Petunia Pig
Encyclopedia
Petunia Pig is an animated cartoon
character
in the Looney Tunes
and Merrie Melodies
series of cartoons from Warner Bros.
She looks much like her significant other, Porky Pig
, except that she wears a dress and now has braided black hair, although the character did not originally have hair.
Frank Tashlin
in the 1937 short Porky's Romance
. The film is a parody
of a 1932 Walt Disney
cartoon called Mickey's Nightmare. Whereas Mickey Mouse
marries his longtime girlfriend Minnie
in that film, Porky's overtures toward Petunia bring him only the scornful laughter of his porcine paramour. Tashlin adopted Petunia as a regular member of Porky's entourage and featured her in two more cartoons: The Case of the Stuttering Pig
and Porky's Double Trouble, both in 1937. Voice actors Bernice Hansen
and Shirley Reed each performed Petunia's voice in various shorts. She is now voiced by Grey DeLisle
.
Bob Clampett
was the only other Warner director to utilize Petunia after Tashlin left the studio in 1938. He first featured her in Porky's Picnic, a 1939 film that sees Porky tormented by his nephew Pinkie. Pinkie and Porky's encounters are always out of sight of Petunia, of course, so she blames Porky for everything that goes wrong as a result of Pinky's activity. Petunia's largest role came in Clampett's 1939 short Naughty Neighbors. The film borrows elements from both the famous feud between the Hatfields and McCoys as well as Romeo and Juliet
as Porky and Petunia's love for each other is stymied by their respective hillbilly
families' mutual hatred. Despite her more prominent role in the short, Petunia is only a supporting character; Porky remains the star.
As Porky's popularity was eclipsed in the late 1930s and early 1940s by brasher, funnier characters like Daffy Duck
and Bugs Bunny
, he was relegated to a supporting player himself in new Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. Petunia, already a bit player to Porky's lead, fared much worse. She still appeared occasionally in Warner's merchandising
, but her tenure as a Warner Bros. player was mostly over.
In the 1990s animated series Tiny Toon Adventures
, a character who is based on Petunia is named, Patmay K. Pig, who is Hamton
's girlfriend, and sometimes a sister.
Nevertheless, in modern years Petunia has enjoyed multiple new roles. An infant version of Petunia was a regular character in the Baby Looney Tunes
television series. Adult Petunia is an occasional guest star in DC's Looney Tunes comic book, and appeared frequently in 2001 webtoons on the official Looney Tunes website. She also turned up in Duck Dodgers
, playing the role of Princess Incense.
Petunia has also been announced as returning in Cartoon Network's The Looney Tunes Show
, where Grey DeLisle
will provide her voice.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Looney Tunes
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...
and Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
series of cartoons from Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
She looks much like her significant other, Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
, except that she wears a dress and now has braided black hair, although the character did not originally have hair.
Biography
Petunia was introduced by animatorAnimator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin, born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, also known as Tish Tash or Frank Tash was an American animator, screenwriter, and film director.-Animator:...
in the 1937 short Porky's Romance
Porky's Romance
Porky's Romance is a 1937 Merrie Melodies cartoon that stars Porky Pig and for the first time, Petunia Pig. It is also siginficant in that it is the last cartoon that had Joe Dougherty as the voice of Porky Pig before Mel Blanc got the job and exclusive voice credit contract. The cartoon deals...
. The film is a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of a 1932 Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
cartoon called Mickey's Nightmare. Whereas Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
marries his longtime girlfriend Minnie
Minnie Mouse
Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an animated character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney. The comic strip story "The Gleam" by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse. Minnie has since been a recurring alias for her. Minnie is currently voiced by actress Russi...
in that film, Porky's overtures toward Petunia bring him only the scornful laughter of his porcine paramour. Tashlin adopted Petunia as a regular member of Porky's entourage and featured her in two more cartoons: The Case of the Stuttering Pig
The Case Of The Stuttering Pig
The Case of the Stuttering Pig was a Looney Tunes animated cartoon, starring Porky Pig and Petunia Pig, released to theaters on October 30, 1937...
and Porky's Double Trouble, both in 1937. Voice actors Bernice Hansen
Bernice Hansen
Bernice Hansen was a voice artist who did a number of female character voices for Warner Bros. cartoons in the 1930s and early-1940s...
and Shirley Reed each performed Petunia's voice in various shorts. She is now voiced by Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads...
.
Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
was the only other Warner director to utilize Petunia after Tashlin left the studio in 1938. He first featured her in Porky's Picnic, a 1939 film that sees Porky tormented by his nephew Pinkie. Pinkie and Porky's encounters are always out of sight of Petunia, of course, so she blames Porky for everything that goes wrong as a result of Pinky's activity. Petunia's largest role came in Clampett's 1939 short Naughty Neighbors. The film borrows elements from both the famous feud between the Hatfields and McCoys as well as Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
as Porky and Petunia's love for each other is stymied by their respective hillbilly
Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...
families' mutual hatred. Despite her more prominent role in the short, Petunia is only a supporting character; Porky remains the star.
As Porky's popularity was eclipsed in the late 1930s and early 1940s by brasher, funnier characters like Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
and Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, he was relegated to a supporting player himself in new Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. Petunia, already a bit player to Porky's lead, fared much worse. She still appeared occasionally in Warner's merchandising
Merchandising
Merchandising is the methods, practices, and operations used to promote and sustain certain categories of commercial activity. In the broadest sense, merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer...
, but her tenure as a Warner Bros. player was mostly over.
In the 1990s animated series Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
, a character who is based on Petunia is named, Patmay K. Pig, who is Hamton
Hamton J. Pig
Hamton J. Pig is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is arguably the fourth main character on the show. Hamton is voiced by Don Messick. Hamton is a young male pig with blue overalls. He attends Acme Looniversity and lives in Acme...
's girlfriend, and sometimes a sister.
Nevertheless, in modern years Petunia has enjoyed multiple new roles. An infant version of Petunia was a regular character in the Baby Looney Tunes
Baby Looney Tunes
Baby Looney Tunes is a Canadian-American animated television series that shows Looney Tunes characters as toddlers. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation....
television series. Adult Petunia is an occasional guest star in DC's Looney Tunes comic book, and appeared frequently in 2001 webtoons on the official Looney Tunes website. She also turned up in Duck Dodgers
Duck Dodgers (TV series)
Duck Dodgers is an American animated television series, based on the classic cartoon short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, produced by Warner Bros. Animation from 2003 to 2005. The series aired on Cartoon Network and starred Daffy Duck as the titular character...
, playing the role of Princess Incense.
Petunia has also been announced as returning in Cartoon Network's The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show is a packaged show, created for Cartoon Network, and broadcast from 2002 to 2005. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The show featured cartoon shorts from the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon series produced from 1930 to 1969.-External links:...
, where Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads...
will provide her voice.