Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an anthropomorphic pig and a character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. He is well known for his stuttering speech impediment and ending many cartoons wit the phrase, "That's all, folks!" His voice was originated by Joe Dougherty, but is better remembered by his successor, Mel Blanc.
He was the first cartoon character created by Warner Bros. to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts featuring the character. Even after he was supplanted by later characters, Porky continued to be popular with audiences, and more importantly, the Warners directors, who recast him in numerous everyman and sidekick roles.
Porky's protégé in Tiny Toon Adventures is Hamton J. Pig.
Character description
Porky is usually characterized as a happy-go-lucky individual. He is generally kind, cheerful, and exibits some innocent, child-like qualities to himself. He is also a shy person compared to others, but nonetheless remains mild-mannered. Despite his everyman position, Porky's behavior wildly varies by his appearances, ranging from being a simple-minded foil to a neurotic, sometimes ocassionally violent person; although, both extremes seem to only exist depending on how sympathetic he can get.
He is often seen as a straight man for some of the other characters, who tend to have a much brasher personality compared to him. In particular, he is often paired with Daffy Duck, who had a zany demeanour during the late 1930s and 1940s, and served as his foil during that period. When Daffy adopted an egotistical personality in the 1950s (under the direction of Chuck Jones), Porky served as his more competent sidekick.
Porky's most distinctive trait is his stutter, for which he sometimes compromises by substituting certain words; for instance, "What's going on?" might be "What's guh-guh-guh-guh— ... what's happening?" In other examples, he would also replace a much simpler word with one that is more complicated than what is meant to be said.
Appearances
TV series
Movies
- Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies
- The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
- The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
- Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales
- Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island
- Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
- Space Jam
- Looney Tunes: Back in Action
- Bah Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas
- Space Jam: A New Legacy
- The Day the Earth Blew Up (announced)
Shorts
Comics
Video games
- Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday
- Looney Tunes
- Looney Tunes Collector
- Looney Tunes Racing
- Looney Tunes Space Race
- Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem
Theme parks
Biography
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Original Cartoons
The Early Years
In his debut appearance, I Haven't Got a Hat, he attended as a young student and recited the poems Paul Revere's Ride and The Charge of the Light Brigade in class (albeit strained by his excessive stutter). He was the fellow classmate of a short-lived star, Beans the cat, along with several other who appeared like Little Kitty, the twin puppies Ham and Ex, and Oliver Owl.
The Daffy Days
Playing Sidekick
We're All a Little Looney
Come On and Slam! And Welcome to the Jam!
Duck Dodgers of the 24th and One Half Century
Porky Gets Modern
Going Down the Rabbit Hole
Porky Gets Retro
It's Hard Hat Time
Porky Sells Out
Development
Porky was created by Friz Freleng for the Merrie Melodies short, I Haven't Got a Hat (1935), after studio head Leon Schlesinger assigned him to do a cartoon version of Hal Roach's Our Gang films. Porky's name originated from two brothers who were friends of Freleng, "Porky" and "Piggy".[1] Joe Dougherty was hired by Freleng to voice Porky in order to move away from the falsetto-type voice that was commonly used in cartoons at the time, in addition to Dougherty being an actual stutterer.[1] As told in an interview by Joe Adamson, Freleng claimed to have originated the pig's stutter, stating, "I used the stuttering because I thought it would give him (Porky Pig) something different, some character."[2]
After the departure of Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising from Warner Bros., and taking their creation Bosko with them, the studio attempted to fill in his spot with the generic Buddy. The cast created for I Haven't Got a Hat, comprised of characters like Beans and Porky, was originally meant as a means to replace Buddy. Due to the Porky's successful popularity in his debut, he effectively became the star of numerous shorts, after a number of Looney Tunes shorts with the same cast.
Dougherty was let go by Warner Bros. in 1937, due to high production costs, and his inability to control his stutter creating more takes would have to be made. Mel Blanc took his place in Porky's Duck Hunt, after winning an audition to voice the character. Blanc continued to make use of Porky's stutter; however, he reduced it to comedic effect.[2]
Gallery
- Main article: Porky Pig/Gallery
Toys and merchandise
Behind the scenes
- Since his debut, Porky is the oldest continuing Looney Tunes character.
In popular culture
| WARNING: The following section contains content that may be seen as mature or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. |
- Porky (voiced by Mel Blanc) made a special appearance in a 1939 blooper reel by Warner Bros., Breakdowns of 1939, where he is seen trying his best not to swear after smacking his thumb with a hammer. In several of his "takes," Porky attempts to cry out "Son of a bi-bi-bi..." before quietly simmering his phrase down, and "Oh, son of a bi-bi-, son of a bi-bi-, son of a bi-bi-bi-... gun!" In the last "take," Porky turns to the camera and says "Ha-ha-ha! You thought I was gonna say 's-s-son of a bitch,' didn't ya?!"[3]
- In The Simpsons episode "Bart the Murderer," Fat Tony bets against a racehorse called "That's All Folks," the catchphrase commonly associated with Porky.
- In the Seinfeld episode "The Bris," Kramer says "That's all folks," after accusing a doctor of having a pig man.
- In the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire, Daniel, a voice actor who had issues with his Tweety-like character smoking, quit and told his boss to "piss off" while mimicking Porky's stutter.
- In the Family Guy episode "Turban Cowboy", Peter and Muhammad tune in to watch the end of Muslim Looney Tunes, where a Muslim Porky appears and says that as a pig, he is very dirty and should not be touched by humans.
Robot Chicken
- Main article: Robot Chicken
- "8 Carrot:" Porky is the DJ at Bugs and Elmer's Rap Battle.
- "Immortal:" In "Porky's," the titular strip club is mistaken for a place that Porky owns. Bugs and Daffy walk into it, before leaving and reentering.
- "Snarfer Image:" At the end of "Wooper", Porky Pig does his famous "That's all Folks!" before being shot in the head, presumably by Elmer.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Beck, Jerry. Audio commentary for I Haven't Got a Hat on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 DVD set (2005); also citing Freleng's autobiography.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Barrier, Michael (1999). Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-516729-0. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
- ↑ Breakdowns of 1939 (Warner Bros., 1939). Internet Archive.
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