Release Date:

October 9, 1948

Main Character(s):

Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk, Barnyard Dawg

Summary:

Henery Hawk’s grandpa won’t let him hunt chickens with him, due to him being too little and because they are apparently dangerous, but Henery wants to catch one of his own anyway. After Grandpa Hawk is caught stealing chickens by Foghorn Leghorn and belly-bumped out of the yard, he convinces Henery that Foghorn is a “loud-mouthed schnook”. Due to his father also having given him misleading descriptions of a chicken, Henery assumes Barnyard Dawg is what he’s looking for, and Foghorn tries to set him straight.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1057 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. In 1998, the original titles were put back into the cartoon, with this same restored print later being used on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 DVD set in 2003.

This is the cartoon where Foghorn got his name (while Henery was originally meant to be the starring character of McKimson’s “barnyard” series, it was at this point that it became clear that Foghorn was the character audiences wanted to see more of), as the title is supposed to allude to the fact that he’s a rooster who talks a lot. Obviously, the name fit so that was what McKimson and crew stuck with, going forward (although Foghorn’s name didn’t appear onscreen as his official name until 1953’s “Plop Goes the Weasel”).

This one stands out among most Foghorn cartoons in that Foghorn actually tries to convince Henery he IS a chicken instead of the other way around.

The cartoon was originally titled “Fowl Balls” and also “Rootin’ Tootin’ Rooster”. Incidentally, in the later “Leghorn Swoggled” (1951), Henery appears as a “rootin’ tootin’ lassoo-loopin’ popgun-shootin’ chicken hawk!”

You can find out who animated what scene here.

This is the first McKimson cartoon to have animation by Pete Burness.

This is the only cartoon where Foghorn unintentionally antagonizes Dawg.

This is also the only time where Henery’s grandpa appears.

A soundalike of “Huckleberry Duck” plays throughout the cartoon as Henery’s theme.

What I Like About This One:

The cartoon starts off with Henery leaning against a tin can with an annoyed expression and telling us, “Ah, I ain’t so little!” (animated by Charles McKimson) Grandpa Hawk reminds him, “I’ve told ya, Henery, WHY you’re too little to hunt chickens with me” (animated by Phil DeLara). Henery goes through the reasons with what he’s been told about chickens and Grandpa Hawk confirming all of them: “You mean on account of what you was telling me that chickens are great, big monsters?” “Yep” “They got sharp teeth and they live in caves?” “That’s right”. “And they fight like demons?” “Right”. But this only causes Henery to prove how bold he is when he finishes, “Well, what are we waitin’ for? Let’s go get some!” (animated by Charles) Grandpa Hawk disapproves, “You’re NOT goin’ and that’s that!” before walking off. Undeterred, Henery sulks, “A fine thing. I’m a chicken hawk and I never even SEEN a chicken! Well, I’m gonna get my first chicken today and that’s that!” (animated by John Carey).

Entering the farmyard, Grandpa Hawk confides to us, “I hated to tell Henery falsehoods about chickens but a kid would only be in my way!” (animated by DeLara) After peeking into the henhouse (animated by Fred Abranz), Grandpa Hawk explains, “You’ll probably hate me for what I’m gonna do, but after all, I AM a chicken hawk!” He enters the henhouse and starts laughing evilly, which makes several hens squawk in fear, one faint backward with her polka-dot underwear being fully shown, and another being too scared to make any noise (brilliantly animated by DeLara).

Grandpa Hawk exits the henhouse carrying two hens but hides them behind his back upon seeing (animated by DeLara) Foghorn approaching him and demanding, “Unhand those fair barnyard flowers!” Not letting Grandpa Hawk explain, Foghorn berates him, “What’s go-I say what’s goin’ on here? Don’t stand there with your beak open! Say somethin’! Explain yourself!” He then starts belly-bumping him several times, “Your tongue’s flappin’ but no noise is comin’ out of your big mouth!” before giving him two final belly-bumps, kicking him out: “Now get out and stay out! Scram, that is!” (hilariously animated by Manny Gould) Henery asks Grandpa Hawk, “Hey, uh, was that a chicken, pop?” (animated by Charles) Grandpa Hawk gets up and misleads Henery again in order to not harm his reputation, “A chicken? Of course not! Do you think I’d let a chicken do that to ME? That’s just a loud-mouthed schnook!” As he walks away, however, a flash of yellow appears on his back, signifying he’s a coward! (animated by Abranz)

Believing this, Henery remarks, “A schnook? Well I’m not after schnooks. I’m after a chicken!” (animated by Charles) Foghorn stops Henery and starts talking to him about what just happened: “Lookit here, son! I say, son! Did ya see that hawk after those hens? He scared ‘em! That Rhode Island Red turned white. Then blue. Rhode Island. Red, white, and blue. A flag-waver!” (animated by Pete Burness) This only annoys Henery as he walks around in circles, irritated as Foghorn continues, “You’re built too low! The fast ones go over your head! You got a hole in your glove! I keep pitchin’ em and you keep missin’ em!” (animated by Carey), before finally walking off when Foghorn concludes, “Ya gotta keep your eye on the ball! Eye! Ball! Eyeball! I almost had a gag, son! Joke, that is!” (animated by Burness)

Henery decides, “Schnooks are sure noisy things!” before he hears loud snoring coming from Dawg’s doghouse. Thinking this is a chicken’s cave, Henery believes, “That sounds like an awful big chicken!” and decides to “bring him down to my size” (animated by Charles) by hitting Dawg on the head with a hammer and then carrying him off. Seeing Dawg apparently move around on his chest, Foghorn describes this as a “strange means of locomotion” (animated by Carey with Charles animating the shot of Henery underneath Dawg) and picks Dawg up by the tail (animated by Burness).

Henery only notices he’s no longer carrying Dawg when Foghorn asks him what the gimmick is (animated by Burness). When Henery tells him he just caught himself a chicken, Foghorn laughs, “Chicken? (laughs) I say- (laughs)H. That’s no chick-, I say, that’s no chicken, son! I’M a chicken! Rooster, that is!” Henery tells him off, “Don’t gimme that! You’re not a chicken!” Thinking he can’t be anything else, Foghorn asks, “What am I then, boy?” before cringing in annoyance at Henery’s answer, “You’re a loud-mouthed schnook!” (animated by Charles)

In a very irritated tone, Foghorn tries to set Henery straight and starts absentmindedly slapping Dawg around which wakes him up and gets him annoyed at Foghorn: “Looky here, son. I’m no loud-mouthed schnook. This is a DOG, not a chicken. Chickens don’t look like dogs! Who told ya this was a chicken, son?” (animated by Abranz) He stops to tell us, “Nice boy, but doesn’t listen to a word ya say!” (animated by Charles) Foghorn continues, “You got a bum steer, son! I’m a chicken, not a schnook. You’re wrong, son!” before Dawg kicks him and calls him, “Schnook!” (animated by Carey) to which Henery agrees with him, still unaware that schnook is not a type of species (animated by Charles).

Foghorn attempts to prove he’s a chicken by demonstrating that roosters crow at sunup. He pulls up a drawing of the Sun with a string before crowing at it. Seeing that Henery disappeared, Foghorn angrily kicks away a sign saying, “Shnook!” and another saying, “Loud Mouthd, That Is” (animated by Gould) before deciding to himself, “I gotta straighten this lad out. Thing like this could warp his mind for life!” but then sees Henery pushing a trunk into the distance (animated by Carey).

Stopping the trunk, Foghorn tells Henery, “You’re way off, I say, you’re way off this time, son! You caught yourself a trunk!” before confiding, “Nice kid, but a little dumb”. The trunk opens and an angry Dawg rises out of it as Foghorn unknowingly antagonizes him again, “This is no chicken, son! It’s a trunk! Big suitcase, that is! (animated by Gould) This is a trunk, boy!” and does a fantastic wild take upon seeing Dawg growling at him. Foghorn attempts to make a run for it up a ladder into the barn only to run his head into a watermelon that Dawg has been holding out atop the ladder. With the watermelon on his head, Foghorn sighs, “Somedays it don’t pay to get out of bed!” (animated by DeLara)

Later, Foghorn shows Henery a picture of a roast chicken, points to himself, and then lays down in a pan. Henery asks, “Still trying to prove you’re a chicken, eh?” to which Foghorn nods (animated by Carey) but Henery is still convinced he’s a schnook (animated by Charles). Foghorn’s irritation at Henery’s stubbornness turns to horror when he sees (animated by Abranz) Henery walking up to Dawg’s house with a dynamite stick (animated by Charles). Foghorn pleads for him not to as he runs up to stop him, “Don’t do it! I’ll get blamed for it!” (animated by Abranz) Henery tosses it in and runs off (animated by Charles), and Foghorn runs inside the doghouse just as the dynamite stick goes off. Thinking Foghorn is responsible, an enraged Dawg beats him up: “Why, you! Take that! And that! And that! You good for nothin’ chicken!” (animated by Carey)

Surprised at what Dawg just said, Henery tells Foghorn, “Say! He called you a chicken” (animated by Charles). Foghorn adds, “That’s what I’ve, I say, that what I’ve been telling ya, boy! I AM a chicken!” Finally convinced, Henery hits him with a shovel (animated by DeLara). As Henery drags Foghorn off, Foghorn sulks, “I’m just a loud-mouthed schnook” (animated by Abranz). No longer caring at this point, Henery confides, “Chicken or schnook, in OUR oven, he’ll look good” (animated by Charles).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕