Porky the Wrestler

Porky the Wrestler (1937)

*** (out of 4)

The biggest wrestler in the world is going to defend his title and everyone will be there. Porky Pig hitches a ride there with the challenger but after a mix-up it's Porky who is forced into the ring.

PORKY THE WRESTLER is a pretty typical short where our hero is forced to take on someone much more skilled than he is and yet it turned out to be one of the better films in the series up to this point. There were quite a few great gags that actually worked including some very creative scenes inside the ring where Porky takes a beating. The animation itself was quite good and I also that the creative bits of comedy really worked.

This cartoon features Porky, who is mistaken for a heavyweight wrestler. There are great sight gags in here (naturally-this is a Tex Avery) and some of the best come when everybody in the ring plays "choo-choo"! This short is a great deal of fun and is well worth hunting up. Originally black and white, it has also been colorized. I prefer the black and white-the colorizing on this one isn't as effective. Recommended.

In Porky's early days - before Mel Blanc provided his voice - it seems like he got into everyday situations that the animators reworked into wacky forms. An example is Tex Avery's "Porky the Wrestler". This one features the obese porker thumbing a ride with a wrestler (with the most Slavic surname that I've ever heard). But when they arrive at the arena, the wrestler falls into a hole in the ground and the people mistake Porky for the wrestler. So, he has to battle a big monster of a wrestler...but of course they make it really crazy! So, if absolutely nothing else, it's a look into Warner Bros. animation's early days, before they got, well, loony. Still, plenty of sight gags abound (especially when Porky, the wrestler and the referee play train; I couldn't have predicted that in a million years!). All in all, a pretty good one. Available on YouTube.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best cartoons ever made from anybody. 'Porky the Wrestler', like 'Milk and Money', is considered by me not just one of Avery's best Porky Pig cartoons but also one of Porky's better early efforts and Avery's better early ones in general. Sometimes during this period there was the sense that he had not yet found his feet, 'Milk and Money' is an example of an early cartoon of his where his distinctive style can be found all over.

'Porky the Wrestler' is also a cartoon where the relative slightness of the story can be completely overlooked because of the hilarity and brilliant timing of the gags, immaculate pacing and Avery's wild wackiness being apparent throughout and used to full advantage. The setting is done to truly imaginative effects, the excitement and danger of the sport handled well.

Animation is characteristically great, crisp, detailed and fluid, the black and white holds up well. Carl Stalling once again provides an outstanding score, it is lush, energetic and characterful, with clever orchestration and a mastery of not just adding to the action but enhancing it as well (Stalling was a near-unequalled master at this).

It can be expected that Porky is a likable character and he is, though to me he works better in support against a stronger in personality character, while he plays it straight, than a lead.

The only issue for me is Joe Dougherty's voice work as Porky, it's not just because Mel Blanc's more famous interpretation is more appealing to me but Dougherty doesn't sound anywhere near as natural or endearing, have always found that he overdid the stutter and that's true here too.

Concluding, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox