Release Date:

October 8, 1938

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A young Mexican boy named Pancho wants to be a bullfighter, but his mother, “Mamasita” and his sisters (who all wear different colored outfits) don’t think he’s capable. When Pancho accidentally ends up in the ring, he gets his chance to prove himself.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. “The Lady of Spain” played under the opening credits which were:

Supervision: Frank Tashlin

Story: Ted Pierce

Animation: Bob McKimson

Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling

Clark Gable is caricatured on a poster advertising the bullfighter, “Don Jose”.

Pancho reuses Junior’s laugh from “Now That Summer is Gone” when he brags that he is a better bullfighter than Don Jose.

Pancho and his family would later reappear in a few Looney Tunes comic books.

The cartoon was originally titled “Leetle Pancho Vanilla”.

The book Pancho reads at the start of the cartoon is called “How to Win Cows and Influence Bulls”. This is a reference to the then-recently published “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.

The name “Pancho Vanilla” would be reused for the antagonist of the Speedy Gonzales cartoon, “Pancho’s Hideaway” (1964), although they are clearly both very different characters.

What I Like About This One:

When Mamasita tells Pancho that he will never be a bullfighter and will always be her “good little muchachito”, he mocks, “‘You will never be bullfighter and will always be Mamasita’s good litte muchachito!’ Phooey!”

The camera angles used during the song that Pancho’s sisters sing when they are first introduced (showing off Tashlin’s skills in using creative angles). Also, their song is quite enjoyable.

When Pancho’s sisters greet him, Pancho (who is still grumbling over Mamasita’s words) just simply says “Hello” in a grouchy tone before returning to grumbling. Upset by his grumpy attitude, they sing “Nyah, nyah, nyah” to the tune of the song they were singing.

Don Jose’s poster advertising him as “the greatest toreador in all the world" then followed by the small subtitle, “Well- in Mexico anyhow!”

The triumphant music that plays when Pancho bows after saying “there is one who is much better!” One of his sisters asks if Pancho is referring to himself, and he replies with a firm “Si!” They laugh, so he marches up to them, and says, “Alright, I show you! I fight the bull!”

The music that plays when the screen cross-dissolves from the bullfighting poster to the arena and when the camera pans over to a poster about amateur bullfighters being allowed to compete: “All Amateur Toreadors, Matadors, Picadors, Swinging Doors, and Cuspidors. THIS Is Your Chance to Throw the Bull!”

When Pancho is in the line with the amateur matadors, he mutters, “I’ll show those squeaky-voiced females they can’t laugh at me! I’ll show them how the bull shall be thrown!” Realizing that he is behind, he quickly catches up to the rest of the amateurs.

The guard at the entrance for the amateurs not letting Pancho in and throwing him out onto a haycart, saying, “Hey! Where do you think you’re going? Only toreadors are allowed in here, not little shrimps like you!” He closes the door and opens it to add, “And I do mean you!” Pancho replies, “‘And I do mean you!’ Phooey!”

The bull charging at the matadors and they roll around the arena like balls on a pool table.

One of the matadors landing on the other end of the haycart Pancho is sitting on (he is muttering, “You won’t let me in, huh? You think I’m afraid of the sissy bull? I’ll tear him to pieces!”). After Pancho finishes talking to himself, he realizes he’s in mid-air, and does a take as he lands on the bull.

The spectators’ sombreros spelling out “VIVA PANCHO” when thrown in the air.

After Pancho’s sisters throw roses out to him, Pancho notices the bull and runs off, causing the bull to hit a wall. The bull then dizzily sees multiple swirling images of Pancho waving his cape.

The bull charging like a car and knocking Pancho into the air, but Pancho lands on the bull and knocks him out, winning the bullfight.

In the end, when Pancho and his sisters tell Mamasita about the bullfight and how great Pancho was, we pan over to where the new washing machine that Pancho won as first prize is revealed to have plungers on the bottom, controlling the flooding water in the stream where Mamasita washes clothes (as well as the rendition of “La Cucaracha” that plays during this scene).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕