Je n'ai pas de chapeau

Miss Cud is the school teacher. The students include Beans the Cat, Porky Pig, Oliver Owl, Ham and Ex. The students are performing in a Musical and Recital.

Warner Brothers was trying to copy Our Gang's success with a bunch of characters as kids. Beans became an early minor Looney Tunes star, but it is Porky Pig who is the big longtime breakout. Both made their first appearance here. By itself, this is mostly an introduction to a bunch of characters. There isn't much to the story. It is basic and a passable six. But that is only if there is nothing else. This is a rookie card. Those are worth way more.

Mr. Freling comes up with the ultimate classroom stutterer in this Merrie Melodies cartoon. It begins with an elementary age Porky reciting "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" in front of an audience. Other characters strut their stuff too, but I only recognise Porky.

This Two-Strip Technicolor cartoon certainly is not one most folks would care about one way or the the other. So why is it an important film? First, and most importantly, it's the debut of Porky Pig. Back in the day, Porky was NOT cute but a bit grotesque...though in the first one he's a bit less gigantic and ugly. All he does in this one is recite a poem in class....the film really isn't his starring vehicle. Second, while not a major innovation, it is interesting to see this Looney Tunes short in color--albeit a more primitive version than the Three-Strip Technicolor used by Walt Disney. Why was Disney using it in 1935 and no one else? They bought exclusive rights to its use...and gave the Disney films real color...not the orangy-green you see in the two color processes.

The film consists of some animal children in school putting on some sort of pageant where they recite, sing and dance. It's not the most interesting idea for a short, that's for sure. But it was 1935 and this was still well before the studio became the best at producing entertaining shorts. Instead of humor, the older cartoons by Looney Tunes/Warner Brothers tended to be more cute and had a lot of singing.

So is it any good? Well, compared to the average film of the day, it was better than usual--with slightly better animation than most of the competition. Humor-wise, it had a few moments though none of the great laughs you'd later expect with a Looney Tunes cartoon.

The cartoon series, Merrie Melodies, was posing a problem for its producers because of its lack of popular characters, unlike its competitor, Walt Disney, who had a bevy of lovable personalities. The makers of the Looney Tunes episodes set about correcting that gap in March 1935's "I Haven't Got a Hat" by introducing a new set of animated characters they hoped would rejuvenate the series. One figure introduced in the cartoon especially stood out, and has remained as a mainstay to the Warner Brothers-affiliated series, Porky Pig.

Producer Leon Schlesinger had been selling his Looney Tunes to Warner Brothers in the early 1930s, and complemented those cartoons by originating his new 'Merrie Melodies' in 1931 as an answer to Walt Disney's "Silly Symphonies." The public became enamored with the 'Merrie Melodies,' with its musical-based themes. What it was lacking, however, was a nondescript cast. Director Friz Freleng, motivated by a suggestion from Schlessinger, gathered his artists to produce five new personalities in "I Haven't Got a Hat": Little Kitty, Oliver Owl, Ham and Ex, and Porky Pig. In addition, Beans the Cat shifted over to 'Merrie Melodies' from the Looney Tunes to replace the boy Buddy. All the newbies in the cartoon were each introduced in Miss Cud's schoolroom by the teacher. Porky is the first student to go in front of the class, reciting the poem 'Paul Revere's Ride,' talking with a stutter and seen without his pants.

Schlessinger's long range plan was to create a consistent line of characters similar to the 'Our Gang' series. His idea lasted a mere two years. Except for Porky, all the characters whom were introduced in "I Haven't Got a Hat," including potential super star Beans the Cat, dropped off the screen. Porky was a fan favorite immediately after his debut. The pig was voiced by Joe Dougherty, a stutterer himself. Trouble was Dougherty hadn't been able to control his stutter in the narration booth, taking an inordinate amount of time to finally nail Porky's lines. Dougherty was eventually replaced by Mel Blanc, who stepped in for Porky in 1937.

Although "I Haven't Got a Hat" just looks like a cute cartoon, it really seems to be focusing on the various kinds of things that can happen during a school recital, namely stage fright and resentment. Probably most famous as Porky Pig's debut (he sings about Paul Revere's ride), the cartoon culminates when an owl tries to play the piano but a cat messes with the piano.

So, this is a formidable part of cartoon history. The crowd behind the Looney Tunes cartoons would further develop the cartoons in later years, but this is a good reference point. Worth seeing.

The lamb's fleece was as white as corn flakes. Ha!