The Foghorn Leghorn

Being a big fan of both Foghorn Leghorn and Henery Hawk, it's no surprise I enjoyed this gem from 1948 immensely. You have chicken hawk Henery once again trying to nab himself a chicken and once again finding himself crossing paths with Foghorn, whom he thinks is not a chicken but "a loud-mouthed schnook." Also appearing in this one are Barnyard Dog and Henery's father, a colorful character in his own right who provides the short's funniest bit about schnooks. It's a very funny cartoon with excellent animation. Love the colors. Great music from Carl Stalling. Terrific voice work from the incomparable Mel Blanc. This is early Foghorn but still some great lines here wonderfully delivered by Mel ("You're built too low! The fast ones go over your head! You've got a hole in your glove! I keep pitching 'em and you keep missing 'em!"). I can't imagine any fan of the character not loving this one.

Little Henery is a young chicken whose dad won't let him hunt for chickens yet and he's frustrated. "I'm a chicken hawk and I've never even seen a chicken," he complains. His dad has been telling him how huge and ferocious chickens are, to discourage him, but Henery decides enough is enough....he's going looking for his first chicken! (It turns out, as Henery's dad explains to the audience as he lurks outside of Ferndale Farms, "I hated to tell Henery falsehoods about chickens but a kid would only be in my way."

"You're probably going to hate me for what I am about to do but, after all, I am a chicken hawk," he tells us....than goes inside the coop and begins with a loud Dracula-type laugh- sound which terrifies the chickens but is very funny. However, from that point, that's the last we see of Dad as the big rooster, "Foghorn Leghorn," enters the picture and takes over from there, battling the little chicken hawk in a war of words more than anything else.

This was very good animated short with some clever comedy bits and great dialog from "Foghorn." I'd like to hear more from him.

Foghorn Leghorn was on of the lesser stars at Warner Bros., but he was still one of the biggest cartoon stars from the mid '40's for the next 20 years. In this, his third short, once again Henery Hawk can't get it straight on what a chicken is supposed to look like, and anyone who has seen one of these classic Robert McKimson Fogorn/Henery cartoons knows the drill, and the gags in this one are very much par for the course. Also included is the Barnyard Dog, while not indispensable to this particular series, added a lot to them with his gruff matter-of-fact attitude. Besides, he was the only one who never failed to see Foghorn for what he really was, a loudmouth shnook.

Prior to Robert McKimson's 'The Foghorn Leghorn', the title character had made two previous appearances. By this, his third appearance, it was clear McKimson had a star on his hands and he went on to direct every one of the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons. Originally a supporting player in what was intended as a star vehicle for Henerey Hawk, Foghorn stole the show so blatantly that it was the little chicken hawk who was subsequently reduced to the role of supporting player to the rooster's verbose antics. The Foghorn cartoons represent some of McKimson's best work and this short, which christened the rooster, is among the best. While the previous two Foggy shorts had involved him trying to prove to Henerey that he wasn't a chicken, 'The Foghorn Leghorn' flips the situation as Foghorn tries desperately to prove to a skeptical Henerey that he is a chicken. McKimson's direction is excellent adding extra hilarity to a fresh and funny setup. Mel Blanc's voice characterization for Foghorn is priceless ("I almost had a joke, son") even at this early stage. While there would ultimately be a few tedious entries in the eventually repetitive Foghorn Leghorn series, 'The Foghorn Leghorn' is certainly not one of them. A classic.

Little chikenhawk Henery longs to proves to his grandfather that he's old enough to catch chickens. Foghorn Leghorn just so happens to be a chicken but Henery thinks he's just a schnook on account of his hear his pop call him that. The cartoon is hilarious and if Robert McKimson just stayed with making Foghorn shorts, and never EVER made a Bugs Bunny cartoon then I would have no beef with the guy at all. This animated short can be found on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 and features an optional commentary by Micheal Barrier.

My Grade: A+