Paying the Piper

The sign at the outskirts of the old German town reads: "Ye Town Of Hamlin: population 852, rat population 300,000,000."

However, the headline in the following day's newspaper claims "The Pied Piper" has rid of the city of all its rats. People are celebrating in the streets.....all, that is, but the cats, who are upset at this news. They go to "the Supreem (their spelling) Cat" for help. "The Supreem Cat" looks and sounds a bit like Sylvester with a stronger New York City accent. He has a plan to get the rats back in the city. It's up to the Pied Piper a.k.a. Porky Pig to make sure that doesn't happen (and that he gets paid)..

I enjoyed some of the cat's insults here to Porky, such as, "Ah, your sister smokes corn silk!" and "Ah, your brother eats jelly beans." (Porky scratches his head and says, "Gee, I wonder how he knows so much about my family.")

Porky gets the last laugh, however, over the smug cat with the line you see on the subject head on the review here. Overall, a decent Porky Pig cartoon, made better by the beautiful restoration job someone did for this Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 DVD package.

Some of the coolest Warner Bros. cartoons were their riffs on children's stories. One example is Robert McKimson's "Paying the Piper", in which pied piper Porky Pig rids Hamelin of the rats. While the citizens rejoice, it disturbs the cats that they won't have any food. So, their New Jersey-accented "Supreem Cat" dresses as a rat, hoping to make it look as though Porky hasn't fulfilled his duty and therefore won't get his reward. Are cartoon cats just the biggest tricksters of all?! While the cartoon may sound like a one-joke premise, they have some great gags to move it along, such as Supreem's insults to Porky. I'd never even heard of corn silk before watching this cartoon. Is there even such a thing as corn silk, does anyone know? But also, I liked how Porky and Supreem trick each other throughout the cartoon. Maybe not the greatest short to come from the Termite Terrace crowd, but entertaining enough for the few minutes that it runs. Just became available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 Disc 2.

I might have expected Bugs Bunny in that scene; after all, it's the sort of thing that he would do.

Porky Pig is a very likable and amusing character, if at times overshadowed by characters with stronger and more interesting personalities. Have also thoroughly enjoyed a lot of Robert McKimson's stuff.

While 'Paying the Piper' is not one of the best cartoons of either, it is still great fun and an interesting original animated take on the famous story 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin'. The animation is terrific, the colours are vibrant, the backgrounds very meticulous in detail and the drawing fluid and very smooth.

Carl Stalling never disappoints and one of my favourite composers in cartoon history, 'Paying the Piper' does nothing to change that perception. Anybody expecting luscious orchestration, characterful rhythms, clever use of instrumentation and sounds and the ability to elevate gags to a greater level rather than just adding to it will find all of those aplenty.

Regarding the writing, it is fresh and witty with Supreme Cat getting the best lines. Porky by all means is no less funny in the humour department, and interacts very well with Supreme Cat. The gags are also well-timed and clever, and Supreme Cat is a very strong foil.

Voice acting is terrific from the incomparable Mel Blanc, no complaints there. Robert McKimson does a fine job directing. The story is somewhat routine, but is very well paced and with not a misfire in the humour department that it feels trivial.

In conclusion, great fun. 9/10 Bethany Cox