Bootleg liquor figures once more in this Prohibition-era short. But instead of underage piglets, today an adult (if diminutive) member of the porcine species named (you guessed it) Piggy is the offending party -- although technically the intoxication was unintentional (cause = belching dog). Actually this doesn't even happen until about five minutes into the short. Before that, shots of Piggy and his beau Fluffy alternate with cuts to their destination: a theater and the band-concert happening inside. Upon arrival Piggy makes a nuisance of himself and somehow winds up on stage blasting away at a saxophone. This in turn leads to an altercation with a trio of inebriated canines in a sidebox, which, somehow again leads to Piggy getting plastered right at the five minute mark. After that, things get awesome.A reeling competition to claim a bottle of moonshine heads outside, where Piggy, seeking escape, provides a cutesiely simplistic car with a hefty swig of something stiff. This leads to a long rollicking sequence of prancing automobile, undulating roads, and general mind-warpage in the best tradition of the brilliant Big Lebowski "I saw so much it broke my mind" interlude.
In a nutshell, this is the most charming and recognizably "Looney Tunes"/"Merrie Melodies"-style cartoon thus far.
The humor almost entirely relies on the actual animation (as opposed to the cheaper visual puns which the Bosko and Foxy cartoons tend to rely on). This serves the dual-purpose of a). making the characters much more relatable and endearing and b). making the action itself a source of amusement (visual puns can work just as well in a still picture). Plus, Piggy, his beau Fluffy and the hooch-saturated pooch are infinitely more appealing than the frankly creepy "Foxy" &co. How can you not like the last shot:
No comments:
Post a Comment