Studio: Leon Schlesinger Productions
Distributor: Warner Bros. / The Vitaphone Corporation
Produced by: Leon Schlesinger
Short Synopsis
The local schoolteacher, Miss Cud, introduces her pupils' musical recital. First up is a little pig, Porky, who stutters his way frantically through a dramatic recitation of "Paul Revere's Ride", until his classmates summon a pack of friendly stray dogs and he is chased off the stage. Little Kitty tries to recite "Mary Had a Little Lamb", forgets her lines, and despite Miss Cud's prompting speaks faster and more desperately until she bursts into tears. Meanwhile, in the audience, Beans the Cat is getting more and more annoyed with Oliver Owl, who won't share his bag of sweets. When Oliver is called up to play a simple beginner's piece on the piano, Beans takes his revenge: he slips outside and pushes a cat and a passing stray dog into the back of the piano. Their fight inside the instrument turns Oliver's tune into a wild, virtuoso performance that stuns him, while the audience applauds.
Why It Matters
- Porky's recitation is the scene to watch. His stammer, voiced by Joe Dougherty, who really did stutter, is the gag that made audiences remember him, and the panic of a child forgetting his lines in front of a crowd still lands.
- It is the first appearance of Porky Pig, who became Warner Bros.' first major star and later closed the cartoons with "That's all folks!", and of Beans the Cat. The film was modelled on Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies, introducing a whole class of new characters to see which would catch on, and its success turned Warner's cartoons towards funny animals instead of human-like leads such as Bosko and Buddy.
Notes and Trivia
- It is the 45th Merrie Melodies cartoon.
- Porky was later redesigned and given a new voice by Mel Blanc, who took over in 1937 because Dougherty's real stammer made recording sessions slow and expensive.
- See also: Porky's Duck Hunt (1937).