Je n'ai pas de chapeau

This Two-Strip Technicolor cartoon certainly is not one most folks would care about one way or the the other. So why is it an important film? First, and most importantly, it's the debut of Porky Pig. Back in the day, Porky was NOT cute but a bit grotesque...though in the first one he's a bit less gigantic and ugly. All he does in this one is recite a poem in class....the film really isn't his starring vehicle. Second, while not a major innovation, it is interesting to see this Looney Tunes short in color--albeit a more primitive version than the Three-Strip Technicolor used by Walt Disney. Why was Disney using it in 1935 and no one else? They bought exclusive rights to its use...and gave the Disney films real color...not the orangy-green you see in the two color processes.

The film consists of some animal children in school putting on some sort of pageant where they recite, sing and dance. It's not the most interesting idea for a short, that's for sure. But it was 1935 and this was still well before the studio became the best at producing entertaining shorts. Instead of humor, the older cartoons by Looney Tunes/Warner Brothers tended to be more cute and had a lot of singing.

So is it any good? Well, compared to the average film of the day, it was better than usual--with slightly better animation than most of the competition. Humor-wise, it had a few moments though none of the great laughs you'd later expect with a Looney Tunes cartoon.

I Haven't Got a Hat (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A small school is having their recital day. Porky Pig, stuttering and all, must stand up and do The Midnight Ride of Paul revere while other students follow.

I HAVEN'T GOT A HAT isn't the greatest animated short ever made but it is somewhat historic as this here was the first appearance of Porky Pig. His look and vocal performance is a lot different than the Porky most people know and love but it's still rather interesting seeing this early version. For the most part this is an innocent enough of a short as it's basically introducing us to a bunch of new characters with of course Porky taking off. There really wasn't any major laughs but it was pleasant enough.

Yes, this is Porky Pig's debut, although it certainly is not an attractive first look at the stuttering porker. Porky and a couple of other "kids" are all part of school musical and recital and Porky's bit leads off the show.

He recites a rendition of Longfellow's "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," or at least starts to but it quickly becomes Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade." Mostly he just sweats while trying to remember his lines. I liked the sound effects help Porky received from offstage and the fact that even though his classmates unleashed the dogs on him, they did give him good applause!

"Ham and Ex," two little singing dogs, get my vote for "best in show," which also featured "Miss Kitty" reciting "Mary Had A Little Lamb," and the piano playing "Oliver Owl," whose tune is greatly enhanced by a fighting dog and cat inserted into the piano by a mischief-making fellow student.

This one really isn't much for laughs but overall, it's "cute" and it's in color, which is pretty good considering it's made in 1935. In fact, the graphics and the color restoration are excellent for 1935 and it's a collector's piece of sorts being that it's Porky's debut. It is the lead-off cartoon on Disc 3 of Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 3.

The cartoon series, Merrie Melodies, was posing a problem for its producers because of its lack of popular characters, unlike its competitor, Walt Disney, who had a bevy of lovable personalities. The makers of the Looney Tunes episodes set about correcting that gap in March 1935's "I Haven't Got a Hat" by introducing a new set of animated characters they hoped would rejuvenate the series. One figure introduced in the cartoon especially stood out, and has remained as a mainstay to the Warner Brothers-affiliated series, Porky Pig.

Producer Leon Schlesinger had been selling his Looney Tunes to Warner Brothers in the early 1930s, and complemented those cartoons by originating his new 'Merrie Melodies' in 1931 as an answer to Walt Disney's "Silly Symphonies." The public became enamored with the 'Merrie Melodies,' with its musical-based themes. What it was lacking, however, was a nondescript cast. Director Friz Freleng, motivated by a suggestion from Schlessinger, gathered his artists to produce five new personalities in "I Haven't Got a Hat": Little Kitty, Oliver Owl, Ham and Ex, and Porky Pig. In addition, Beans the Cat shifted over to 'Merrie Melodies' from the Looney Tunes to replace the boy Buddy. All the newbies in the cartoon were each introduced in Miss Cud's schoolroom by the teacher. Porky is the first student to go in front of the class, reciting the poem 'Paul Revere's Ride,' talking with a stutter and seen without his pants.

Schlessinger's long range plan was to create a consistent line of characters similar to the 'Our Gang' series. His idea lasted a mere two years. Except for Porky, all the characters whom were introduced in "I Haven't Got a Hat," including potential super star Beans the Cat, dropped off the screen. Porky was a fan favorite immediately after his debut. The pig was voiced by Joe Dougherty, a stutterer himself. Trouble was Dougherty hadn't been able to control his stutter in the narration booth, taking an inordinate amount of time to finally nail Porky's lines. Dougherty was eventually replaced by Mel Blanc, who stepped in for Porky in 1937.

It's an earlier version of Porky though. He still stutters, but not the way he stuttered when Mel Blanc started doing his voice later. In this cartoon, he still manages to get his words out after a few tries, unlike when Blanc did the voice, and Porky would choose different words in mid sentence that were easier for him to say.

I liked the teacher. She even had her own bell.

The poem by Little Kitty was cute. "Corn Flakes".

The song, "I Haven't Got A Hat" by the twin dogs, Ham and Ex was done well with some good bass lines.

The highlight of the cartoon was the piano recital by Oliver Owl. A brilliant bit of musicianship, thanks to assistance from Beans and a fighting cat and dog.