Horst in Translation ([email protected]) One of my favorite cartoon characters and he brings his frenemies Barnyard Dog and Henery Hawk. "Walky Talky Hawky" is a 7-minute cartoon from 70 years ago that was made right after World War II and its success resulted in many more films with these characters. Director is McKimson, writer is Foster and voice actor is Mel Blanc of course, all very prolific for Warner Bros. This one may have lost the Oscar, but it was still a success. The story is about Foghorn tricking the chicken hawk into thinking that Barnyard Dog is actually the chicken, a storyline that has been used in other films as well with these characters. It was okay, even if some of the jokes were really just pure action with little comedic value. However, all in all, I felt it was a decent watch with a nice ending too that was actually funny. And you hear Foghorn making chicken sounds, which does not happen too often in these cartoons. I recommend the watch.

utgard14 A wonderful debut for Foghorn Leghorn in this Oscar-nominated short. This one has the formula that would make up many of the Foghorn cartoons, but probably never better than it is here. Young chicken hawk Henery Hawk is determined to get himself a chicken. He happens upon the farm where Foghorn Leghorn resides and finds the rooster feuding with the farm's dog (Barnyard Dog, also in his first appearance). Foghorn convinces Henery that the dog is a chicken, which results in lots of funny gags.It's a hilarious short with great lines and gags, and colorful, well-drawn animation. One of director Bob McKimson's best. Lively music from Carl Stalling. Mel Blanc's voice work is flawless. As much fun as his voices for the main trio are, his work with Henery's father in the beginning of the cartoon was a highlight for me. So melodramatic! It's a Looney Tunes classic, both for being the beginning of a terrific series and for being very funny in its own right.

phantom_tollbooth Robert McKimson's 'Walky Talky Hawky' introduced Foghorn Leghorn, a character with whom McKimson did much of his best work. This short was originally intended as a star vehicle for Henerey Hawk but Foggy obviously steals the show, so much so that Henerey became the supporting player. Foghorn is close to fully realised already in this debut outing, as is his regular rival, the barnyard dog. When Henerey comes to the farm looking for a chicken to eat, Foggy convinces him that the dog is a chicken, thereby exposing him to the little hawk's persistent kidnapping attempts. It's a funny set-up and makes for a very good cartoon, although a couple of cartoons down the line McKimson flipped the premise and had Foggy trying to convince Henerey that he was a chicken. That cartoon, 'The Foghorn Leghorn', was a classic and it also christened the character. In comparison, 'Walky Talky Hawky' still holds up well, setting up the premise for McKimson to later subvert. I always think McKimson seems most at ease when directing the Foghorn Leghorn series and 'Walky Talky Hawky' benefits greatly from that assurance. It's a lovely cartoon with a great ending and it also proved to be a great beginning, giving birth to yet another classic Warner Bros. star

Lee Eisenberg In Foghorn Leghorn's debut, he tries to get Henery Hawk to to go after Barnyard Dog, with unexpected consequences. One thing that I noticed was that Henery Hawk's father called the family "chicken hawks", meaning that they hunt chickens. That phrase now refers to politicians who never served in the armed forces but send other people to fight in wars (often for lies). The connection that I see - however loose - is that Foghorn lies to Henery about Barnyard being a chicken. So he sends Henery off to do something for a lie. On the other hand, Foghorn had tortured Barnyard many times, so he wasn't being as much of a hypocrite as George W. Bush.But anyway, it's a really fun cartoon, a sign of the later Foghorn Leghorn shorts. Cool.