Porky's Last Stand (1940) Online

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.

'Porky's Last Stand' may not quite be one of Bob Clampett's masterpieces (or at least to me), and both Porky and Daffy, together and individually, have also featured in superior cartoons that are funnier and more consistently inventive. Although the story is slight and predictable and the cartoon is the kind that is always very amusing and beautifully executed but never quite hits the hilarious spot, 'Porky's Last Stand' is very enjoyable nonetheless.

Showcasing very well why they became to be, and still are, so popular and why they collaborated so frequently, Porky and Daffy are a classic collaboration and work so well together. Porky is amusing and endearing, doing a great job playing it straight. Daffy though is the funnier and more interesting in personality character, he is in full manic energy mode and is hilarious. The support are also effective.

Mel Blanc is outstanding as always. He 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.

The animation is excellent, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading and very meticulous in detail. Some of the visuals are wonderfully outrageous in pure Clampett style. The story may be predictable, but it's beautifully paced with never a dull moment and strongly structured.

Clampett's unmistakable humour and style is all over in a way that's suitably outrageous, especially in the second half. The dialogue and sight gags are beautifully timed, witty and very amusing if not quite as fresh as those in other Porky and Daffy cartoons.

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.

Overall, very enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox

" . . . and I want it BAD!" orders one of the gangsters prone to frequent the "Porky's Last Stand" Honeywagon on the animated Warner Bros. lot. But rodents have stolen all the butchered beef, and the backyard bull doesn't seem to have corporate profits very high on his priorities list. There's no way that P.E.T.A. would have approved this black-and-white cartoon short, since mammal abuse runs rampant. For non-bleeding heart (normal) people, perhaps the funniest scene does not involve a mammal at all. Porky takes an order for two eggs, and reaches through the back of the mobile diner's refrigerator to scoop up a pair of edible orbs from beneath a black hen. He cracks the first open into a hot skillet with no problem. But when he starts to break open the second shell, a fully-formed chick plops directly into the cooking pan, immediately running around in circles, shrieking, "What are you trying to do--give me a hot-foot?!" Before the carnage gets too bad, this chick runs back under Mom, hunkering down for safety (after emerging briefly to display a "Do Not Disturb" sign).

Just found this rare Porky Pig-Daffy Duck cartoon directed by Bob Clampett on the Misce-Looney-ous blog as linked from YouTube. In this one, Porky runs the title stand that claims "Our Fried Chicken Has That Real Fowl Taste" with the Special being the "Sheridan Salad with plenty of Oomph and no dressing"! Daffy, his assistant, tries to get a customer a hamburger but the mice ate it leaving this note: "Greetings Gate, you're a wee bit late." (The first two words were Jerry Colonna's to Bob Hope on his radio show) Also, one of the eggs that Porky gets out of a mother hen, spouts a chick that complains about a "hot foot" when he cracks out on a frying pan before going back to his mom! When Daffy spots a cow as potential burger, he chases him to a barn but then gets stuck with a bull that causes havoc to the leads for the rest of the cartoon. Perhaps not hilarious like other Clampett cartoons but amusing enough for me to recommend to any Warner cartoon completists out there. And dig the musical number in the beginning!