Bye, Bye Bluebeard

This is one of those cartoons which is much funnier seen than described. It's the little things, the sight gags of the little mouse's face and grin, Porky's reaction to bad things, and a bunch of other details that would make this review too long to describe.

Suffice to say it begins with Porky Pig against "that unsanitary rodent, that lowdown thief" - the mouse - who tries to steal food off of Porky's table in the opening scene, but winds up with Porky up against a 6-feet, 11-inch, 350-pound giant.

While the pig is muttering to himself, the radio says, "Stop! We interrupt this program with a special news bulletin. Bluebeard the killer is at large. Use every precaution to protect yourself."

Back before television, many people had their radios on all day to entertain them with music, humor, sports and all the news bulletins of the day.

Anyway, Porky is petrified. Suddenly he hears a nasty laugh and sees a shadow on the wall of a pirate and big knife. It's only the mouse dressed up as a pirate! Nonetheless, Porky is so dumb he thinks it is the pirate so he feeds him anything he wants....until the radio comes back with a height and weight description of the real Bluebeard, who happens to be under Porky's table. Mayhem ensues!

The best of the three characters is the little mouse, who is one clever little dude. He winds up coming to Porky's rescue in a neat twist. He, and the whole cartoon, can be seen on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Three.

Porky Pig is pigging out when a mouse tries to steal a bite. A news bulletin comes over the radio. Bluebeard the Killer is on the loose. Porky is scared silly and the mouse takes advantage by pretending to be Bluebeard. Porky discovers the truth, but the real Bluebeard has been hiding in the house all along.

The trick is a bit ridiculous. I am willing to go with it. The Bluebeard reveal is also a bit out there. This one relies on a couple of highly unlikely events happening. This short does get a bit dark towards the end. Cartoons are often dark, but this one feels darker. That's alright by me.

While not one of my favourite Looney Tunes characters, Porky is always likable and watchable.

'Bye Bye Bluebeard', despite being directed by a comparatively little-known and less prolific director, is a great cartoon and in the better end of Porky's cartoons. It does peter out ever so slightly towards the end, where the story ideas are not quite as strong as before, but that's the only real thing wrong with it.

The cartoon is superbly animated, all the characters are well drawn especially Bluebeard, it looks vibrant, lush and colourful, the backgrounds are rich in detail and everything flows smoothly. The music score by Carl Stalling also leaves a positive impression, as is characteristic of Stalling there is a wonderful liveliness, terrific atmosphere, beautiful and clever orchestration, an excelling in fitting with the action and an unequalled ability to add to its impact. There is also a very unique arrangement of the cartoon's title song "Bye Bye Blackbird".

Dialogue is fresh, witty and deliciously funny, and the gags are even more imaginative and funnier, the mouse bagging almost all the best material. All three characters are strongly characterised and the chemistry is well done. Porky does fare least, he's amusing and likable but he is one of those characters who can be overshadowed by characters with stronger personalities (especially Daffy) and that is the case here. Bluebeard is imposing and quite terrifying, but stealing the show is the hilarious mouse. Mel Blanc's voice work as always adds so much to the cartoon's success, his most colourful characterisations of the mouse and Bluebeard making more of an impression than his still solid characterisation of Porky.

Overall, great cartoon and while it is one of Porky's better ones it is a case of a supporting character stealing the show, in this case the mouse. 9/10 Bethany Cox

To me, the line in "Bye, Bye Bluebeard" that stands out the most is the part about everyone having a conscience. As we've all seen, not everybody has one. To be certain, John Dean has written a book about this.* OK, so it makes no sense to talk about people's conscience when reviewing a Porky Pig cartoon. I just like looking for weird connections between things. Overall, I thought that it was an OK cartoon, but I don't find it particularly entertaining when they make Eastern Europeans the antagonists. Still, you gotta admit, that mouse was pretty cool.

*In case you don't know who John Dean is, he testified before the senate in 1973 and exposed that responsibility for the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up went all the way to the Oval Office. Nowadays, he frequently appears on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann".

Radio reports of a killer on the loose named Bluebeard have Porky scared out of his wits. A mouse in Porky's home decides to use this to his advantage, donning a disguise and convincing Porky he's Bluebeard in order to get food. It works for a second but Porky quickly discovers the ruse. Then the real Bluebeard shows up...

Fun short from Arthur Davis with many amusing gags. Great voice work from Mel Blanc. The music is lively with a nice nod to the standard "Bye Bye Blackbird." Excellent animation with well-drawn characters, objects, and backgrounds. Lovely Technicolor is always a plus. There's a Tom & Jerry feeling to this one, perhaps because of the house setting and all the food, etc. Not to mention the mouse playing such a big part in the plot, which isn't common for a Porky short.