Edgar Allan Pooh . . . should have no problem seeing that Warner Bros. is foreshadowing all four years of Benghazi with its animated short, PORKY'S POULTRY PLANT. This cartoon begins with Porky stuttering. Such repetition represents Hillary's Private Email Server, which Gratuitously Rebroadcast all of America's Top Hat Secrets here, there, and everywhere. Porky's scattershot approach to chicken feeding denotes Hillary's haphazard expenditure of mere chicken feed on securing our U.S. embassies abroad. The posters mourning the losses of Olga, Dorothy, Gertie, Rebecca, and poor Petunia are meant to prepare Americans for the attacks on our African Embassies (three in total), the U.S.S. Cole, and our NSA Protection Program under the Clinton Team. When a clueless Porky cannot operate his own gun proficiently after the Chicknapping here, Warner is predicting Hillary's indecisive dithering during the Benghazi Zero Hour. But Porky's Transformation into a fighter-plane-flying hero to wrap up PORKY'S POULTRY PLANT is Warner's way of saying "Don't give up--there's still hope, as long as America doesn't expect a chick to do a rooster's job!" Just be thankful that the Looney Tuners are so easy to decipher, that they cover such important topics, and that they allow us ample lead time to react to their warnings. Eat your heart out, Nostradamus!

phantom_tollbooth Frank Tashlin's 'Porky's Poultry Plant' is a case of historical importance exceeding enjoyment factor. 'Porky's Poultry Plant' was not only the directional debut of Tashlin, it was also the first Warner cartoon with music by the irreplaceable Carl Stalling. Tashlin and Stalling would both go on to produce an astonishing array of work for the Warner Bros. cartoon studio and their enormous talents are much in evidence here despite the weak material. The cartoon opens with a gorgeous pan across the farmyard which is typical of the live-action techniques Tashlin brought to his cartoons. However, we then have to sit through a series of cutesy gags about feeding chickens into which even Tashlin cannot inject any energy. Porky's voice is also excruciating here, provided as it was by Joe Dougherty, an actor with a real speech impediment who was unable to control his stutter as Mel Blanc later would. Some of Porky's sentences seem to go on forever! 'Porky's Poultry Plant' picks up towards the end as Porky becomes embroiled in an airborne battle with some vultures, resulting in a terrific battle which showcases Tashlin's instantly assured direction. It's too late to really save the cartoon though and it peters out with a cutesy gag that's more in keeping with the dull opening scenes. 'Porky's Poultry Plant' emerges as weak material brilliantly directed, probably of interest mainly to those who are interested in animation history but of little worth as the entertainment it was intended to be.

Lee Eisenberg With some of the early Porky Pig cartoons, it seems that the people creating the cartoons often didn't go for outright humor (that may have started when Daffy Duck came along). For example, "Porky's Poultry Plant" has a rather simple plot line: Porky runs a chicken farm and has lost some hens to a pernicious hawk/buzzard; the hawk/buzzard kidnaps a chick, and Porky flies after the villainous bird, resulting in an aerial version of football.Usually, I would expect Frank Tashlin's cartoons to contain a lot more in the way of sight gags, but this one sticks to its simple plot. Maybe it was sort of a place holder while they were creating some of the more famous cartoons (1936 also saw the release of "I Love to Singa"). Still, it is worth seeing as a look at the early days of the Looney Tunes. Just understand that they don't go for the really wacky stuff that would soon characterize their work.

boblipton A remarkable cartoon for the period. First, it was Carl Stallings' debut as Termite Terrace's musical director, a position he would hold for twenty years, producing a remarkable body of work. Second, it was Frank Tashlin's second directorial credit -- his first was three years before for Van Beuren -- and his mastery of directing is already obvious. Notice the long panning shot that opens the movie, and the POV (Point Of View) shots from the chickenhawk's perspective. Or perhaps it is a vulture; species are not rigid in the cartoon universe.This is not, I should add, a very funny cartoon. The situations are handled dramatically and the number of gags is not very high. But it is worth your time.