Porky in Wackyland - more zaniness!

I'm not dead, I swear it! I resurrected myself to talk more about Porky in Wackyland. In my last post about this, I went on about its many revolutions it brought not upon only the Leon Schlesinger studio, but for the American industry as a whole, and in turn, also influenced some international sectors of the business as well.

So what's in store for us now? Well, more really fun and crazy stuff! It just leaks out of this cartoon like a leaky faucet.

It's a Warner Bros. cartoon. We need an Al Jolson caricature in there somewhere!

There were several cartoons produced after this one that made use of a lot of crazy things existing for the sake of a laugh, including some of Clampett's later stuff. One is Tin Pan Alley Cats (which actually uses colorised footage from this cartoon!), a 1943 Merrie Melodie, and another is The Cat That Hated People, which is a 1948 Tex Avery one-shot from MGM.

This Three Stooges character is an oddity to me. Also, what's with the igloo? Anyone have an explanation for that?

And some more cartoon violence. They really begin to nail this stuff around this time, and Warners' may have been the first ones to really do it well too, but I could be mistaken.

 Here we're given some frenetic acting in front of a strange-looking character.

Along with some fun cartoony stuff too! Also, is that a giant teapot I spy? So much stuff to behold, and so little time to observe it during the actual screening of the film.

I think this'll be it for now. I'm itching to write some about Tex Avery, but I'll continue this one soon enough. Cheers!

Porky in Wackyland, and its significance for zany cartoons

A lot of people know that Bob Clampett was instrumental in creating the Looney Tunes style of humor and cartooning that we know and love today, but early on, even for him, his initial director efforts weren't necessarily the best. He kept experimenting, as did all the other directors at the studio, with new ideas, new gags, timing, music, drawing styles, etc. This said, Porky in Wackyland was a major breakthrough for every single major American animation studio. Even George Pal's Puppetoon studio. But why?

Simple. It is probably one of the first true Looney Tunes films to have ever been produced; its timing, drawing, music, direction; its everything was a first for the entire business, and the artform as a whole. Even the Fleischers, who had made very zany cartoons before Clampett and Warner Bros. did, never reached this level of extreme (perhaps because Paramount told them to emulate Disney). It is no small feat either; this cartoon established Warner Bros. as being completely distinguishable and recognizable from its competition. Even the Fleischers (and early Famous Studios) began to imitate Warner Bros./Clampett style humor around this time period.

Looks innocent enough, but even the title card does something that no cartoon before it had ever done.

It breaks the fourth wall! Not only is the paperboy aware of the audience's presence and walks right over the credits, but he also offers us a paper that gives us context as to what's motivating Porky to go to Wackyland in the first place.

The set-up for this cartoon is, and always will be, absolutely incredible.

The cartoon starts to really get crazy around here. Before this sequence, you'd see what you'd expect from a Looney Tunes film from around this time. Some chuckle-worthy passing jokes and decent animation. But this is where the entire cartoon does a one hundred eighty and completely catches you off-guard.

The drawing changes completely! Now it goes from a relatively tame kind of background style to something Dali-esque.

The cartoon also sports much wilder and visual humor than a lot of what came before it as well.

I don't think anybody who saw this in theaters in 1938 was prepared for any of this. Even with some of the things that seem to hint at it beforehand. This is something entirely new; look at how many weird, bizarre, utterly insane things take place on screen! This sequence isn't even thirty seconds long, but so much goes on within it that it's completely impossible to ignore.

I remember when I rediscovered this cartoon several years ago, and my mind was blown away. Clampett had become a director for Warner Bros. in 1937, and the animation, humor, and direction was far more primitive then. This is how fast the entire Clampett unit had advanced within a single year.

More on this cartoon soon! Cheers.

EDIT #1) I've been informed by WHYx3 that Izzy Ellis may have animated the pan with all the funny, crazy things happening. Ellis was a fantastic, wild animator who had a very angular style. Thanks for the ID!

The Hep Cat [part five]: Excellent backgrounds again, and the closing!

It looks like we'll wrap this up here right quick! The end of the cartoon comes in this post.

Some of this vibrating drybrush is pretty great. I open these posts a lot with these, don't I? I'll deliberately not start these this way in the future.

I didn't realize how many throw-away backgrounds there are in this cartoon, especially this late into it. Some of them last for a fraction of a fraction of a second, but they're golden! I got a few in here if you want to admire them in your sleep like I do.

More Clampett shadows. He uses these more than the other directors from what I've seen. They're really good at conveying action!

Heaven for your eyes, especially that top painting. Who the hell could paint like this now? I know I'd like to!

This is a different effect, but I really like it! Soft blending of colors for a motion blur looks surprisingly good here!

Oh God.

Is this where body pillows came from? Is this entire farce Clampett's fault?

"I can dream, can't I?" Words of a true fanatic.

If so, then this is a really good anime.

And that's the end of the picture! Not a whole lot to talk about in terms of story structure here since it is mostly slapstick, but it's decent enough! I might revisit some of this stuff later when I get the chance.

I think I'll post some one-off articles on other studios later (I have a good one about Fleischer if you like innovative motion picture technology!). What cartoon should I pick apart next, though?

Cheers!

The Hep Cat [part four]: Something new has been added!

Jesus Christ, I've been gone awhile, haven't I? Many apologies for the absence. Things have been nuts but have, thankfully, settled down a lot. Let's just see how long it lasts.

For now, it's time for some more Hep Cat, with a tall-ass glass of root beer and plain popcorn, just the way I like it! What's Clampett got for us today?

You're on to something there!

Great drawings. I especially love these circular pupils; they really drive home his surprise! The backgrounds, as usual, art astonishing. Something I just noticed: on this last painting, the sky gets darker as your eye moves to the right, but you would never see it if you were just watching this film casually.

Of course, he isn't inclined to give a damn when the action's this good. I can't say I blame him.

Don't you hate it when this happens?

Pay close attention to these next few screencaps. This is a basic setup for a take, for anybody interested in animating someday, like I am.

STEP ONE: realization

A take is a reaction to something, usually something bizarre. (Unless it's a shrink-take, which can be used more liberally.)

STEP TWO: the actual take

Now the cat realized he was making out with the dog. He reacts in panic.

This last part here is really just an add-on. A reaction to a reaction, if you will.

It's a fun idea regardless!

"Are you following me?" seems to be a very common Clampett gag. It's funny, but I figured I'd point it out. Besides, that dust drybrushing is very good, so now I have an excuse to point it out.

This is the same background! It's a vertical pan, and beautifully done. I wonder how many background painters in the business could pull something off like that today? It'd be a marvel to see.

This barrel scene is really pretty too. A lot of really lovely lighting effects. I dig it!

At this point, the cartoon is all about the gags. I'll share a few caps here and finish this thing off in the next post!

See you then! In the meantime, look at these backgrounds. I don't know if I told you whether I liked them or not. Besides, I'm out of root beer.