dog through some of the rides. This is another mildly comedic entry with the two dogs' various antics, though I think more could have been done with the amusement park idea – we don't get a roller coaster scene, for example, and the house of mirrors could have provided even more gags than what was done. Some fun here, but I feel these puppies have pretty much given all they can already. 8 A short animated clip featuring Porky was also made for a Warner Bros. blooper reel (of course the company's biggest cartoon star had to appear in addition to all the live-action stars), with variations appearing throughout it. It is believed to have been made by the Hardaway and Dalton unit. Breakdowns of 1939 Yes, this is the famous clip of Porky trying to hammer a nail and accidentally hitting his thumb, then swearing. I bet it got an amazing reception from the people watching the reel back then, and now that it's available to the general public, everyone seems to get a kick out of it. It's also definitely one of the first times (if not the very first) an "outtake" of a cartoon character was created, something that's quite common in today's animated movies. The rating might feel a bit high for less than 20 seconds of animation, but what can I do – it's simply an iconic sequence! 10 The Schlesinger studio also created animated sequences for two live-action films this year. I haven't been able to find the one made by Hardaway and Dalton for the MGM short "How to Eat", but apparently the whole sequence was just 15 seconds long, so I doubt I'm missing out on much. The other one was for Republic Pictures' "She Married a Cop", once again handled (without credit) by Ben and Cal who seem to have been the go-to guys for the assorted projects. She Married a Cop As the plot of the movie involved an animation studio (Mammoth Studios), of course some cartoon sequences had to be included. This short sequence features Paddy the Pig who is a police officer. He sings the song "I Can't Imagine" and tries to impress his girlfriend. Three cats (who resemble the students of Katnip Kollege a little) sing along. There's less than a minute of animation – it's well drawn, but these kinds of musical cartoons had started to lose their popularity in real life by this point. It served its purpose in the context of the movie, but I still prefer Porky and Petunia to these two pigs. 7.5 And that's it for the busiest year of the WB cartoons. Most of the cartoons were very enjoyable, with no particularly bad entries included. But I still think the couple of years before this were slightly stronger in general – was the schedule perhaps even too tight? Anyway, I appreciate the way the crew experimented with various ideas. While the Merrie Melodies have mostly been one-shots with the exception of a few recurring characters like Elmer and Daffy, Chuck Jones introduced several new characters this year with the clear intention to make series of them from the start (a couple of them having already got multiple follow-ups in the same year). It's quite obvious that the studio doesn't want to rely on Porky alone, and their attempts will soon start to bear fruit... The 30s were an interesting decade for the two cartoon series. Especially in the second half of the decade, we've already seen a lot of development in animation quality and comedy, as well as the introduction of a couple of characters that would be huge (Porky Pig and Daffy Duck). With Freleng, Avery, Clampett and Jones, most of the directors that would really shape the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies have already shown up, though for many of them, their best times still lie ahead. What will the 40s bring?

At first I thought I wouldn't get any of them, but 7 is Pomni. Despite not having seen Digital Circus yet and probably having seen some of the others.

*hugs* I hope everything turns out well in the end, my friend!

Not the easiest ones at first look... But I think 2 is Bluey.

@Octavia Heartstrings Pretty much every year has been better than the one before – I hope that continues to be the case for many more years! It goes without saying that 1939 will be another interesting one, though 1940 will certainly outdo it. Those kinds of characters are one reason why I love Clampett's cartoons so much – in most of them, there's not a single boring second. As the ratings show, Avery and Clampett have been responsible for most of my favorites – it's surprising how they immediately started making such great cartoons, some of the other directors took a little longer to really hit their stride.

@Octavia Heartstrings The Porky cartoons have easily been the standout for me so far. Daffy was Porky's best co-star, of course, but I never expected to like Gabby Goat as much as I did. Michael Barrier posted a release sheet from "Cinderella Meets Fella" that mentioned "Egghead's brother as Prince Charming". Before that was found, the two characters were assumed to have been the same – though the "Egghead became Elmer" theory might still kind of be true. Avery used Egghead twice, but only once after Elmer's introduction, Cal Dalton and his co-directors were the only ones to use Egghead after that. Maybe the two being brothers was to explain why two characters with similar (but not completely the same) designs but different names both kept appearing in cartoons. The two appearing together would have been awesome – so many great ideas that were never used.

@Samurai Equine I've always found the origins of the characters interesting, and many of them took a while to reach their final form. It's weird how Porky would occasionally hunt Daffy while another cartoon would have the two as friends (while Bugs and Porky rarely appeared together later on). I'm finding it hard to even think of the two Elmers as the same character, though the connection would soon become more obvious. The Do-Do should have appeared more, he only got two cartoons (with the second being a remake of the first one). "Porky in Wackyland" is one of the cartoons where I can remember every scene, which is impressive considering how random it is.

The Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies move on to another year. With the introduction of Daffy Duck last year, we can look forward to more of him... and maybe some surprises! Daffy Duck & Egghead Directed by Fred Avery Egghead goes duck hunting, but the duck he meets is a really crazy one, making him difficult to outwit. More Avery wackiness, continuing from "Porky's Duck Hunt". Despite that short being one of the most important in the whole series, I think this one is even better as a stand-alone cartoon – Daffy's personality is further refined, we get a fittingly wacky song (to the tune of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down") from him, and the ending is a much funnier and more memorable one. Besides only being Daffy's second appearance in the cartoons, this is his first one in color and the one where he gets his name. His design wasn't quite finalized yet, as the ring around his neck is blue instead of white. A brilliant entry! 10 Porky's Poppa Directed by Robert Clampett Bessie the cow is no longer producing milk the way she used to, and Porky's father is struggling with the mortgage of the farm. He gets a robot cow that even produces cheese and ice cream without hassle! But Porky wants to prove Bessie can still beat the newcomer. Wild and fast-paced with many good gags. For a character with no lines that's as close to a regular animal as you get in the Looney Tunes, the cartoon still makes you root for good old Bessie, which speaks for how well the crew handles their characters. But my absolute favorite part is the chaotic rewrite of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" at the start – easily the funniest musical sequence so far in these cartoons! 10 My Little Buckeroo Directed by I. Freleng In 1872, the town of Boiled Beef, Texas, is terrorized by a criminal fittingly just known as "The Terror". All the sheriffs try to catch him to no avail. We focus on a pig (with a horrible singing voice – I doubt this would have helped sell many copies of the title song!) who tries to do the job. I feel some of the gags show a slight Tex Avery influence, though the cartoon on the whole isn't quite as wacky as his. Still a nice one with impressive animation in the chase sequences. 8.5 Porky at the Crocadero Directed by Frank Tashlin Porky dreams of seeing popular musicians perform at the Crocadero and maybe performing there one day. An attempt to get to see the bands by washing the dishes fails and gets Porky kicked out, but after the bandleaders fail to show up, he gets an unforgettable opportunity... Probably the jazziest Looney Tune yet, the impersonations of various performers by Porky are the most memorable part of this. Not a highlight of the series but another enjoyable one in any case. 8.5 Jungle Jitters Directed by I. Freleng Part of the Censored 11 – so expect some badly dated stereotypes here. A goofy salesman goes to an African village, trying to sell stuff to the natives. But unfortunately for him, the natives turn out to be cannibals! The salesman character is an entertaining one, and I think the brilliant ending makes up a little for the predictability and slight repetitiveness of some of the other gags. 7.5 What Price Porky Directed by Robert Clampett Farmer Porky is feeding corn to his chickens, but a group of ducks manages to snatch all of it. Things soon turn into a full-on war between the birds, with even newly hatched chicks joining the battle. Another fun Porky cartoon, despite the intended star being largely overshadowed by the dueling birds here. There have been previous entries with somewhat similar gags and theme (including "Bosko the Doughboy" years ago), but Clampett's humor and relentless pace is clearly better than those. And he even manages to sneak in another surprise at the end! 9 The Sneezing Weasel Directed by Fred Avery Wilbur the chick has a cold, and her mother goes to get him a doctor. But Willie the Weasel notices an opportunity – he dresses as one while the mother hen's away in order to eat the little chick. His disguise doesn't fool the chicks for long, and they fight the predator. Another humorous short with good characters, especially the weasel as a bumbling villain. Cute and funny – better than I expected. 9 Porky's Phoney Express Directed by Cal Howard & Cal Dalton The pony express tries to deliver mail to Red Gulch, but they fail due to being attacked by Indians. Porky wants to ride the mail too, but he's relegated to sweeping and licking envelopes, until he gets the chance as a decoy for the more experienced riders. The first cartoon directed by the two Cals, replacing Freleng who went to MGM (he'll be back). There are some good gags, but at the same time, I feel the directors' lack of experience shows in the animation quality varying between scenes (there's some fun animation especially of wild takes, but some scenes look a bit mediocre). Porky himself looks a bit different too. 7 A Star Is Hatched Directed by I. Freleng Emily the chicken is back! Now she's dreaming about becoming a Hollywood actress, and when she meets the famous director J. Meggaphone, she thinks her dream is about to come true. But things aren't that easy. There are obviously many celebrity caricatures here, and the temptation of fame and empty promises made to those looking to make it big are an interesting theme – exploring that theme even further would have made for a really fascinating cartoon. The short we got is an enjoyable one too, even if some parts are a bit derivative (the ending is pretty much a 1:1 remake of that in the slightly better Emily cartoon "Let It Be Me"). 8.5 Porky's Five & Ten Directed by Robert Clampett Porky plans to open a five and ten cent store on Boola-Boola Isle. But while he's on his way there, fish steal the products he plans to sell with wacky consequences. Porky's stuff forms a Hollywood Hotel underwater and we see fish, including celebrity parodies, having a good time there. Out of these Hollywood-themed cartoons, this is definitely among the better ones – even if it's strange to see Porky get upstaged by random fish in his own cartoon! 9 The Penguin Parade Directed by Fred Avery At the grand opening of Club Iceburg, a bunch of penguins (and some walruses) enjoy musical performances, including a wild jazzy number by a penguin band. The last performance is clearly my favorite part here – I think the short is enjoyable for what it is, but more a really well animated musical cartoon than a particularly funny one (despite some gags). A couple of years earlier, this would have stood out a lot more! 7.5 Porky's Hare Hunt Directed by Ben Hardaway Another hunting cartoon with Porky – this time he and his dog are hunting a rabbit. The rabbit is a very crazy one who keeps coming up with various ways to outwit and annoy the hunter. Of course this is quite similar in both concept and execution to the previous year's "Porky's Duck Hunt", but the gags are new ones... and very entertaining at that (my favorite being the punny "hare remover"). And of course there's one thing that must be mentioned – the white rabbit in this short would eventually evolve into Bugs Bunny. The personality of the rabbit is more similar to the early Daffy Duck (with a laugh that Mel Blanc would later reuse for Woody Woodpecker), but some aspects of the later Bugs are already there – the rabbit is heard saying "Of course you know that this means war" and fakes a fatal injury the way Bugs would often do. Great short whose historical significance is often forgotten. 10 Now That Summer Is Gone Directed by Frank Tashlin Squirrels are collecting acorns for the winter, but one of them has another way to get them – gambling. The little squirrel (named Spunky in promotional material) keeps doing so despite the opposition of his parents, but he's bound to lose at some point... This brings to mind "Pigs Is Pigs" from the year before – more a cartoon with a moral than a particularly funny one, though it's not completely without jokes and I find it slightly less preachy than that one. I still enjoyed it – there's some great animation with cute characters, and a gambling addiction is an interesting subject for a cartoon. 8.5 Injun Trouble Directed by Robert Clampett Porky is on lookout for the dangerous Injun Joe, so that a wagon train can travel safely to California through his territory. On the way, he meets a strange bearded hillbilly who "knows something he won't tell". I find the villain here slightly less stereotypical than some of the previous Native American characters, and he's an interesting one – he's extremely strong and fearless, which is used for a couple of gags too (such as a fun one with a bear). The way the conflict gets resolved is also very surprising! 8.5 The Isle of Pingo Pongo Directed by Fred Avery Yet another Censored 11 cartoon. This is one of Avery's travelogues, as people go on a cruise to the titular island. We see nearby islands with punny names and the wildlife on Pingo Pongo, which is quite fun. Then comes the part with the island natives, and even if we were to ignore the stereotypical depictions, I think this is where the quality of the short declines significantly – most of the gags in this part just aren't very funny, though the featured music is good. There's also a running gag where Elmer (the version we saw in "Little Red Walking Hood") is asking if it's his time to show up, and a comedic use of a live-action sequence (something that's quite common in cartoons even today). A good cartoon at times, but it could have been so much better. 7.5 Porky the Fireman Directed by Frank Tashlin Porky and his colleagues are trying to put out the fire and save people from a burning building. They have a lot of trouble along the way. For Porky cartoons, this is quite average – there are some entertaining parts, but at times, the running gags start to border on repetition. There's still quite a bit to enjoy, though – I especially like the unpredictable end gag. 8 Katnip Kollege Directed by Cal Howard & Cal Dalton In swingology class at Katnip Kollege, everything is sung, including homework! But Johnny can't swing, so he's forced to stay after class. However, later that night he finally gets it and impresses the other cats, including his crush Kitty Bright. The animation is beautiful with all the cute cats, and the soundtrack is wonderful. The most musical short in a while, but also one of the very best of its kind! 9.5 Have You Got Any Castles Directed by Frank Tashlin Another cartoon with books coming to life. There are many funny puns on book titles, and of course we also see the characters singing, dancing and playing instruments. A running gag involves Rip Van Winkle trying to sleep but being bothered by the noise made by all the other characters. The theme is something we've seen many times, but I feel the last couple have improved a lot on the previous ones – this one differs in that while there is still a villain that the others are chasing, this doesn't take up as much of the short, and the ending is a funnier one. Possibly the second best cartoon in this genre? 9 Porky's Party Directed by Robert Clampett It's Porky's birthday and his uncle gives him an Oriental silk worm as a present ("When you want him to do his stuff, just say 'Sew'!"). A penguin and a goose come to visit him. But Black Fury the dog gets drunk and causes a lot of chaos along with the worm! Hilarious Clampett wackiness where the action just doesn't stop! I also love the music here, especially the fast-paced version of "Joseph Joseph" in the chase sequences. 10 Love and Curses Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton An old couple, Harold and Emily, reminisce about their youth in the 1890s. When they were on a picnic, Emily was kidnapped by the evil Roger St. Clair and Harold had to save her. This reminds me a little of "Those Were Wonderful Days" from four years ago – the 1890s theme, barbershop quartets and a mustache-twirling villain appear in both. I think this is a very good cartoon – besides the nostalgic approach (which I'm a sucker for!), there's an entertaining theatrical approach with the characters' exaggerated delivery, probably inspired by the actors of the day. The ending is an amusing one too. One of the most underrated shorts of the time. 9 Cinderella Meets Fella Directed by Fred Avery Another crazy parody of a famous fairytale, similar to "Little Red Walking Hood". The Fairy Godmother is an alcoholic, Prince Charming is portrayed by Elmer... Definitely not your typical version of Cinderella. While I thought the previous fairytale parody was a little better, this one is also fun with a lot of randomness and the concept still feels novel. 9 Porky's Spring Planting Directed by Frank Tashlin Porky plants a garden with the help of his dog Streamline, but a group of chickens comes to eat all the vegetables, and Porky has to chase them away. An enjoyable cartoon with good side characters (the dog and the chickens both have some funny scenes), but not one of my favorite Porkys. 8 Porky & Daffy Directed by Robert Clampett Daffy is a boxer, with Porky as his manager. They decide to challenge the championship fighter, a rooster everyone else is afraid to fight. What Daffy lacks in strength, he makes up for in insanity! Another really fast-paced short with imaginative fighting tactics from Daffy (who's obviously the star here despite the title), much more fun than the earlier boxing cartoons! 9.5 The Major Lied 'til Dawn Directed by Frank Tashlin Major Twombley tells little Freddie about how he hunted big game in Africa, catching a lion. The story is quite an incredible one. After a slow start, there are some funny scenes like the major's fight against the lion. Cultural references that surprisingly still work today, action well timed with the music, and a great running gag with a forgetful elephant. Another enjoyable short. 8.5 Wholly Smoke Directed by Frank Tashlin Porky (a kid here) is on the way to Sunday school but meets a tough boy. Urged by him, Porky bets a nickel that he isn't afraid to smoke. The cigar smoke makes him dizzy and he dreams about going to a smoke shop where he's forced to chew tobacco while the products in the store perform the song "Little Kids Shouldn't Smoke" (to the tune of "Mysterious Mose"). Unusually moralist for a Looney Tunes cartoon, I find the anti-smoking theme here a bit ahead of its time – the dangers of smoking weren't quite as well known back then as they are today. This cartoon treads the line of preachiness at times, but it's a very good message in any case... and the dream sequence is a great one with its visuals and music. 8.5 A-Lad-in Bagdad Directed by Cal Howard & Cal Dalton Aladdin, portrayed here by Egghead, gets a magic lamp from a claw machine. He finds out that there's a competition – whoever manages to entertain the Sultan will get to marry his daughter. But his lamp gets stolen before the big performance. This is a short I've always enjoyed – I thought the auditioning acts were funny (even if the Sultan didn't agree), Egghead's performance of "Bei mir bist du schön" (already heard as background music in a few other shorts) is memorable and the whole cartoon is a funny one. I can see quite a lot of Avery influence here – the audition sequences are a bit similar to "I Love to Singa", and then there's the fairytale spoof and of course Egghead himself. But the short still doesn't feel too derivative. This was the last short co-directed by Cal Howard (as Ben Hardaway takes over as Dalton's co-director), though he'll make occasional appearances as a writer until the very end! 9 Cracked Ice Directed by Frank Tashlin W.C. Squeals returns – after he sees a St. Bernard rescuing a drowning bird and giving him alcohol, he wants some himself. He comes up with various ideas to get the drink, but they all go awry in comedic ways. This is another funny one-shot, especially thanks to the lead character with his funny mannerisms and dialogue. There's an in-joke about the Termite Terrace, for example (this having been the animators' nickname for the studio building). 9 A Feud There Was Directed by Fred Avery Yodeling peacemaker Elmer Fudd (yes, named for the first time!) tries to end the feud between two families, the Weavers and the McCoys, to no avail. While a bit slow-paced at first (the background pan in the beginning is very impressive for the time, though), it gets more entertaining as it goes on, with funny gags involving the feuding families, great one-liners and some fourth wall breaking once again. While proto-Elmer is the star here, the other characters also have some amusing moments. The ending is also a great one, and one I didn't expect! 8.5 Porky in Wackyland Directed by Robert Clampett Porky flies to the darkest Africa to hunt for the last Do-Do bird. He lands in Wackyland which is definitely true to its name. A lot of random gags involving the crazy inhabitants, not least the Do-Do. Clampett has included many wacky and random scenes in his cartoons, but this time he takes it to an extreme, while still managing to incorporate it into the plot. The weirdness is punctuated by Mel Blanc's amazing voice acting and a wild jazzy soundtrack by Carl Stalling. At the time, this cartoon must have been unlike anything ever seen before, and it's still a very appealing and memorable one today. Its uniqueness hasn't been ignored – it's the earliest released of the four WB animated shorts that have been chosen for preservation in the National Film Registry. 10 Little Pancho Vanilla Directed by Frank Tashlin Pancho, a little Mexican boy, wants to become a bullfighter despite his mother's opposition and three girls' mockery. He tries to go a to bullfight and isn't admitted, but things take a surprising turn. An unusual cartoon in that the bull is the only non-human character here. Cute 30s character designs (with huge eyes!) and a lead character with some attitude, but despite being adequately entertaining, I think both the series and the director have had more interesting cartoons by now. This was Pancho's only appearance in the cartoons, but with a slight redesign, he ended up becoming a recurring character in the Looney Tunes comics in the 50s! 8 Porky's Naughty Nephew Directed by Robert Clampett Porky is on the beach with his nephew Pinky. He's trying to have a relaxing day, but Pinky keeps causing trouble for him, both on purpose and by accident. Then there's a swim race for cartoon animals, and Porky of course takes part. The annoying nephew is something we've already seen before in the series with Ham and Ex having been a nuisance for their uncle Beans in a couple of cartoons. And the swim race part reminds me a lot of "Pettin' in the Park" from 1934 – coincidentally (or not?) the first cartoon to credit Clampett as an animator! But despite this derivativeness at times, there is enough comedy to make this worth a watch... and the annoying nephew actually comes up with something useful near the end! 8.5 Johnny Smith and Poker-Huntas Directed by Fred Avery And guess what – WB made a Pocahontas cartoon more than five decades before Disney! Captain Johnny Smith (portrayed by Elmer) arrives to America on the Mayflower and gets in trouble with the Natives. Who will save him? Another fun cartoon from Avery with anachronisms, corny puns, fast-paced chase scenes and self-referential humor. There are definitely aspects to this that are dated with the stereotypes, but I feel this fares better than the earlier "Sweet Sioux", for example – the gags are much more imaginative and random, and it relies slightly less on stereotypical humor (though it goes without saying that it wasn't entirely avoided). The character of Poker-Huntas was also a likable one, and despite not getting as much screentime as I expected, still plays a big part in the plot. A fun short, if you can look past its questionability. 9.5 You're an Education Directed by Frank Tashlin Brochures in a travel agency come to life. The characters on them perform music (linking together various songs from the time), and we see many puns on the place names. These are pretty imaginative – a thief from Baghdad uses the Florida Keys to rob the Kimberly diamond mines. All the countries collaborate in an attempt to catch him. This is another good one – the "books come to life" theme was used a lot, but Tashlin's takes on it are among the most entertaining. There's an unfortunate problem with this short, though – the existing reissue had 45 seconds of the original cartoon removed, and this results in a few jarring cuts and ruins the flow of the song sequence a little. 9 Porky in Egypt Directed by Robert Clampett Porky is riding a camel called Humpty Bumpty in the desert and suddenly it gets really hot! The rest of the cartoon is mostly the camel (and sometimes Porky) having a heat stroke and hearing and seeing things that aren't there. Not much in the sense of a plot, but we do get some crazy animation and acting and funny scenes. The scene where the camel starts hallucinating has impressive effects. Works well as a one-off. 9 The Night Watchman Directed by Charles Jones Thomas Cat, the night watchman, is sick, so his son has to fill in for him. But the mice aren't afraid of the little kitten, bossing him around, eating all the food and playing loud music. This short has great animation – it's another one of those "more cute than funny" shorts, though there are some humorous moments like the effects the various foods (like bananas and pretzels) have on the mice's body shapes. The lead character is also a likable one. This short is most notable for being the first one directed by Chuck Jones. He'll definitely have many better shorts later on, but I think this is a charming debut. 8.5 The Daffy Doc Directed by Robert Clampett Daffy returns – and this time he pretty much relegates Porky to a bit part. The duck is an assistant to Dr. Quack who kicks him out for being noisy and a general nuisance. But Daffy decides to prove his worth and find his own patient! Clampett's wacky style suits Daffy perfectly – his antics are hilarious in this cartoon. The only minus is a surprisingly sudden (and somewhat weak) ending, I'd gladly have seen more of this chaos! 9.5 Daffy Duck in Hollywood Directed by Fred Avery And we get another Daffy cartoon, this time in color (he becomes the first character to have starred in multiple entries in both the Looney Tunes and the Merrie Melodies)! He asks movie producer I.M. Stupendous for a role but gets turned down. He then proceeds to ruin things when director Von Hamburger is making a film and even tries his hands at film making himself! Another nice cartoon with Daffy being annoying in his lovable way, though it's not one of his absolute best shorts – the previous Avery and Clampett shorts with him made even better use of his crazy antics. I can't deny its creativity, though – we even get live-action sequences in Daffy's "movie". 8.5 Porky the Gob Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton Porky is in the navy. When the rest of the crew go to find a pirate submarine (for which there's a 50,000 dollar reward), Porky has to stay on the ship to his frustration. But when the pirates attack, he's the one who has to deal with them! Quite an action-packed cartoon, a fun watch even if there isn't much that hasn't been seen before. A slightly better gob than Buddy was! 8 Count Me Out Directed by Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton Egghead starts to learn boxing in an attempt to become champion. After completing his lessons, he goes to fight champion Biff Stew. Boxing cartoons were relatively common back then – this is better than the early attempts, but not quite at the level of "Porky & Daffy". Still an entertaining one, again with some Avery influences at times. Egghead's last appearance in the series, though his brother Elmer will keep making appearances. 8.5 The Mice Will Play Directed by Fred Avery A bunch of mice enter the laboratory of Dr. I.M. Nutts and have fun with the equipment there. Test subject Susie Mouse is locked in a cage in the next room, and Johnny has to save her. A cat is lurking in the background too... With the cute mouse characters and a musical number, this feels like the Merrie Melodies from a couple of years ago – but since it's an Avery cartoon, there are more jokes. It's not as fast-paced and wild as his typical cartoon, but there are some cute gags here. I like the ending too. Definitely better than Avery's previous mouse cartoon, the more saccharine "A Sunbonnet Blue". 8.5 The studio also made another animated sequence for a live-action film, this time for Paramount. Only producer Schlesinger received credit, but the scene appears to be by the Clampett unit. The Big Broadcast of 1938 A three-minute musical sequence featuring Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra performing the foxtrot "This Little Ripple Had Rhythm". An anthropomorphic ripple emerges from water and joins the band on stage. He plays various instruments, and dancing trees and fellow ripples join the performance. Plotwise, this isn't very remarkable, but the combination of live-action and animation (especially the ripple interacting with the instruments) is really well done – a huge step up from "Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid" nine years earlier! And the ripple is very cute, too. 8.5 The ninth and last MGM short featuring former WB character Bosko was released this year: "Little Ol' Bosko in Bagdad". Again, Bosko is taking cookies to his grandma and dreams about a bunch of jazz frogs trying to take them from him. The animation here might be the cartooniest and wildest that we've seen in these shorts, but it's hard to look past the fact that it's the third Bosko cartoon in a row that's essentially the same (the only difference being an Arabian setting with one of the frogs being the sultan). Soon after this cartoon, Harman and Ising's MGM contract was terminated after the hiring of Freleng. They would come back soon, but Bosko never made another appearance, bringing the story of the first Looney Tunes character to an end. 1938 was another good year for the series, with the introductions of a couple of significant characters, or at least their prototype versions! Bob Clampett really shone this year as a director, creating some of Porky's best cartoons. Tex Avery kept making fun shorts. Cal Dalton and his co-directors were less consistent, but at their best, they could deliver masterpieces too. Oh, and this Charles Jones guy seems like a decent director based on his debut. Maybe we'll see more from him next year.

How did I not recognize Vaggie? This is surprisingly difficult, even for familiar characters.

I think 2 has to be