Fish Tales

When Porky Pig was only about a year old - Mel Blanc wasn't even providing his voice yet - he starred in this mildly deranged cartoon. He goes fishing, only to dream that a fish catches him and tries to cook him. If the events portrayed in "Fish Tales" aren't what we usually expect from that most famous member of the family Suidae, we can probably excuse it, knowing that the animators might have not yet figured out what they wanted the porker to do (Leonard Maltin said that they eventually realized that he wasn't as much an actor as a reactor). And when they started pairing him with Daffy Duck, things really got good. As for this one, you may have misgivings about eating fish after watching it.

This is an early Porky Pig cartoon and like the early Porkys, the character isn't the cute guy most are familiar with today but a more pig-like and chubby guy. This isn't so much a complaint....just noting how much he changed by the 1940s.

In some ways, "Fish Tales" isn't a great cartoon for little kids. It's not just sureal but features the hero, Porky Pig, being tossed into an oven which might freak out younger viewers. On the other hand, it did make the cartoon edgy and more interesting than most early Porky shorts.

Porky wants to go fishing and his boat goes wildly out of control. After sinking a battleship in the process, Porky is exhausted and falls asleep. He then has a dream that HE was the catch of the day and is nearly eaten!

Because the cartoon lacked cutesy music and the like, it's one of Looney Tunes' better shorts of the era. Dark? Of course....but also pretty entertaining as well.

Fish Tales (1936)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Classic Porky Pig short has him going fishing but before long he grows tired so he decides to take a nap. In his nap he dreams that he is captured by a fish and prepared for its dinner.

FISH TALES is the first Porky short that I'd call a classic. It's also a film that came out just as the character was growing popular and I'd say that plenty of children got nightmares watching their favorite pig tied up and about to be eaten. What's so fun about this short is that it really does work the nightmare aspect so well and it's pretty intense as poor Porky gets closer and closer to being eaten. The animation was also extremely good and I really loved the underwater sequences. While some kids might have gotten nightmares, there's also some good fun here and there's no question that it was the best of the early Porky shorts up to this time.

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.

'Fish Tales' shows that, as to be expected, that Porky is a likable character and he is and also amusing, cute and interesting, though to me he works better in support against a stronger in personality character, where he plays it straight, than a lead. The fish characters are great support, giving fun and edge to agreed easily one of the best late 30s Porky cartoons where the atmosphere and fun were done so well for one to be bothered that much by the slightness of the story.

Joe Dougherty's voice for Porky has never really done it for me. It's not just because Mel Blanc's more famous interpretation is more appealing to me and fits better 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.

On the other hand, the animation is characteristically great, especially in the first half, crisp, detailed and fluid throughout.

The music is not Carl Stalling or Scott Bradley and does lack variety at times, but it is still lush and characterful and adds a good deal to the action if not quite enhancing it.

Lots of fun moments throughout and the nightmarish atmosphere of the cartoon is handled very effectively, that alone making 'Fish Tales' more memorable than most Porky Pig cartoons made during the late 30s period.

In conclusion, fun and nightmarishly atmospheric. 8/10 Bethany Cox