Porky tries to feed his chickens, but some ducks steal the corn he puts out, then declare war. The battle rages, with the ducks against the chickens, sometimes in wing-to-wing combat, but also aerial attacks, and Porky finally turning the tide with his machine gun improvised from a wringer washer and a bag of corn. But the ducks still get the last laugh.
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. . . commanded by "Gen. Quacko Ductator" reflect America's admiration for Fascist leaders such as Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini in the mid-1930s. TIME MAGAZINE had honored Hitler as its "Man of the Year," and most of Hollywood was in lock-step with the rest of the American One Per Cent such as Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh in befriending the Fascists as much as possible. Already most notable for their virulent anti-Semitism, is it any wonder that the Nazi leaders felt that they had the "greenlight" from Hollywood and the Europeon Elite to liquidate the world's Jews, then numbering 16 million souls? Under the thumb of the Non-Kosher farmer Porky Pig, the chickens in WHAT PRICE PORKY? clearly represent the Jews. The title of this animated short asks, "How many pieces of silver will it take to unite all nations in the pursuit of Jewish extermination?" Since the Nazi ducks defeat the Pig-led chickens at every turn here, the implication is that Jewish Defeat is inevitable. "Why prolong the agony?" challenges WHAT PRICE PORKY?
I am a fan of Looney Tunes and have been from an early age. Porky Pig I do like, though he is not one of my favourites. What Price Porky is very good, though perhaps not outstanding. I thought the backgrounds were crisp and flowed nicely, but the character designs, with both Porky and Daffy having been designed better since, are somewhat primitive. However, the music is rousing and wonderfully patriotic, and the dialogue and gags as you'd expect from Bob Clampett are hilarious in an often riotous sense. The story while perhaps not the most surprising of all stories is amusing and well paced, while the characters especially the ducks are enormous fun with Porky, playing to his strengths, on great form. Mel Blanc and Clampett himself provide the voices flawlessly. In conclusion, very funny and well worth watching, though I do think as overall cartoons that Porky have done better. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Directed by Bob Clampett, with a patriotic music score by Carl Stalling, "What Price Porky" is an exciting war-themed Porky Pig cartoon. Porky owns a farm, which becomes a battlefield between his hens and a gang of corn-stealing ducks. Clampett being Clampett, you can be sure that this cartoon is full of gags from beginning to end.My personal favorite moments from "What Price Porky" include the following. At the start of this cartoon, Porky calls all his hens by name as he feeds them their corn, and shortly afterward he politely persuades the ducks to refrain from stealing the cobs. Some duck paratroopers play a snippet of the familiar Warner Bros. "Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" theme on their enemy's helmets. With embarrassed smiles on their faces, another group of ducks becomes a dancing chorus line. Daffy (assuming it IS Daffy) disguises as the Easter Bunny and offers Porky some eggs, which he delightfully accepts; little ducklings emerge from the eggs and abuse Porky's face, after which Daffy (as we've come to expect) jumps around and shouts "Hoo-hoo! Hoo-hoo!" A crawling hen reveals an army of baby chicks who shoot down a squeaking duck."What Price Porky" may not be the funniest Porky Pig cartoon ever made, but it still hits its mark. A war within a Warner Bros. cartoon is absolutely harmless; just good, goofy fun.
WHAT PRICE PORKY is a '38 cartoon in B&W (so little faith did studios have in Technicolor cartoon shorts apparently), and it's full of slapstick sight gags involving a war between hens and ducks that resembles WWII (or even WWI) with trench warfare and multiple explosions between the warring parties.The fight is all over food supplies and the armies are drafted for the big fight even just after they emerge from their shells, which is the most inspired touch in the whole cartoon. Not much of a plot but an amusing curiosity in the way signs are posted ("No Hens Land") in a comic strip sort of way.Actually it looks rather primitive and it's hard to see the attraction in a Looney Tune cartoon made in B&W for wartime audiences, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Kids should enjoy it and adults will have fun reading the double meaning signs.