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Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes
and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created
by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators
(particularly Bob Clampett) created many critically acclaimed shorts using
the fat little pig. Even after he was supplanted by later characters, Porky
continued to be popular with moviegoers and, more importantly, the Warners
directors, who recast him in numerous everyman and sidekick roles. He is
known for his signature line at the end of each short, "Th-th-that's all
folks!" but in fact this slogan had been used by both Bosko and Buddy and
even Beans at the end of every Looney Tunes cartoon. In contrast, the Merrie
Melodies series used the slogan: So Long, Folks! until the late 1930's when
it was replaced with the same one used on the Looney Tunes series.
The character was designed by animator Bob Clampett and introduced in the
short I Haven't Got a Hat (first released on March 2, 1935), directed by
Friz Freleng. Studio head Leon Schlesinger suggested that Freleng do a
cartoon version of the popular Our Gang films. Porky only has a minor role
in the film, but the fat little stuttering pig easily steals the show. Since
Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising had left the studio in 1933, taking the
studio's star character Bosko with them, Looney Tunes had been kept afloat
by cartoons featuring the bland Buddy. Porky's introduction ushered Buddy
out the door and pointed to things to come. Tex Avery was hired to the
studio in 1936, and his film Gold Diggers of '49 reused much of the cast
from I Haven't Got a Hat, albeit in wildly different roles. Porky
transitioned from a shy little boy to an immensely fat adult. Though he was
still in a supporting role, Porky got most of the laughs. The directors
realized they had a star on their hands.
This early Porky shared his stutter with the voice actor who originally
played him, Joe Dougherty. Because Dougherty could not control his stutter,
however, production costs became too high. The versatile Mel Blanc won the
audition for the character in 1937, beginning his long career with the
studio.
Clampett's Porky
Porky starred in dozens of films in the late 1930s. The directors still
didn't have a grasp on the character, however; his appearance, age, and
personality all varied from picture to picture. Bob Clampett would finally
pin Porky down, making him cuter, smarter, and less of a stutterer.
Clampett's Porky was an innocent traveler, taking in the wonders of the
world -- and in Clampett's universe, the world is a very weird place indeed.
This principle is perhaps best demonstrated in Porky in Wackyland (1938), a
film that sends Porky on a quest to find the last of the Dodos. This cartoon
was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 2000.
Porky as sidekick
Porky's post at the pinnacle of the Warners' pantheon was short-lived
however. In 1937, Avery pitted Porky against a plucky black duck who would
soon be christened Daffy and would become the studio's biggest star (until
replaced himself by Bugs Bunny). In fact, Friz Freleng would satirize this
very phenomenon when he directed You Ought To Be in Pictures (1940). The
film features up-and-comer Daffy convincing Porky to quit his job at Warner
Bros. to find better-paying work elsewhere. In turn, Porky convinces studio
head Leon Schlesinger to release him from his contract. After a highly
unsuccessful foray into the real world, Porky returns happily to the studio
that created him.
Porky always remained a sentimental favorite of the Warner directors. His
mild-mannered nature and shy demeanor made him the perfect straight man for
zanier characters such as Daffy Duck. He still starred in a few solo
cartoons, as well, such as Frank Tashlin's Swooner Crooner (1944). Other
cartoons dumbed Porky down and cast him as a duck hunter after Daffy,
largely paralleling the Elmer Fudd/Bugs Bunny pairings. Chuck Jones
perfected the Porky-as-straightman scenarios, pairing the pig with Daffy
Duck in a series of film parodies such as Drip-along Daffy (1951), Deduce,
You Say (1956), and Robin Hood Daffy (1958). Jones also paired Porky with
Sylvester in a series of cartoons in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in
which Porky plays the curmudgeonly owner of the cat and remains clueless
that Sylvester is constantly saving him from homicidal mice, space aliens,
and other threats. Porky, of course, also kept his trademark line, "Th'-th'-th'-th'-th'-th'-that's
All, Folks!" that became the signoff for many Looney Tunes cartoons. Prior
to Porky's arrival, the line had often been spoken (without the stutter) by
a cartoon court jester. Sometimes Bugs Bunny would also do the honors; in
those closing segments, Bugs would munch on a carrot and say, "And dat's de
end!" But Porky's closing line was so memorable that Mel Blanc's will
provided for it to be carved on his own headstone.
Later years
Porky, as seen in the opening title sequence of The Porky Pig Show.As did
the rest of his Looney Tunes co-stars, Porky enjoyed regular rotation in
television syndication beginning in the 1960s. In 1964, Porky got his own
Saturday morning cartoon, The Porky Pig Show which ran until 1967. In 1971,
he would star in another show, Porky Pig and Friends. Both of these programs
were collections of old theatrical shorts. Another such collection was the
1986 film, Porky Pig in Hollywood, which ran in art and college theaters. In
the 1990s animated series Tiny Toon Adventures, Porky appears as the mentor
of Hamton J. Pig. Porky Pig also appears as the Eager Young Space Cadet in
the animated television series Duck Dodgers.
In 1991, the National Stuttering Project (NSP) of San Francisco picketed
Warner Bros. demanding that they stop "belittling" stutterers and use Porky
Pig as an advocate for child stutterers. The studio refused the NSP, but
eventually agreed to grant $12,000 to the Stuttering Foundation of America
for a 1994 conference. After continued pressure from NSP member Ira
Zimmerman, Warner Bros. released a series of public service announcement
posters featuring Warners characters, including Porky himself, speaking out
against bullying. Despite these recent protests, Porky continues to feature
in new Warner Bros. animation to this day. An alternate school of thought is
that the morally upright and ever-optimistic Porky provides a positive role
model for stutterers.
In the movie Looney Tunes: Back In Action, Porky makes a cameo appearance
alongside Speedy Gonzales, where they both lament their politically
incorrect status.
Porky is currently voiced by Bob Bergen.
Porky is the star of the Super NES video game Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday.
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