Crowing Pains
Encyclopedia
Crowing Pains is a cartoon in the Looney Tunes
series that was released in 1947. The cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson
, stars Henery Hawk
, Sylvester
, and Foghorn Leghorn and The Barnyard Dawg
, all of whom are voiced by Mel Blanc
. It is also the first cartoon to feature more than two Looney Tunes characters since A Corny Concerto
. In addition, this is the only short that Sylvester and Foghorn Leghorn share the screen together. It is also Foghorn's first appearance in the Looney Tunes series.
It is featured, fully restored (including original titles), on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6
. As a result of the title restoration, this is the earliest Foghorn Leghorn cartoon to survive with its original technical credits intact, surpassing 1948's The Foghorn Leghorn
(which inherited the "title" in 2003 from Henhouse Henery
when its credits were restored for its own DVD release
) - Walky Talky Hawky
(from 1946), on the other hand, exists only as a Blue Ribbon reissue. On television, the Blue Ribbon reissue still airs (the current TV print has the wrong ending music as well).
Reaching a breaking point Sylvester comes close to smashing the egg with a Mallet...just as the egg is about to be smashed Henery pops out and hollers "STOP!!" to which Sylvester, in a classic scene,yanks his head up and down by his ears and grabs his tail and yanks on it, causing his head to pop up and down on his shoulders because he himself thinks he's crazy. Henery, seeing enough, clobbers Sylvester with a mallet and drags him off. Sylvester wakes up and asks "say, what's the big idea?!" and Henery warns the "chicken" to not give him any trouble and Sylvester realizes that he's been part of a trick and he leaps up and shows Henery that the actual chicken, "a rooster in fact", is Foghorn himself. "Rooster? if i'm a rooster-i say if i'm a rooster, i hope to be struck by-" bellows an offended Foghorn,but is interuptered when almost struck by lightning and decides"well, let's put it in another way. WAY that is" and an argument arises between Sylvester, Foghorn, and the Dog as they accuse each other of misleading Henery Hawk. Finally, Henery decides the only way to settle the matter is to see who crows at dawn, and they all agree with an "OKAY!" with Foghorn alone "OKAY,THAT IS!". The scene fades and it's dawn the next morning...a sun pops up...and rooster crowing is heard...but from who? Sylvester has his mouth open because he typically always has his mouth open, looking dumbfounded...but Barnyard Dawg thinks Sylvester is crowing and walks off after hearing enough and Henery mistakes this for the sound of the rooster and he drags Sylvester away. The scene ends with Foghorn crowing...out the side of his mouth...holding up a how-to book on Ventriloquism. Foghorn tells the audience "you gotta-i say you gotta keep on your toes. TOES that is!".
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
series that was released in 1947. The cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson
Robert McKimson
Robert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
, stars Henery Hawk
Henery Hawk
Henery Hawk is a cartoon character from the American Looney Tunes series, who appeared in twelve cartoons. His first appearance was The Squawkin' Hawk, directed by Chuck Jones and produced by Leon Schlesinger. Henery's next appearance was Walky Talky Hawky which also featured Foghorn Leghorn and...
, Sylvester
Sylvester (Looney Tunes)
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr., Sylvester the Cat or simply Sylvester, is a fictional character, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic Tuxedo cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper...
, and Foghorn Leghorn and The Barnyard Dawg
Barnyard Dawg
Barnyard Dawg is a Looney Tunes character. An adult anthropomorphic basset hound, he is the archenemy of Foghorn Leghorn. He was created by Robert McKimson, who also created Foghorn and was voiced by Mel Blanc...
, all of whom are voiced by Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
. It is also the first cartoon to feature more than two Looney Tunes characters since A Corny Concerto
A Corny Concerto
A Corny Concerto is an American animated cartoon short produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. It was directed by Bob Clampett, written by Frank Tashlin, animated by Robert McKimson and released as part of the Merrie Melodies series on September 25, 1943...
. In addition, this is the only short that Sylvester and Foghorn Leghorn share the screen together. It is also Foghorn's first appearance in the Looney Tunes series.
It is featured, fully restored (including original titles), on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 is a four-disc DVD box set collection of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on October 21, 2008....
. As a result of the title restoration, this is the earliest Foghorn Leghorn cartoon to survive with its original technical credits intact, surpassing 1948's The Foghorn Leghorn
The Foghorn Leghorn
The Foghorn Leghorn is a Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1948 and directed by Robert McKimson. Foghorn has to convince an unbelieving Henery Hawk that he really is a "chicken. Rooster, that is."...
(which inherited the "title" in 2003 from Henhouse Henery
Henhouse Henery
Henhouse Henery is a 1949 Foghorn Leghorn cartoon made by Warner Bros. and directed by Robert McKimson featuring Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.-Plot:The story beginning with Henery Hawk on a quest to catch a chicken...
when its credits were restored for its own DVD release
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on October 28, 2003. It contains 56 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements...
) - Walky Talky Hawky
Walky Talky Hawky
Walky Talky Hawky is a Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1946 and directed by Robert McKimson. All voice characterizations are performed by Mel Blanc.-Plot:...
(from 1946), on the other hand, exists only as a Blue Ribbon reissue. On television, the Blue Ribbon reissue still airs (the current TV print has the wrong ending music as well).
Plot
Sylvester is sneaking to the doghouse in a bush. he tries to steal the bone, but the Barnyard Dawg grabs the paw and looks inside the bush to see Sylvester with a flower in his mouth. After Sylvester deliberatly whacks Barnyard Dawg on the head with his dog food dish, Barnyard Dawg gives chase and chases Sylvester on the wall and jumps over a branch,only to get caught by the leash and hangs from the branch by the leash. Sylvester is about to cut the leash with an axe,but Foghorn grabs the blade and Sylvester whacks too hard and vibrates as he goes by the Fire wood , and the branch breaks and Barnyard Dawg gets hit on the head and walks off. as Foghorn lectures Sylvester to "bury the hatchet-i say bury the hatchet but not in anyone's head,boy!" when Sylvester is trying to speak, Sylvester angrily yells "ah,SHUT UP!" and whacks Foghorn on the head with the bladeless axe and leaves as Foghorn sees stars and still holds the blade. Henery says to the audience "i'm not sure, but this might be a chicken" and drags him as Foghorn asks "what's the gag-i say what's the gag son? GAG that is! where are we taking me boy? speak up!". after Henery tells Foghorn that he (Foghorn) is a chicken, Foghorn convinces Henery that Sylvester is a chicken. Foghorn sticks Henery in an egg and places it under Sylvester. Sylvester wakes up, thinking he's laid the egg and has become a Mother, sings "Rock A Bye Baby" to it then hides the egg when he sees Foghorn coming and Foghorn congratulates Sylvester for laying the egg and Sylvester realizes that "HEY,Tom Cats can't be Mothers! Cats don't lay eggs! There's something screwy here!" and attempts to detach himself from this egg that suddenly follows him and attaches itself to him and that scares Sylvester out of his wits when he thinks the egg is possessed by a Ghost . He runs from it and does all sorts of things...including running into the dog house belonging to the Barnyard Dawg. The dog pulls the cat out and stomps all over him and walks off...Henery, still in the egg, runs into the dog, which causes the dog to trip and fall over. The dog looks at the egg and then at the camera and ponders "i just takes a step and presto, I lays an egg!". the scene fades to a mother duck, with her ducklings, who says to herself "presto and he lays an egg. and to think for fifthteen years i've been doing it the hardway." The egg/Henery finally discovers Sylvester's hiding spot(a Barrel), and he starts to attach himself to Sylvester's skin.Reaching a breaking point Sylvester comes close to smashing the egg with a Mallet...just as the egg is about to be smashed Henery pops out and hollers "STOP!!" to which Sylvester, in a classic scene,yanks his head up and down by his ears and grabs his tail and yanks on it, causing his head to pop up and down on his shoulders because he himself thinks he's crazy. Henery, seeing enough, clobbers Sylvester with a mallet and drags him off. Sylvester wakes up and asks "say, what's the big idea?!" and Henery warns the "chicken" to not give him any trouble and Sylvester realizes that he's been part of a trick and he leaps up and shows Henery that the actual chicken, "a rooster in fact", is Foghorn himself. "Rooster? if i'm a rooster-i say if i'm a rooster, i hope to be struck by-" bellows an offended Foghorn,but is interuptered when almost struck by lightning and decides"well, let's put it in another way. WAY that is" and an argument arises between Sylvester, Foghorn, and the Dog as they accuse each other of misleading Henery Hawk. Finally, Henery decides the only way to settle the matter is to see who crows at dawn, and they all agree with an "OKAY!" with Foghorn alone "OKAY,THAT IS!". The scene fades and it's dawn the next morning...a sun pops up...and rooster crowing is heard...but from who? Sylvester has his mouth open because he typically always has his mouth open, looking dumbfounded...but Barnyard Dawg thinks Sylvester is crowing and walks off after hearing enough and Henery mistakes this for the sound of the rooster and he drags Sylvester away. The scene ends with Foghorn crowing...out the side of his mouth...holding up a how-to book on Ventriloquism. Foghorn tells the audience "you gotta-i say you gotta keep on your toes. TOES that is!".
Censorship
- When this cartoon aired on The WB television networkTelevision networkA television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
, the part where Barnyard Dawg is hanging from a tree branch by his leash and Sylvester, armed with an axe, is about to swing it at him, was cut. The cartoon jumps from Barnyard Dawg chasing Sylvester to Foghorn telling Sylvester, "Let's bury the hatchet, but not in anyone's head".
External links
- "Crowing Pains", Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
. Full film available for free.