Bob Clampett (8 May 1913 - 2 May 1984)
Like Tex Avery, Bob Clampett became part of Termite Terrace at Warner Brothers. Looking at his work, he was at the forefront of the evolution of one Porky Pig. Taking him from the morbidly obese barnyard denizen that was Tex Avery's model, Bob Clampett gave the world a slimmer, better dressed and often, more articulate Swine-About-Town.
Let's begin, as always, with the film already viewed:
Porky's Party (1938)
Porky in Wackyland (1938)Wabbit Twouble (1941)
Horton Hatches the Egg (1942)
The Wacky Wabbit (1942)
Bug Bunny Gets the Boid (1942)
A Tale of Two Kitties (1942)
Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943)
The Wise Quacking Duck (1943)
A Corny Concerto (1943)
Falling Hare (1943)
What's Cookin' Doc? (1944)
Tick Tock Tuckered (1944)
Hare Ribbin' (1944)
Birdy and the Beast (1944)
Buckeroo Bugs (1944)
The Old Grey Hare (1944)
Draftee Daffy (1945)
A Gruesome Twosome (1945)
Book Revue (1946)
Baby Bottleneck (1946)
The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946)
The Big Snooze (1946)
Birth of the Notion (1947)
Tweetie Pie (1947)
I spent much of my lunch times exploring the early days of Porky Pig with the black-and-white cartoon showing various aspects of his life. These cartoons were viewed, mainly on Daily Motion, which is a wealth of early Warner Brothers cartoons, often both original and colorized.
Porky's Badtime Story (1937)
Rover's Rival (1937)
Porky's Hero Agency (1937)
Get Rich Quick Porky (1937)
Porky's Poppa (1938)
Porky's Five and Ten (1938)
Porky and Daffy (1938)
What Price Porky (1938)
Injun Trouble (1938)
The Daffy Doc (1938)
Porky in Egypt (1938)
The Lone Stranger and Porky (1939)
Chicken Jitters (1939)
As you can see, Porky is versatile and a world travelling Pig! When the US Postal Service put the Looney Tunes on stamps, Porky was the last to be honored. Watching these films, one can see that he deserved a sooner honor.
Bob Clampett was not a one-trick pony, though. He joined his co-workers in the war effort with
Meet John Doughboy (1941), some pre-Pearl Harbor tomfoolery, and
Russian Rhapsody (1941), with Hitler menaced by Gremlins from the Kremlin.
He also loved music with
The Hep Cat (1942), with a number of jokes at the expense of actor Jerry Colonna, often made fun of by the likes of Bugs Bunny and others.
Tin Pan Alley Cats (1943), more music, more cats.
Lastly, a moth tries to marry a bee in
Eatin' on the Cuff or The Moth Who Came to Dinner (1943)
Clampett would leave the movies and show up on television with the Saturday morning classic, "The Beany and Cecil Show", with Beany, Cecil, the Seasick Sea Serpent and Captain Huffnpuff! Yes, it is one of my favorites.
When they began syndicating this, I bought a propeller beanie. I would wrap myself in a blanket and sit in the middle of the living room, wearing the beanie, watching the show. My wife came home from work, saw this, and turned right around and headed back to the car. (She laughed later. She's a good sport.)
Nearly all of these cartoons can be found on Daily Motion. Some are on YouTube and Vimeo. I have set up a few of these with the link for your viewing. The list of films is supplied by IMDb. Thanks to everyone.
Number of films viewed; 18
Total films viewed: 154
Next week, we celebrate Italian Unification (17 March 1861) with a look at Italian Short Films.
Everything I wanted to know about Porky Pig but was afraid to ask!
ReplyDeleteFascinating animation history lesson.
I've heard of Beany & Cecil never never caught it.
A learning experience for me, too. One of the side benefits of doing these blogs. Adorer of Cecil, the Sea Serpent.
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