Old Glory (film)
- July 1, 1939 (1939-07-01) (original)
- August 25, 1945 (1945-08-25) (1st “Blue Ribbon reissue”)
Old Glory is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Chuck Jones.[1] The short was released on July 1, 1939, and stars Porky Pig.[2] The cartoon was commissioned by Warner Bros. as a counterpart for a series of live-action films about American patriotism.[3]
Plot
Porky Pig (voiced by Mel Blanc) attempts to learn the Pledge of Allegiance but becomes bored and falls asleep. In his dream, Uncle Sam (voiced by John Deering) comes to life and teaches Porky about history from Colonial America through the midnight ride of Paul Revere (voiced by Tedd Pierce) and the American Revolutionary War to the expansion of the American Old West, briefly alluding to Abraham Lincoln. Upon awakening, Porky snaps into a salute and recites the pledge as the Flag of the United States waves overhead.
Production
The animation in Old Glory is realistic and heavily rotoscoped, different from the usual Warner Bros. style. Director Chuck Jones was known for his Disney-like style during this period, and Schlesinger assigned him to make this cartoon for that reason. The scene with Patrick Henry (voiced by John Litel) saying his "Give Me Liberty" speech was rotoscoped from the Warner Bros. color 2-reel historical short, Give Me Liberty. That short won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject - Color of 1936. Also rotoscoped were scenes from the live-action short Declaration of Independence (1938).[4]
There were many different tones of colored inks used on the film. Uncle Sam has different tones on his hat, beard, face, and clothes. All the other characters were treated in a similar manner. There were many cels depicting the Flag of the United States in its stars and stripes.[4]
The film was produced during a heat wave in Los Angeles. Due to the lack of air conditioning at the studio, the production staff initially relied on two large fans to keep cool. They had to be pointed at the ceiling so that they did not blow cels and drawings across the room. Eventually production moved to night time, since the temperature dropped at night.[4]
Old Glory is Jones's first short to feature Porky Pig. It is also Porky's first appearance in a color Merrie Melodies entry since his debut in 1935's I Haven't Got a Hat, and his first short in three-strip Technicolor.[5]
Most Leon Schlesinger animated shorts were first screened at the Warner Bros. Theater at the Hollywood Boulevard. This film was instead screened at the more prestigious Carthay Circle Theatre. All animation studio employees were invited to attend.[4] The film was screened alongside the live-action Dark Victory.[4]
Legacy
The original ending was cut when the cartoon was reissued as a Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies short, in 1945 and 1953. In 2004, the short was restored for the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 DVD release. While this version retains the Blue Ribbon opening titles, it restores the original ending flagshot scene with the Leon Schlesinger titles. This restored version is also featured on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1 and Porky Pig 101.
During the late 1960s, Old Glory was regularly screened between rock acts at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Many of the Fillmore's patrons drew great amusement from a pig saluting the American flag, as "pig" in 1960s slang was, and remains, a derogatory term for a police officer and his saluting the flag was a symbol of the kind of America some were against at the time.[5]
References
- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 89. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 124–126. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ Schneider, Steve (1988). That's All, Folks! : The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Henry Holt and Co. p. 62. ISBN 0-8050-0889-6.
- ^ a b c d e Sigall, Martha (2005). "The Boys of Termite Terrace". Living Life Inside the Lines: Tales from the Golden Age of Animation. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 58–59. ISBN 9781578067497.
- ^ a b Beck, Jerry, ed. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. pp. 122–124. ISBN 978-1-64722-137-9.
External links
- Old Glory at IMDb
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specials
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
- The Pogo Special Birthday Special (1969)
- Horton Hears a Who! (1970)
- The Cat in the Hat (1971)
- The Cricket in Times Square (1973)
- A Very Merry Cricket (1973)
- Yankee Doodle Cricket (1975)
- The White Seal (1975)
- Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (1975)
- Mowgli's Brothers (1976)
- Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals (1976)
- A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court (1978)
- Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper (1978)
- Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile (1979)
- Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (1979)
- Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over (1980)
- Daffy Duck’s Thanks-for-Giving Special (1980)
- A Chipmunk Christmas (1981)
- Peter and the Wolf (1995)
- Gay Purr-ee (1962, screenplay)
- The Phantom Tollbooth (1970)
- The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979)
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, animation consultant)
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990, animation sequences)
- Stay Tuned (1992, animation sequence)
- Mrs. Doubtfire (1993, animation supervisor)
- The Bugs Bunny Show (1960-1962, new animated sequences)
- Off to See the Wizard (1967-1968, animated sequences)
- Curiosity Shop (1971-1972)
- Daffy Duck for President (1997)
- Bugs Bunny
- Charlie Dog
- Claude Cat
- Daffy Duck
- Elmer Fudd
- Gossamer
- Henery Hawk
- Hubie and Bertie
- Marc Antony and Pussyfoot
- Marvin the Martian
- Michigan J. Frog
- Nasty Canasta
- Penelope Pussycat
- Pepé Le Pew
- Porky Pig
- Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog
- Sniffles
- The Three Bears
- Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner
- Witch Hazel
- Chuck Amuck: The Movie
- Chuck Jones: Extremes & Inbetweens – A Life in Animation