Porky's Poor Fish

Some ingenious but corny gags involving flying fish that look like bomber planes and electric eels that light up to spell out warning messages play a huge part in the success of PORKY'S POOR FISH, but the pig himself is out to lunch.

The shenanigans of a hungry cat with his eye on the fish store sets the pace for a fast-moving B&W cartoon with a number of sight gags (all pretty corny but fun to watch). The animation is good, although one misses seeing these sort of things in the vivid color used throughout most of the '40s and '50s cartoons.

Not the funniest Porky the Pig, but it'll have to do--as seen on the Errol Flynn Signature Collection No.1.

"Porky's Poor Fish" is an oddly named cartoon, as you really see very little of Porky and he's not really involved in the story at all.

When the story begins, a cat is frustrated in his attempts to eat a cutesy mouse. So, after Porky leaves his aquarium business to get some lunch, the cat sneaks in...hoping to get a quick and easy meal. However, the fish work together to defeat the cat...and Porky wanders in after it's all over and there's nothing for him to do.

The story is okay, though there are a lot of bad puns instead of good laughs. Not a bad cartoon but a bit of a disappointment and poorly named as you'd expect more of the Pork-ster.

Bob Clampett's 'Porky's Poor Fish' is a so-so cartoon populated by appalling puns and one or two nice moments. Set in Porky's Fish Shoppe, 'Porky's Poor Fish' occupies an uncomfortable area between a standard black 'n' white Porky cartoon and one of the books-come-to-life Merrie Melodies that were popular at that time. Typically of many of the early Porky cartoons, Porky is far from the star, appearing only in a rather stilted opening musical number and the climax of the film. For the rest of the time the star is a scraggly cat who sees the fish shop as an opportunity for a free meal but gets more than he bargained for. Unfortunately, the audience gets far less than they bargained for. As was sometimes the case in the books-come-to-life series, the spotlight is thrown on punning signs which could have worked just as well in a non-animated medium. Laughs are scarce and, while the cartoon is just about saved by Clampett's energetic direction, there is very little at all to recommend 'Porky's Poor Fish' over any of the other below-par early Porky cartoons.

If you've seen most of Porky Pig's early cartoons, you've probably observed that they mostly put him in a series of black and white Looney Tunes* portraying various walks of life: bullfighter, pilgrim, firefighter, etc. Most of these cartoons consisted of rather corny - but still really funny - spot gags and word jokes. Bob Clampett's "Porky's Poor Fish" is a prime example. The plot has a street cat sneaking into Porky's fish store with the aim of turning the piscine inhabitants into lunch, only to see them go all Rambo on him. But most of the cartoon has stuff like "Twenty Thousand Leaks Under the Ceiling" and "Tiny Shrimps with Giant Mussels".

I probably speak for most Looney Tunes fans when I say that Clampett's best cartoons made heavy use of his penchant for contortionism. Examples include the iron lung in "The Daffy Doc", the garbage can in "A Corny Concerto", and any scene in "Porky in Wackyland" and "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery". I suspect that this one was a place holder. But still, it provided its fair share of laughs during its few minutes. Worth seeing.

PS: the first time that Porky Pig had a run-in with fishes was in 1936's rare "Fish Tales", in which he goes fishing and dreams that the fishes try to cook him. In 1940, he also starred in "The Sour Puss", featuring a piscine who behaves like Daffy Duck.

*At this time, the Looney Tunes were filmed in black and white and usually featured stars Porky and Daffy, while the Merrie Melodies were filmed in color and usually featured miscellaneous characters. After the Looney Tunes went color, the series became indistinguishable except for the opening songs.

The Looney Tunes cartoons are the sort that you love as a child and still love an adult, perhaps even more so when you understand what may have gone over your head as a kid(think Foghorn Leghorn and particularly Pepe LePew). There were some misses in the late 50s and through to the 60s, but when they were at their best they were classics and among the best cartoons ever made. Porky's Poor Fish is not one of the cartoons that comes across as a classic, but it is a good one and entertaining. It is beautifully drawn in crisp black and white with detailed backgrounds and quite cute character designs, and it fits the gags very well. The music, always a high point with Looney Tunes, helps give Porky's Poor Fish its energy, as always with Carl Stalling it is very well orchestration and has great character to it. The puns are somewhat corny in an endearing way and are funny, though there are a few instances where it felt like there were too many of them. The dialogue is fresh and witty as you'd expect. There are also a couple of gags that felt rushed and not very memorable, but most of them are cleverly timed and make for great entertainment value, the ending was very nice. Porky is underused here and it is one of his blander solo outings, he's always comes across as being better with somebody with a stronger personality(especially Daffy) which makes for a great dynamic. The cat takes the laughs well though and you do feel some sympathy for him, while the fish are very colourful and work with the cat very amusingly. Mel Blanc can do no wrong with the voices, he is a huge part of the Looney Tunes cartoons' success, few other voice actors can do multiple characters in one cartoon and pull them off as seamlessly as Blanc, and never disappoints. In conclusion, well-animated and entertaining with good gags and dialogue but less puns, though they were fun, and more Porky might have helped it a little bit more. A solid 7/10 for now. Bethany Cox