Dynamixor
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Delight
Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"What Price Porky" is an American 7-minute cartoon from 1938, so this one will already have its 80th anniversary next year. With Porky being in the center of it all as the title suggests, this is of course a Schlesinger production. If you knew that Porky's glory days in the center of the action were in black and white, then you are really good. Maybe this is also a main reason why he did not turn into a star like Bags and Daffy. That said, you will see an early Daffy version in here. The voice acting star is obviously once more Mel Blanc, but (prolific) director Bob Clampett got a small part too. So yes story-wise from this film you can really see that tumultuous times were ahead and that the political climate on the planet was about to explode and with all the gunfire and military references here, you won't be surprised that this is from one year before the beginning of World War II. But sadly this political context is also the only area where I would say from that perspective it is interesting to check out today so many decades later. It's not particularly funny or witty and like I said the lack of color is not helping either. But even with color, it would have been nowhere near the most defining war cartoons either. Then again, if we are very precise it is not even a war cartoon yet. It's wild, loud and all over the place, but it is never convincing or entertaining. I give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.
Edgar Allan Pooh
. . . 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?
slymusic
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.
Lee Eisenberg
During Porky Pig's first few years as a cartoon star, Warner Bros. mostly cast him in B&W cartoons* showing the various aspects of life. A slightly more complex turn for the stuttering swine was Bob Clampett's "What Price Porky". This one has Porky as a farmer trying to feed his chickens, but the ducks - who look and talk like Daffy Duck - steal the food. When I say that this leads to full-scale war, I don't mean that figuratively: I mean war involving tanks, bombers, trenches, the works.It's worth noting that this came out in between WWI and WWII. At this time, the Spanish Civil War was raging. Japan had colonized Korea and much of China (the Japanese were real SOBs to the Koreans and Chinese, and still refuse to own up to their actions), while Mussolini's fascist Italy had colonized Ethiopia (and Italy committed some real atrocities there). And of course Nazi Germany was doing its stuff. In a way, this cartoon looks like a premonition of WWII.But it was probably never intended as such. I just like to read really far into things. Bob Clampett no doubt intended the cartoon as pure entertainment, and it certainly entertained me. Moreover, it's a good thing that I saw "WPP" now, when I'm old enough to understand what it portrays. Had I watched it was I was a little kid, I would have naively laughed at it without comprehending the jokes. Definitely worth seeing.*Until the early 1940s, the Looney Tunes - filmed in black and white - featured the stars, while the Merrie Melodies - filmed in color from 1934 onward - featured miscellaneous characters. After the Looney Tunes went color, the series became indistinguishable except for the opening songs: the Looney Tunes used "Merry-Go-Round Broke Down", while the Merrie Melodies used "Merrily We Roll Along".
