Le Château hanté

It's pouring out and traveler Porky is looking for some refuge in the storm. He wonders if the people in "that quaint old castle" on top of the nearby hill will put him up for the night. En route, he sees a sign that says, "Beware of the Leprechauns." What nonsense, Porky thinks. Upon entering the castle, he meets "Seamus O'Toole," caretaker of the "Clarey Castle."

"Seamus" is really two leprechauns standing on top of the other. They are "O'Pat" and "O'Mike" and they think Porky has come to steal their pot of gold.

What happens after that, with the magical green shoes, is bizarre with dream-like sequences. There are some very cool visuals.

The artwork in here is just beautiful, start-to-finish. Most of these cartoons in the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" are restored to bold, bright colors and give the excellent artists who drew these animated short subjects their due.

I have not watched all that many Looney Tunes cartoons where Porky is the main character (and he is accompanied by side characters), but I am starting to thoroughly enjoy them. Why more cartoons with Porky in the spotlight were not made is something that I cannot really understand, but in a way I guess that makes it all the more exciting to watch these kind of cartoons (ones where Porky is the main character). Here he is in Ireland(!) and is on his way to Dublin, when he realizes that it is: a) Late at night and b) That the rain is coming down in obvious torrents. Porky makes up his mind to stay in the "quaint little castle at the top of the hill" (yeah right) and makes his way up to ask for lodging. On the way he reads the sign "Beware of Leprechauns." If only Porky pays attention to the warning more carefully...

I very much enjoyed this cartoon for the Irish theme (I am partly Irish and anything with an Irish theme tends to excite me), which works very well. I also liked the leprechauns, who are mean characters but very likable. The other things I enjoyed about this cartoon was the randomness, the animation and the character of Porky. One of the reviewers here, magicunicorn, says this cartoon is not very exciting. I think his brain was not working properly. This is anything BUT not exciting. It's very exciting. :-)

I recommend this to people who like exciting cartoons (unless you find very odd stuff exciting), Ireland, Porky Pig and wacky cartoons. Enjoy "Wearing of the Grin"! :-)

8 and a half out of ten.

Wearing of the Grin, The (1951)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

It's a dark and stormy night so Porky Pig tries to get shelter inside a dark castle but he turns into a couple leprechauns who think he's there to steal their gold. This has never been one of my favorites and this latest viewing just affirmed that for me. The thought of Porky going up against a couple leprechauns should have made for some great entertainment but that's not the case here as we only get a couple small laughs. The whole gimmick of the two leprechauns coming together as one was an interesting idea but not enough is done with it. The same could be said about the joke dealing with the dancing shoes. Even Porky himself doesn't have too much to do. Considering it only runs 7-minutes you're going to stay entertained but there's so much better out there.

It is 12 miles from Dublin in the middle of nowhere. Porky Pig stumbles upon a castle in the pouring rain. He finds shelter and caretaker Seamus O'Toole living there by himself. Porky is invited to stay. It turns out that Seamus is actually two leprechauns, O'Pat and O'Mike, standing one on top of the other. They think that Porky is there to steal their pot of gold.

This is a fun little Irish takedown with Porky. It could be a Halloween short. On top of that, O'Pat and O'Mike are good characters who become small support Looney Tunes extras. The surreal section could be a little more real to allow for something else.

Top o' the mornin' to ye. The rest of the day to you as well. Young Porky, bound for Dublin in the rain, meets the Little Folk and has the harder part of it, to be sure. O'Pat and O'Mike make it a time he'll remember the length of his days, I'll be bound! Great dialogue, including one line I have to quote here or a banshee will haunt me: Sure and it's sight enough to set the heart crossways in ye! Tis a fine treat for all the children of Erin and those that are Irish only one day a year! Tis recommending it strongly, that I am!