Release Date:

July 12, 1947

Main Character(s):

Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester, Henery Hawk, Barnyard Dawg

Summary:

With Sylvester having antagonized both him and Barnyard Dawg, Foghorn Leghorn convinces Henery Hawk that Sylvester is a chicken and has him disguise in a trick egg. When Sylvester realizes that tomcats can’t be mothers and that cats don’t lay eggs, Henery chases after him.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1030 and was released as a Looney Tune.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. When it was restored for the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 DVD set in 2008, the original titles were put back in. These titles also include Henery getting his own introductory title card: “Henery Hawk in” and he then speaks to the audience: “I’m a chicken hawk and I’m gonna get me a chicken today! I am so!” (animated by Charles McKimson) before the title card and credits are shown.

This is McKimson’s first Sylvester cartoon and the only time Sylvester is paired with Foghorn.

This is also the first cartoon where Foghorn’s familiar voice is established as his debut appearance, “Walky Talky Hawky”, had him sounding more gruff.

Due to Mel Blanc being away during the recording sessions for Dawg’s dialogue, Dawg’s sole line of dialogue (apart from arguing with Sylvester and Foghorn and saying “Okay” with them in unison): “I just takes a step and presto! I lays an egg!” was recorded by Robert Bruce.

Speaking of Dawg, this cartoon is notable in that Foghorn actually saves his life in this one.

This is also one of two cartoons where Foghorn and Dawg are on good terms (apart from Dawg joining in the argument with Foghorn and Sylvester near the end). The other one is “Feather Bluster” (1958) where Foghorn and Dawg are now old geezers who play checkers. Their respective grandsons tormenting each other reminds them of the good old days and they reminisce about their heckling of each other via clips from earlier cartoons.

This is the first cartoon to have animation by John Carey upon his return to the studio.

This is the first McKimson cartoon to officially have Manny Gould as an animator (he animated only one brief scene in “One Meat Brawl”). Gould would animate on Davis’ “The Foxy Duckling” before animating solely for McKimson until leaving the studio at the end of the 1940’s.

The line “Open the window, Richard! That’s why it’s here!” is a reference to the 1947 hit song of the same name. Yosemite Sam also references this in Freleng’s “High Diving Hare” (1949) where he demands Bugs open a door and turns to the audience to aside, “You notice I didn’t say ‘Richard’”?”

The title is a pun for “growing pains”.

You can find out who animated what scene here.

In seventh grade, I did a book report on a 2012 book on the McKimson brothers (Robert, Thomas, and Charles) called “I Say, I Say Son” (which I got for Christmas in 2016) which was written by McKimson’s son, Robert Jr. On one of the slides, I considered using the same screenshot used in this post before I reconsidered (I have a good memory on a lot of things, but I don’t remember why I decided not to use this screenshot).

What I Like About This One:

The rendition of “Time Waits for No One” under the opening credits.

Sneaking around in a bush, Sylvester attempts to steal Dawg’s bone but Dawg catches him (animated by Anatolle Kirsanoff) and gives chase (animated by Izzy Ellis). Said chase ends with Dawg getting hanged on a tree branch and Sylvester attempting to behead him. Foghorn intervenes and removes the ax blade which causes Sylvester to vibrate when hitting the tree. However, the branch gives way and hits Dawg on the head, causing him to walk away dizzy (animated by Kirsanoff).

Foghorn gives a long-winded speech to Sylvester about burying the hatchet and blaming Sylvester for not letting him get a word in edgewise. Fed up with Foghorn’s nonstop yammering, Sylvester yells, “AH, SHUT UP!” and hits Foghorn with the ax handle. In a daze, Foghorn’s eyes roll around as his head moves in a funny way and he repeatedly points to the ax blade (animated by Manny Gould).

Confiding “I’m not sure but this might be a chicken” (animated by Charles McKimson), Henery begins to drag the still dazed Foghorn away, which causes Foghorn to regain his senses and begin questioning Henery where he’s taking him (animated by Fred Abranz). “I’m a chicken hawk and I’m out to get my first chicken! And you’re it!” (animated by Charles) Foghorn laughs at the idea of him being a chicken, and tells Henery, “A chicken has black fur all over him! Black fur, that is!” and shows him that the sleeping Sylvester is what he’s looking for (animated by Abranz).

Foghorn has Henery get into a trick egg (animated by Charles with Gould animating the shot of Foghorn taking it out) and puts him underneath Sylvester (animated by John Carey). Waking up, Sylvester believes he is a mother and starts rocking it while singing “Rock A Bye Baby” before hiding it (animated by Charles) and whistling when Foghorn walks past. Without opening his eyes, Foghorn just walks past saying, “I see you lai-, I say, I see you laid an egg. Wonderful thing being a mother!” Sylvester takes Henery back out from under him before getting wise: “HEY! Tomcats can’t be mothers! Cats don’t lay eggs! There’s something screwy here!” and tries to sneak away (animated by Ellis).

Realizing Sylvester isn’t there, Henery runs off after him (animated by Ellis) and grabs on to his fur (animated by Kirsanoff). Sylvester tries in vain to run away from it (animated by Ellis), before ending up in Dawg’s house (animated by Kirsanoff), to which Dawg takes him out and beats him up (animated by Ellis).

Henery accidentally runs smack into Dawg, who is bewildered. “I just takes a step and presto! I lays an egg!” (animated by Ellis) A mother duck with several ducklings walking past laments, “Presto and he lays an egg! And to think, for 15 years, I’ve been doing it the hard way!” (animated by Charles)

Henery then spots Sylvester hiding in a barrel and zooms over to him. Fed up with this “egg” not leaving him alone, Sylvester prepares to smash it with a mallet while breathing in seething fury and letting out a grumbling yell before the hit (animated by Kirsanoff). Henery suddenly pops out of the egg and yells, “STOP!” which causes Sylvester to go nuts and do a fantastic take where he repeatedly pulls his head into his body by pulling his tail before Henery strikes him with the mallet (animated by Abranz).

Sylvester comes to as Henery begins to drag him away and wonders what the big idea is (animated by Carey). Henery warns, “Now don’t you give me any trouble, chicken”. Sylvester shows him chicken, “a rooster in fact”, pointing to Foghorn (animated by Charles). Foghorn attempts to prove this wrong: “Rooster? If I’m a roos-, I say, if I’m a rooster then I hope to be struck by-” A storm cloud with a lightning bolt briefly appears so they put it another way (animated by Gould) by arguing with Dawg soon joining them in said argument (animated by Kirsanoff).

Henery stops the argument by yelling “QUIET!” and makes a suggestion: “Hey, roosters have to crow at dawn. Suppose we wait and SEE who crows? You guys game?” (animated by Charles) All agree in unison, “OK” (animated by Kirsanoff), particularly Foghorn who replies with “OK, that is” (animated by Charles).

The next morning when the sun bounces up (animated by Carey), crowing noises are heard but they are coming from Sylvester! After a shocked Dawg faints at this, Henery drags Sylvester away. It turns out to actually be coming from Foghorn, who has been studying ventriloquism! Foghorn ends the cartoon with, “You gotta, I say you gotta keep on your toes!” and holds back the iris-out to continue, “Toes, that is!” (animated by Gould)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕