Walky Talky Hawky

This cartoon, nominated for an Oscar, was actually a Henery Hawk cartoon. But Foghorn Leghorn-a takeoff on a radio character of the 1930s-1940s-steals the show and launched himself to fame and fortune, while Henery saw his career fizzle. The Foggy in this is the Foggy everyone knows today. Very little change from the first appearance to the familiar figure, unlike Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Elmer or most of the others. Well worth watching.

This is the first appearance of Foghorn Leghorn and the dog as well as the second appearance of Henery Hawk (but the first voiced by Mel Blanc). As far as the dog and chicken are concerned, they related to each other exactly as they did in subsequent films--and seeing them tormenting each other was, as always, a pleasure. In the midst of this fighting arrives Henery who is used by both Foghorn and the dog to fight their battle. Quite a few later films featured similar scenarios, but this was the first.

This film was nominated for Best Animated Short but ultimately lost to "Cat Concerto"--which was an intellectual Tom & Jerry outing which critics apparently loved but which was short on laughs. If I had been alive and a member of AMPAS (the Oscar folks) back then, I certainly would have voted for "Walky Talky Hawky", as it was the funniest of the nominees.

McKimson tends to be overlooked as a director, despite having done so many important and hilarious cartoons.

He clearly did something right, considering his fourth release was nominated for an Oscar.

The Foghorn character and situation is almost entirely crystalized from the start, save for the voice. His rivalry with the barnyard dog and tricking the naive Henery Hawk became a staple for the series. Foghorn's voice would eventually be set in stone by his fourth appearance.

Having inherited Tashlin's former crew, McKimson's cartoons from 1946 more or less have Tashlin's sense of energy. This entry is the most frantic paced of the series. Art Davis, Cal Dalton, and Dick Bickenbach had a lot to with the zaniness and this was the sole Foghorn that they animated on.

This entry makes a strong case for Robert McKimson as a director.

Robert McKimson's 'Walky Talky Hawky' introduced Foghorn Leghorn, a character with whom McKimson did much of his best work. This short was originally intended as a star vehicle for Henerey Hawk but Foggy obviously steals the show, so much so that Henerey became the supporting player. Foghorn is close to fully realised already in this debut outing, as is his regular rival, the barnyard dog. When Henerey comes to the farm looking for a chicken to eat, Foggy convinces him that the dog is a chicken, thereby exposing him to the little hawk's persistent kidnapping attempts. It's a funny set-up and makes for a very good cartoon, although a couple of cartoons down the line McKimson flipped the premise and had Foggy trying to convince Henerey that he was a chicken. That cartoon, 'The Foghorn Leghorn', was a classic and it also christened the character. In comparison, 'Walky Talky Hawky' still holds up well, setting up the premise for McKimson to later subvert. I always think McKimson seems most at ease when directing the Foghorn Leghorn series and 'Walky Talky Hawky' benefits greatly from that assurance. It's a lovely cartoon with a great ending and it also proved to be a great beginning, giving birth to yet another classic Warner Bros. star

Listen when I'm talking to you boy! This is Foghorn Leghorn's first short. And he got an Oscar-Nomination! WOW! I SAY, I SAY OSCAR NOMINATION! HAHA! You're a good reader but you ain't paying attention to a thing I say!

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