The Timid Toreador

The original cartoon, now restored, has a subtle range of black and white illustration. It is unfortunate that the humans are Mexican stereotypes, stick figures in brown face. But listen to the music! Carl Stalling fully orchestrates a number of commercial numbers. Mel Blanc sings a street-vendor adaptation of "La Cucaracha," with a simple guitar accompanying him. Both Stalling and Clampett keep the jokes coming quickly. If the cartoon is not as drop-dead funny as "Porky in Wackyland," I blame Norman McCabe, who co-directed. Look at it together with Tex Avery's "Picador Porky," so you can see the early Termite Terrace style.

Strangely comic, hard-to-articulate absurd 'toon. Maybe it's the bullfight announcer's boxing-ring patter: he narrates with only a routine, half-interested excitement while the matador runs screaming after the bull menaces him in an understated, mafiosa manner. Or maybe it's when the bull echoes your owns thoughts at seeing an insanely laughing, mocking picador (the picador alone is worth watching this). Or when the bull says with stereotypical latino machismo while eating Porky's hot tamales, "Hot?! Who's afraid of hot?" It sounds like a modern sound-bit slogan for Tabasco sauce. Classic bizarre early Warner Bros.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes, Hanna and Barbera and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons. Actually appreciate it even more now through young adult eyes, thanks to broader knowledge and taste and more interest in animation styles and various studios and directors.

Have a lot of appreciation and admiration for Bob Clampett, with a visual and humour style so distinctive and easily recognisable. His early work was very variable but when on top form and in his prime the best of his work was great and even more. 'The Timid Toreador' is not one of Clampett's best by any stretch. It is a decent cartoon though, even if there are funnier, wittier and fresher cartoons from him, and did see some of Clampett's unique style all over it and being at ease with the material.

While not quite one of my favourite Looney Tunes characters (prefer those with consistently stronger, funnier and interesting personalities) Porky has always been very easy to like. 'The Timid Toreador' is another example of being a good representation of them both, if not among the best efforts of either.

Porky is likeable and not too underused, he is also amusing even if not as strong in personality than the bull or the picador.

'The Timid Toreador' is slight and predictable at times, outcomes are not hard to figure out. Norm McCabe has a co-directing credit and he was always a competent director who was always vastly over-shadowed by stiff competition with more distinctive visual and humour styles (Clampett himself being one of them). His directing is competent certainly, just not as inspired as Clampett's and the difference in style clashes at times.

Regarding the characters, the bull steals the show in a way that's menacing and fiery, always in a fun way while not being too devoid of subtlety. The picador is an insane delight as well.

By Clampett standards, 'The Timid Toreador' is one of his most anarchic and wackiest early cartoons, if not him at his most imaginative or funniest. This is meant in a good way, this was his style which didn't always come through enough in his early pre-peak cartoons but 'The Timid Toreador' showed that he had it in him early on and is far from timid, red hot even in the best moments.

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. He also voices multiple characters here and shows as ever his unmatched ability to give individuality and variety to all.

Animation is excellent, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading and very meticulous in detail, plus it is very imaginative. 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.

'The Timid Toreador' is lightning-speed energetic that one at times forgets the slightness and predictability of the story, and is also incredibly inventively timed and very amusing if not always hilarious (the best parts are though).

Overall, good if not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox