Release Date:

February 14, 1942

Main Character(s):

Porky Pig

Summary:

Spot gags on zoo animals with Porky Pig as the zookeeper.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon is similar to “A Day at the Zoo” in that both cartoons feature gags on zoo animals.

This is one of the few Warner cartoons to have been released on Valentine’s Day, with the others being “What Makes Daffy Duck” (1948), “Forward March Hare” (1953), and “China Jones” (1959). Interestingly, none of the Warner cartoons released on Valentine’s Day are centered around romance.

This is the first Warner cartoon where a character replies to an insult with “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me” and then ends with “Nyah!” Later instances include “Gone Batty” (1954) and “Tweet Zoo” (1957).

What I Like About This One:

A tortoise has a strand of hair on his head where the signs on his cage say “The Tortoise and the Hair”.

The black sheep of the wolf family is a “Hollywood wolf” who is seen hanging around a recreated corner of Hollywood and Vine in his cage.

Porky shows us how he feeds the giraffe- he propels his food via a test your strength game (animated by John Carey). The giraffe attempts to reach his food by leaning over the top but eventually Porky hits the bottom so hard that the bucket of food is propelled into the giraffe’s face! (animated by Cal Dalton)

“March hares” are rabbits marching like soldiers with the leader playing a drum.

The narrator talks about a bald eagle but sees that said eagle has hair and says, “I reiterate, a bald eagle. A BALD EAGLE”. The annoyed bald eagle reveals that he was wearing a toupee (“Ok, blabbermouth! So I AM bald!”).

A black panther sees that his dinner bowl was made of aluminum and tosses it into a pile of aluminum that he was saving for national defense.

An Indian elephant whoops around like an Indian (animated by Dalton).

The narrator describes the vulture as “the most hated of all birds” and calls him a “sneaky bird of prey, an unspeakable ghoul, a loathsome scavenger, a snake in the grass with wings, a despicable excuse for a bird” but the vulture doesn’t care and retorts, “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me!” before sticking his tongue out at the narrator (“Nyah!”)

The seals are apparently so fussy that they only want trout. Porky attempts to prove that the seals can’t tell the difference by tossing in a mackerel only for it to be tossed back out along with a sign that says “No substitutes accepted”.

A bear pounces upon a sheep and attempts to hug it to death. The narrator shouts to “stop that hugging!”, but the sheep, in a feminine voice, tells him to mind his own business.

Three of the swallows who return to Capistrano every year on March 19 don’t know exactly why they do this. “I guess we’re just in a rut!”

A father rabbit is distressed at the fact the government wants him to “increase your production 100%” (as rabbits multiply).

A hippo’s skin is so tough “a bullet can hardly pierce it”. Porky shows that the hippo has “one teeny weeny vulnerable spot” which is the hippo’s ticklish spot (animated by Dalton). A hyena laughs along with him before saying “I don’t get it”.

A running gag about a lion waiting for something. In the end, it’s revealed to be the arrival of the ice cream man. He wasn’t waiting for ice cream though, he was hungry for the man!

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕