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".

Neil Doyle 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.