The Foghorn Leghorn

Classic short is what this is. Foghorn Leghorn is a great character and always provides a good laugh in his shorts. As opposed to trying to trick Henry Chickenhawk into thinking he is not a chicken, he does the opposite. And what are the results? Laughter.

I do like Foghorn Leghorn very much, he's not my favourite Looney Tunes character but he is one of their funniest and most distinctive. Most of his cartoons are thoroughly enjoyable, there are a few misses but the best, no matter how routine they are, are truly funny. Of his cartoons, The Foghorn Leghorn is my favourite. This time I am not going to pull the routine or repetitive card like I have with some of Foghorn's cartoons, because here instead of trying to convince that he isn't a chicken he is trying to convince that he is one, while the basic set-up is similar as far as I know The Foghorn Leghorn is the only one to reverse the typical situation so it does stand out among the rest in that regard. The animation is crisp and vibrant, Foghorn was better drawn later on, in his early entries he was a little too overweight but it is not an issue really. The music is as energetic, lush and characterful as you'd expect, the impact of the humour is helped by the effectiveness of how the music matches it. The dialogue is just hilarious, The Foghorn Leghorn contains some of the wittiest and sharpest writing of any of his cartoons, even early on the repetition and similes were there as part of Foghorn and they are every bit as effective. The gags are very clever and well-timed, hard to pick a favourite though, though Barnyard Dog's gestures and expressions do crack me up I have to say. Henery is a good character, cute but not too annoying, and works well with Barnyard and Foghorn. But he is not, and I don't think ever has been, as strong as the other two, Barnyard is very cunning and takes the butt of the jokes when called for well and Foghorn steals the show. Mel Blanc does a bravura job with the vocal characterisations as you'd expect. In conclusion, wonderful and while I find much entertainment in the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons, this one is my favourite of them all. 10/10 Bethany Cox

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.

Before "chicken hawk" referred to a warmonger who never served in the army, the Looney Tunes cartoons used the term. "The Foghorn Leghorn" features the eponymous blustery rooster trying to prove to Henery Hawk that he, Foghorn Leghorn, is in fact a chicken (rooster, that is) and not a schnook. Of course, this involves a series of self-degrading gags usually resulting in Foghorn irritating Barnyard Dog.

The plot line here is basically the same as in Foghorn's debut "Walky Talky Hawky", except that Foghorn is now the star. So, even if the cartoon isn't the ultimate masterpiece, it's always great to see what sorts of things Foghorn gets himself into. I recommend, I SAY I recommend this cartoon.

In his debut short 'Walky Talky Hawky' Henry Hawk was actually the star of the short but Mr. I SAY I SAY Leghorn stole the show and now he is the star and this is his first starring role. The premise here is similar to Walky Talky Hawky but it's still humorous.

3(***)out of 4(****)stars