Vimacone The 1946 releases of the WB cartoons displayed a major shift in styles. Frank Tashlin and Bob Clampett had left the studio, but their presence was still felt by their successors.The short ONE MEAT BRAWL (title parody of the song One Meat Ball), directed by Robert McKimson was one of the first shorts he directed with two of Clampett's principle animators Rod Scribner and Manny Gould. Because of this, this feels like a toned down Clampett cartoon.The animation of Porky can also be easily mistaken for an Art Davis cartoon of the same period, especially due to its Blue Ribbon status (no on screen credits). But Porky's hunting dog, Mandrake, is an indicator that McKimson directed this, since that was one of his trademark character designs.Grover Groundhog is reminiscent of the early screwball Daffy Duck and proto Bugs Bunny of the late 30's. The way Grover heckles Mandrake and plays on his sympathies is also strongly reminiscent of shorts like DAFFY DUCK & EGGHEAD (1938) and HARE UM SCARE UM (1939). Considering those kind of shorts had not been done in several years, I wonder if McKimson was attempting to revive that formula by creating a new character with that personality. Although this was his only screen appearance, Grover certainly seemed like a promising character.

Edgar Allan Pooh " . . . or 16 feet of snow?" croons Grover the Groundhog before facing a circular firing squad (due to America's national meat shortage immediately after WWII). Guns permeate ONE MEAT BRAWL. Grover even tries to commit suicide by squirt gun midway through this Warner Bros. animated short. And no wonder: The prolific mammal has 72 offspring and a wife hung up on wearing nylons, enough to drive any husband batty. Grover yearns to ditch the other 73 members of his family (not shown here) and play polo while smoking machine-made cigarettes. By the end of this story he decides that hanging out with the murderous duo of Porky Pig and Porky's hunting dog Mandrake is the next best thing to his nicotine-fueled polo dreams. After all, when one guy threatens to "put a couple slugs" in you, why NOT invite him into your secret bachelor pad? It's the American thing to do. (Dick Tracy's newspaper comic strip may have given rise to the Apple Watch, but Grover demonstrates a beta version of the Walkman here in ONE MEAT BRAWL).

Lee Eisenberg While most Warner Bros. cartoons featured animals, I assume that Robert McKimson's "One Meat Brawl" marked the only appearance by a groundhog. In this case, Grover Groundhog has to leave his den to see whether or not he has a shadow, and the hunters are waiting for him, sending him into hiding. Meanwhile, Porky Pig and his dog Mandrake (Barnyard Dawg from the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons) are hunting groundhogs, but Grover knows how to get Mandrake on his side. Are hunts always doomed to go like this?! I guess that we could be cynical and say that this cartoon is no different from the average Bugs Bunny-Elmer Fudd cartoon, but I think that as long as cartoons make us laugh, they're good. I recommend this one. After all, who doesn't like hand shadows?

bob the moo It's Groundhog Day and Grover Groundhog is preparing in his home for his big appearance in front of the cameras. However when he emerges he is turned on by hunters due to the meat shortage. Porky Pig and his hound dog go out to hunt the groundhog down and cook him up. However the groundhog proves to be a more difficult (and manipulative) prey that they first thought.A little slow to start, this cartoon soon becomes a little like the usual Bugs/Elmer cartoons but with the groundhog playing Bugs and Porky playing Elmer's character. Keeping the same sense of humour (e.g. the groundhog outsmarting the hunters) the cartoon works out pretty good and is quite funny at turns.Porky is an OK character and the groundhog is a good despite being a little too cute for it's own good. The downside of this is that I couldn't help but compare him to Bugs, a comparison that will leave even a strong character standing in the shadows. Of the three, the dog is pretty good and he covers for the weaknesses in Porky.Overall this is a good little short that takes the usual Bugs jokes and puts them onto new characters. Despite a little bit of a faltering start with the groundhog singing the short is a mix of witty game playing.