Ali-Baba Bound

Ali-Baba Bound (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Porky Pig is out riding around the desert when he receives word that Ali-Baba is going to attack the local fort. Porky goes to warn them but there's no one at the fort so he must battle the entire Arab army.

ALI-BABA BOUND is another decent, if not all that special, entry of the early Porky Pig series. I'm not going to lie, I find most of Porky's early films to be decent but they just aren't what I'd call a classic or even good. This one here once again benefits from some nice animation with the best bit being a long shot of the battle. As far as laughs go there aren't too many here. If you're a fan of Porky then perhaps you'll get more entertainment out of this but for me it was mildly entertaining but nothing more.

In early 2006, news came out that a Danish magazine had printed an image of the prophet Mohammed with a bomb-shaped turban. Needless to say, this enraged the Muslim world (especially since Islamic law forbids any portrayal of Mohammed). Anyway, it turns out that the political cartoon wasn't the first such image. "Ali-Baba Bound" has a similar drawing. The cartoon portrays Porky Pig getting sent to protect a foreign legion outpost from Ali Baba and his Dirty Sleeves. When Porky arrives and discovers that the legionnaires have gone to a convention in Boston, Ali Baba attacks.

What I mean about the political cartoon is that one of Ali Baba's men has a giant bomb tied to his head and strongly desires to get to use it. But maybe I'm the only one who ever noticed the connection.

I guess that as long as we understand the negative Arab stereotyping, it's easier to watch the cartoon, although it's far from Porky's funniest.

Porky is left behind as the only legionnaire guarding the fort. The rest are at a legionnaire's convention. Ali-Baba and all his men are set on destroying the fort. But Porky enlists a camel and confronts the bad guys. He is quite enterprising, to say the least, but it takes stereotypical stupidity by the Arabs to bring them down. Still there are a few decent moments. One is a camel at a gas station. I guess the Arabs were already known for their petrol in 1940.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Both Bob Clampett and Porky Pig have had much better cartoons than 'Ali-Baba Bound', together and individually. 'Ali-Baba Bound' is certainly far from bad, in fact it's a pretty decent watch. Pretty decent though doesn't feel enough. Clampett showed numerous times that he was capable of great and even classic. The same goes for Porky, especially in his legendary partnership with Daffy Duck. Porky actually fares well here, he is likeable and fun, on top of that he's not underused or misused and feels like a lead.

Clampett doesn't fare as well. He directs competently enough, but other cartoons of his show off his distinctive style much more. For Clampett, 'Ali-Baba Bound' is somewhat tame and subdued, it's not wild, visually outrageously wacky, witty or anarchic enough. Far from a hack job, Clampett never stooped as low as that even in his lesser efforts, but bland by Clampett standards.

There is certainly a good deal to like about 'Ali-Baba Bound'.

Mel Blanc is outstanding as always. He always was the infinitely more preferable voice for Porky, Joe Dougherty never clicked with me, and he proves it here. Blanc shows an unequalled versatility and ability to bring an individual personality to every one of his multiple characters in a vast majority of his work, there is no wonder why he was in such high demand as a voice actor.

Animation is good if not mind-blowing, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading and very meticulous in detail, if not as imaginative or as witty as Clampett has shown many times. Ever the master, Carl Stalling's music is typically superb. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it.

Regarding the humour, it's timed well and raises some amused smiles but is never what one would call hilarious and in the gags department it didn't quite feel enough. Personally remembered the very inventive attack methods much more, this aspect was done very well and they and the previously mentioned longshot are where the animation most excels. The story is lively enough but is flimsy and to me the supporting characters were fun and support Porky very well but some won't take kindly to the stereotyping.

In summary, decent but comes up short somewhat. 6/10 Bethany Cox