Walky Talky Hawky

Walky Talky Hawky
Lobby card.
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	August 31, 1946
Run time	8:18
Starring	Mel Blanc
Producer(s)	Edward Selzer
Music composed by	Carl W. Stalling
Story by	Warren Foster
Animation	Richard Bickenbach Arthur Davis Don Williams Cal Dalton
Director(s)	Robert McKimson
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Title card

Walky Hawky Talky is the two hundred and sixty-fifth Merrie Melodies theatrical short. It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on August 31, 1946. It was written by Michael Maltese, produced by Edward Selzer and directed by Robert McKimson.

An impressionable chickenhawk named Henry is sent by his father to find a chicken. During his hunt, he comes across a blabbering rooster, who tricks him into thinking that a dog is a chicken.

Memorable quotes

Foghorn: You lose somethin', I say, you lose somethin', kid?
Henery: I'm a chickenhawk. I'm after my first chicken!
Foghorn: A chicken, eh? Well, I'm a horse, I say, I'm a horse myself! But I've seen a chick-, I SAY I've seen a chicken around here-, pay attention sonny, somewhere.

Foghorn: Well, there's the foxy chicken. We'll just have, I SAY we just have to outsmart him!

Barnyard Dawg: Hubba, hubba, hubba! I'm no chicken! That's a chicken!
Foghorn: Don't you call m-, I say, don't you call me a chicken! You chicken!
Henery: Hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba!

Henery: One of those things, someone, I say, one of those things has got to be a chicken.

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Poppa Hawk	Mel Blanc
Momma Hawk
Henery Hawk	Mel Blanc
Barnyard Dawg	Mel Blanc
Foghorn Leghorn	Mel Blanc

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Henery's residence
    • Farm
      • Barnyard Dawg's residence

Objects

• Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies Comics
• Esquire magazine
• Watermelon
• Wooden plank

Vehicles

• None

Production

Development

Second lobby card.

After McKimson was promoted as a director in late 1944, Foster developed a story about a large rooster, a barnyard dog and the inclusion of Henery Hawk; the latter of which was originated by Chuck Jones for The Squawkin' Hawk. The story was approved around the same time after Foster wrote it.

Foghorn Leghorn's voice was initially inspired by a character known simply as "The Sheriff", played by Jack Clifford in the 1930s radio program Blue Monday Jamboree. However, for his his next appearance in Crowing Pains, the rooster's vocal mannerisms and personality became directly inspired by Kenny Delmar's portrayal of Senator Claghorn, from The Fred Allen Show program. In a later interview, McKimson had likely misremembered the connection and referred to Claghorn as the personality basis for Foghorn.

Filming

The dialogue was recorded on January 13, 1945.

It was copyrighted in 1946 (MCMXLVI).

Music

The music was composed by Carl W. Stalling.

Crew credits

• Layouts: Cornett Wood
• Backgrounds: Richard H. Thomas

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: June 22, 1946 in theatres

Behind the scenes

• The title is a play on the words "walkie-talkie" and hawk".
• Foghorn's voice sounds more harsher in this short, which resembled more on Mel Blanc's portrayal of Yosemite Sam.
• Foghorn is depicted with three front toes in his feet, instead of the usual two front toes in later shorts.
• Henery's line, "so round, so firm, so easy, so fully packed," is a reference to a tagline for Lucky Strike cigarettes in the 1940s.
• According to its animation draft sheet, the short was produced under the Looney Tunes series, but released under the Merrie Melodies label. The lobby cards for the short also reflect this name discrepancy.

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient	Result
Academy Award	March 13, 1947	Best Short Subject – Cartoons	Edward Selzer	Nominated

Everlasting influence

• Although this short served as the second cartoon entry for Henery Hawk, Foghorn and the Barnyard Dawg became the central focus of later theatrical shorts they appeared in. Henery served more or less as a secondary character in these cartoons until the 1961 short Strangled Eggs.
• While initially unnamed, Foghorn was given an alias his third appearance in The Foghorn Leghorn.

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • October 25, 2005: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 on DVD.
  • November 14, 2006: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 on DVD.
  • August 12, 2014: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3 on Blu-ray.