Porky Pig
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225937898
2008-07-16T02:50:58Z
Kubigula
1453997
Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/69.249.124.22|69.249.124.22]] to last version by Dulcem (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]])
{{WBToonChar
| name =Porky Pig
| image =[[Image:Porky Pig1.jpg|200px]]
| image caption =Porky Pig
| first appearance =''[[I Haven't Got a Hat]]'' ([[March 2]], [[1935]])
| created by = [[Friz Freleng]]
| voiced by = [[Joe Dougherty]] (I Haven't Got a Hat to Porky's Romance) <br> [[Mel Blanc]] (Porky's Duck Hunt - [[1989]]) <br> [[Noel Blanc]] ([[1989]] - [[1990]]) <br> [[Bob Bergen]] ([[1990]] - Present)
}}
'''Porky Pig''' is an [[animation|animated cartoon]] [[fictional character|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 [[celebrity|star power]], and the [[animator]]s (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. He is known for his signature line at the end of each short, "Th-th-th-that's all folks!" The slogan had also been used by both [[Bosko]] and [[Buddy (Looney Tunes)|Buddy]] and even [[Beans (Looney Tunes)|Beans]] at the end of every [[Looney Tunes]] cartoon. In contrast, the [[Merrie Melodies]] series used the slogan: ''So Long, Folks!'' until the late 1930s when it was replaced with the same one used on the ''Looney Tunes'' series. (When [[Bugs Bunny]] was the closing character, he would break the pattern by simply saying, "And Dat's De End!") He is also known for his severe [[stutter]] and it's accompanying characteristic of changing his words mid-sentence, making something like "What's guh-guh-guh. . ." as if to say "Going on. . ." into "What's happening . . ."
==Early films==
The character was designed by animator Bob Clampett and introduced in the short ''[[I Haven't Got a Hat]]'' (first released on [[March 2]], [[1935]]), [[film director|directed]] by [[Friz Freleng]]. Studio head [[Leon Schlesinger]] suggested that Freleng do a cartoon version of the popular ''[[Our Gang]]'' films. Porky only has a minor role in the film, but the fat little [[stuttering]] pig quickly became popular. Porky's name came from two brothers who were childhood classmates of Freleng's, nicknamed "Porky" and "Piggy".<ref>[[Jerry Beck|Beck, Jerry]]. [[Audio commentary]] for ''I Haven't Got a Hat'' on the Warner Brothers DVD set ''[[Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3]]''. (2005) citing Freleng's autobiography.</ref>
Since [[Hugh Harman]] and [[Rudolf Ising]] had left the studio in 1933, taking the studio's star character Bosko with them, ''Looney Tunes'' had been kept afloat by cartoons featuring the bland Buddy. Porky's introduction ushered Buddy out the door and pointed to things to come. [[Tex Avery]] was hired to the studio in 1936, and his film ''[[Gold Diggers of '49]]'' reused much of the cast from ''I Haven't Got a Hat'', albeit in wildly different roles. Porky transitioned from a shy little boy to an immensely fat adult. Though he was still in a supporting role, Porky got most of the laughs. The directors realized they had a star on their hands.
Porky shared his stutter with the [[voice actor]] who originally played him, [[Joe Dougherty]], who actually did have a stuttering problem. Because Dougherty could not control his stutter, however, production costs became too high. The versatile [[Mel Blanc]] won the audition for the character in 1937. Blanc continued the stutter; however, it was harnessed for a more precise comedic effect (such as stumbling over a simple word only to substitute a longer word without difficulty).<ref>{{cite book|last= Barrier|first= Michael|authorlink= Michael Barrier (historian)|year= 1999|title= Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age|location= Oxford|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 0-19-516729-5}}</ref> ''[[Porky's Duck Hunt]]'' was released in 1937, and Blanc officially became the permanent voice of Porky until his death in 1989. In later interviews, Blanc often made the claim that he intended Porky's stutter to be suggestive of the grunting of actual pigs. Porky is currently voiced by [[Bob Bergen]].
[[Image:Clampett-Porky.jpg|thumbnail|250px|[[Bob Clampett]]'s ''Porky Pig''.]]
==Clampett's Porky==
Porky starred in dozens of films in the late 1930s. The directors still did not have a grasp on the character, however; his appearance, age, and personality all varied from picture to picture. One such cartoon, ''[[Porky the Rainmaker]]'', features both a Porky Jr. and a Porky Sr. Bob Clampett finally pinned Porky down, making him cuter, slimmer, smarter, and less of a stutterer. Clampett's Porky was an innocent traveler, taking in the wonders of the world—and in Clampett's universe, the world is a very weird place indeed.<ref>[[Leonard Maltin|Maltin, Leonard]]. ''Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons'' (Revised Edition), [[1987]], Plume ISBN 0-452-25993-2 ([[Softcover]]) ISBN 0-613-64753-X ([[Hardcover]]).</ref> This principle is perhaps best demonstrated in ''[[Porky in Wackyland]]'', a film that sends Porky on a quest to find the last of the [[Dodo]]s. This cartoon was selected for preservation by the [[National Film Registry]] in [[2000]].<ref name="registry">[http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Unofficial/Movies/NFR-Titles.html List of National Film Registry (1988-2003).]</ref>
In his commentary as part of the 1970s documentary film, ''[[Bugs Bunny: Superstar]]'', Clampett discussed the fact that his early version of [[Tweety Bird]] had to be redesigned after his first picture because the producers thought he "looked naked". Meanwhile, as Clampett noted, nothing was ever made of the fact that "all those years, Porky never wore any pants!"
==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 soon was christened [[Daffy Duck|Daffy]] and who became the studio's biggest star (until himself replaced by [[Bugs Bunny]]). In fact, Friz Freleng satirized this phenomenon when he directed ''[[You Ought To Be in Pictures]]'' (1940). The film features 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.
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 ''[[Swooner Crooner]]''. 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]]'', ''[[Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century]]'', ''[[Deduce, You Say]]'', and ''[[Robin Hood Daffy]]''. Jones also paired Porky with [[Sylvester the cat|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 [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]]s, and other threats.
==Later years==
[[Image:porky_pig.jpg|thumb|150px|Porky Pig]]
Porky was used in regular rotation in [[television syndication]] beginning in the 1960s, as was the rest of the ''Looney Tunes'' co-stars. A Saturday morning cartoon, ''[[The Porky Pig Show]]'', ran from 1964 to 1967.<ref name="porky's show">[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279588/ imdb.com - ''The Porky Pig Show''.]</ref> In 1971, he starred in another show, ''[[Porky Pig and Friends]]''.<ref name="porky's show"/> Both of these programs were collections of old theatrical shorts. Porky also appeared in all the classic film-feature [[Product bundling|compilations]] in the 1970s and 1980s. Another such collection was the 1986 film, ''[[Porky Pig in Hollywood]]'', which ran in art and college theaters. In the 1990s animated series ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'', Porky appears as the mentor of [[Hamton J. Pig]]. Porky Pig also appears as the "Eager Young Space Cadet" in the animated [[television series]] ''[[Duck Dodgers]]''.
In 1991, the [[National Stuttering Project]] (NSP) of [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] picketed Warner Bros. demanding that they stop "belittling" stutterers and use Porky Pig as an advocate for child stutterers. The studio refused the NSP but eventually agreed to grant $12,000 to the [[Stuttering Foundation of America]] for a 1994 conference. After continued pressure from NSP member [[Ira Zimmerman]], Warner Bros. released a series of [[public service announcement]] posters featuring Warners characters, including Porky, speaking out against [[bullying]]. Despite these recent protests, Porky continues to feature in new Warner Bros. animation.
Porky is the star of the [[Super NES]] video game ''[[Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday]]''.
Porky also has a cameo at the end of ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'' (1988), where, paired with Disney's [[Tinkerbell]], has the duty of closing the movie with his famous "That's All Folks!" line.
In the movie ''[[Looney Tunes: Back in Action]]'', Porky makes a cameo appearance alongside [[Speedy Gonzales]], where they both lament their politically incorrect status. At the end of the movie, Porky tries to say his classic line, but stutters so much, the lights are turned on around him as the studio closes for the night; so an irritated Porky simply says, "eh eh,go home, folks!"
=="Blooper"==
A very short black-and-white cartoon was shown on the Warner Bros. 50th Anniversary TV show. Porky is shown doing some carpentry work, pounding nails, when he smacks his thumb with the hammer. Grimacing in pain, he cries, "Oh, son of a bi-bi-, son of a bi-bi-, son of a bi-bi-bi-... gun!" He then turns to the camera and says "Ha-ha-ha! You thought I was going to say 's-s-son of a bitch', didn't ya?!"<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Q4IxITJZ4 Porky Pig "blooper"]</ref> This short, so-called "[[blooper]]" can also be found on the ''[[Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4]]'' of [[2006]], under the title ''Porky's Breakdowns'' (with several versions of the clip, making it look like a true "blooper"); and on an ''[[Each Dawn I Die]]'' [[DVD]] box set, also released in [[2006]].
==See also==
* [[The Golden Age of American animation]]
* [[Piggly Wiggly]] - The mascot for the Southern U.S. grocery store chain of the same name with an appearance strikingly similar to that of Porky Pig.
* [[List of cartoons featuring Porky Pig]]
==References==
{{refimprove|date=February 2008}}
===Notes===
{{reflist}}
===Bibliography===
<div class="references-small">
* Schneider, Steve (1990). ''That's All Folks!: The Art of Warner Bros. Animation''. Henry Holt & Co.
* Solomon, Charles (1994). ''The History of Animation: Enchanted Drawings''. Random House Value Publishing.
</div>
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