Release Date:

August 8, 1942

Main Character(s):

Henery Hawk

Summary:

Henery Hawk wants to eat chicken and refuses to eat the worm his mother wants to feed him, so he is sent to bed without any supper. Still craving chicken, Henery sneaks out to catch a hen named Hazel, and ends up dealing with her tough husband.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. “Someone’s Rocking My Dreamboat” played under the opening credits. In addition, cels of the original title card and credits were found in June 2021.

This is the first appearance of the little tough guy, Henery Hawk. What’s interesting is that not only was he introduced four years before Foghorn Leghorn (in 1946’s “Walky Talky Hawky”, which was also Henery’s next appearance), he was created by Jones. Robert McKimson used Henery as a recurring foil for Foghorn and believe it or not, Henery was actually intended to be the star character but when it became obvious that Foghorn was getting all of the laughs, Henery was demoted to supporting character. The only time Jones ever used Henery again was in “You Were Never Duckier” (1948) where Daffy disguises as a rooster to win $5,000 in a poultry show, but ends up having to avoid becoming a faux-chicken dinner for Henery and his dad.

This is Jones’ very first time working with Michael Maltese, who would become his full-time storyman beginning in 1948 where the Jones-Maltese duo would become responsible for several of the all-time greatest cartoons for several years.

For this cartoon only, Henery is voiced by Kent Rogers before Mel Blanc took over when McKimson used him again.

This is the only cartoon where Henery’s mother is physically shown.

What I Like About This One:

The worm is a great character as he is silent but we know exactly what he’s thinking judging by his facial expressions. He looks glum when Henery’s mother tries to tell Henery that worms are good for little chicken hawks, but is very glad when Henery refuses to eat him.

Henery initially acts like he’s going to eat the worm when his mother threatens to send him to bed if he won’t eat the worm: “All right, if you’re gonna get tough about it, I’ll… I’ll go to bed without no dinner!” To this, the worm is very relieved and is relieved even further when Henery claims, “And I still want chicken!”

Henery’s sheep counting turns into roast chickens one of which he tries to eat.

Henery marching out of his room to get himself a chicken, but then tiptoeing past his mother.

Henery attempting to take off from a tree branch but since he can’t fly yet, he plummets on to the roof of a barn.

Spotting the shadow of what appears to be a rooster, Henery runs at it but it turns out to be a weather vane (animated by Robert Cannon).

Dazed from hitting the vane, Henery falls into Hazel’s feathers. Upon smelling chicken, Henery investigates and finds himself looking the sleeping Hazel in the face.

Henery then attempts to carry Hazel off, but since he can’t see where he’s going, he bumps into Hazel’s husband, where it looks like she’s nuzzling him. The husband asks us, “Does it strike you that my wife is acting a little strangely, tonight?” Seeing Hazel walk in a weird way, he asks if she’s been drinking before noticing that her legs apparently shrunk and then discovering Henery (animated by Ken Harris).

Hazel being woken up when her husband discovers “a rather small chicken hawk.” She screams, “CHICKEN HAWK!” and runs off.

Henery gets annoyed at Hazel acting hysterical over him and calmly tells her to “pipe down” to which she picks him up. Henery starts threatening her, before her husband intervenes and asks if Henery is bothering her. Henery initially tells him to mind his own business before realizing who he spoke to and getting slapped to the other side of the chicken house.

Henery hiding in an empty jug and taunting the husband, only for the husband to notice that the other side of the jug has a cracked open, so he taps Henery on the shoulder. Chasing Henery around some hay bales, the husband is accidentally knocked out by Hazel, who was attempting to hit Henery. The husband gets up and dusts himself off and daizily says, “Thank you, Hazel” before collapsing (animated by Phil Monroe).

Seeing the husband knocked out, Henery challenges him to a fight but then the husband gets up, causing Henery to get nervous upon seeing how tall the husband is compared to him. Suddenly, the husband sees something that makes him run away in fear. Thinking the husband was running away from him, Henery continues to egg him on, but it turns out that his mother has arrived.

In the end, Henery has presumably learned his lesson and the worm is now signing his will. But when his mother asks him what he wants for dinner, Henery answers “CHICKEN!” which causes him to receive a big kiss from the worm.

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½