Release Date:

November 2, 1946

Main Character(s):

Porky Pig

Summary:

Porky Pig is having trouble getting rid of a particularly clever rodent. After employing a series of cats to get rid of him fails, Porky builds a robot cat that seems to be a challenge for the mouse at first, but ultimately proves no better at catching him.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1028 and was released as a Looney Tune.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. In 2023, a 16mm print in black and white with the original titles was found.

This is the first cartoon to be directed by Arthur Davis, who became a director after Bob Clampett left the studio. Davis would become the last major director at Warner Bros. and he is in my opinion, the only director where every cartoon of his is a 5-carrot cartoon, with several masterpieces such as “Doggone Cats”, “Mexican Joyride”, “Catch As Cats Can” (all released in 1947), “Two Gophers from Texas”, “What Makes Daffy Duck”, “A Hick A Slick and a Chick”, and “Dough Ray Me-Ow” (all released in 1948), to name but a few. He was a director for only three years, however, as due to budget problems at the end of the 1940’s, Warner Bros. decided to reduce their four units (Freleng, Jones, McKimson, and Davis) down to three. Since Davis had the least seniority as a director, his unit was disbanded, leaving almost all of the cartoons until the original 1964 closure to be directed by either Jones, Freleng, or McKimson. Davis would stay at the studio for several years, however, as an animator for Freleng.

For unknown reasons, Bill Melendez is not given credit for this one, despite the fact that he did indeed animate on the cartoon (he animated on all of Davis’ cartoons in fact and was credited on all the others).

This is one of three Warner cartoons to be written by George Hill (all of which are directed by Davis). The other two are “The Foxy Duckling” (1947) and “The Pest That Came to Dinner” (1948), the latter of which is also a Porky cartoon while the former is a one-shot.

This is the last cartoon to have the director’s credit labeled as “direction”. Every cartoon afterwards has the credit as “directed by”.

“Singing Down the Road” plays when Porky constructs the robot cat.

What I Like About This One:

The first shot of the cartoon is a calendar saying, “Stone walls do not a prison make”, before the camera pans down to empty traps with various signs, “Nor iron bars a cage”, “You know I don’t like Swiss!”, “Ahhh, delicious!”, “I just adore cheddar!”, and in a trap with limburger, “Are you kiddin’?”

As Porky is chasing the “d-d-doggone food-filching m-m-m-rodent” with a broom, the mouse quickly gets all the cheese from five mousetraps before they snap (animated by Bill Melendez).

Thinking he has the mouse cornered by his hole, Porky claims, “N-n-now I’ve gotcha!”, but the mouse is actually on the mantle and he whistles to get Porky’s attention. Porky’s attempt to swat at him with the broom only results in him shattering the mirror above the mantle. The mouse tsks, “Seven years, bad luck” (animated by Melendez).

Pacing back and forth (unaware the mouse is also doing this), Porky decides, “Th-th-that settles it! What I need around here is a c-c- a cat!” He zooms into the city and comes back seconds later, explaining a flat tire held him up. The cat he bought is immediately sent away tied to a rocket (animated by Don Williams).

The other cats Porky uses include a mountain lion (animated by Williams) who is immediately stuffed and mounted, becoming the “Mounted Lion” (animated by Cal Dalton) and a George Raft-like mobster cat who is mute and has a funny walk. Figuring this can’t possibly miss, Porky leads the mobster cat into the kitchen where he calmly takes out his weapons and knocks on the mouse’s hole with brass knuckles. The mouse rolls a bowling ball on top of his head. Although he has no reaction, the mobster cat simply gives up, and does everything he did previously in reverse, such as packing away his weapons, walking out of the kitchen and out the door, all the while doing the funny walk backwards (animated by Melendez).

In his garage, Porky builds a robot cat (animated by Williams) that has all the proper buttons such as “purr”, “stand up”, “kill mouse”, “lie down”, “spit”, and “claw” (animated by Dalton). Delighted at seeing the robot cat destroy a wind-up mouse for “the test that counts” (animated by Williams with Dalton animating the shot of Porky winding up the wind-up mouse and pushing the “kill mouse” button), Porky leads him into the house to go after the “real thing” (animated by Melendez).

Seeing the robot cat enter, the mouse laughs at this, thinking this too will be easy to dispose of, and attempts to drop a bowling ball on him, but it only lands on the robot cat’s back and flattens upon impact (animated by Melendez). The mouse comes out of his hole to see the robot cat snarling at him and runs off in fright. He then attempts to use a blowtorch on him, blow him up with TNT, and shoot him with a gun, all to no avail. The gun attempt propels the mouse backward into a wall, and the robot cat ties the gun in a knot (animated by Manny Gould).

The mouse is then prevented from entering every hole by the robot cat holding a hand in front of each hole (animated by Gould). He then paints an electric outlet black and writes above it, “Thru this portal passed the most beautiful mouse in the woild!” The robot cat becomes electrocuted once he puts his finger in it, to which the mouse puts a sign under him, “Used Car for Sale. Below Ceiling!” Once the robot cat regains his senses, he angrily kicks the sign away (animated by Melendez).

The robot cat finds the mouse playing with a doll, but the mouse won’t let him have a turn with it, causing him to cry like Stan Laurel. The mouse decides to give it to him, but as the robot cat starts playing with it, he turns red, and finds the mouse attempting to burn him (animated by Williams).

The robot cat then gets his head removed by a rope the mouse set up. Searching for his head, the robot cat is tricked by the mouse into putting a toaster on his head before he is punched by a brick wall released from a cabinet and collapses in front of his head, with his head being restored once he falls (animated by Gould).

For the final touch, the mouse fills a robot mouse with TNT powder, uranium, and nitro glycerine. The robot cat fails to catch it with his hands, and when the robot mouse dies down, he pounces on it, which destroys Porky’s house (animated by Gould). Porky comes out of the basement dismayed at the damage, but is at least glad that he still has a place to live, in a much smaller house that resembles a doghouse and that he is “r-r-rid of that mouse!” The mouse pops out of a tile in the wall and asks, “Should I tell him?” (animated by Dalton)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕