Patient Porky
Encyclopedia
Patient Porky is a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes
theatrical cartoon, starring Porky Pig
. It was directed by Bob Clampett
, written by Warren Foster
, and scored by Carl W. Stalling. Patient Porky was released on August 24, 1940. The cartoon features the Bugs Bunny prototype (AKA Bugs' Bunny
), who has a mere cameo
.
A title card at the beginning claims that the cartoon is adapted from a book called The Pains Came, but this is merely a joke, a pun off the novel and film The Rains Came
.
). After Porky tells him what's wrong with him, the cat decides to take an X-ray of Porky's stomach. Inside we see a birthday cake with one big piece missing. The cat then sympathetically escorts Porky over to a bed where he throws him into it and he bounces up off of the bed, his jacket comes off and the gown goes on. The cat then brags to the other patients, "Look fellas! I got a patient! I got a patient!" The cat then grabs the bed and pushes it really hard so they are speeding through the hospital where he sings "I've got a terrific urgin' to be a famous surgeon so I'm going to start out to carve my new career." He rushes Porky into Surgery where we see him sharpening knives and cleaning a saw with a rag. The cat then walks up to Porky who is lying in bed unsure of what the cat's plans are, takes the covers down and lifts his gown to operate. Porky sees what the cat is up to and yells, "Hey! What's the big idea?" He tries to escape the cat by slipping through the covers then running down the hall. He runs out of the hospital and back to his house where the cat is hot on his trail. Porky runs into his bedroom and slams the door and the cat follows him where he finds Porky lying in bed. Thinking he has the upper hand, the cat tries to operate on him again where he then sees a sticker pasted on Porky's stomach that reads "Do Not Open till Xmas." The cat confused looks at the camera and says "Christmas?", then jumps in bed next to Porky and states "I'll wait" much to Porky's horror.
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...
theatrical cartoon, starring 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...
. It was directed by 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...
, written by Warren Foster
Warren Foster
Warren Foster , was a writer, cartoonist and composer for the animation division of Warner Brothers and later with Hanna-Barbera....
, and scored by Carl W. Stalling. Patient Porky was released on August 24, 1940. The cartoon features the Bugs Bunny prototype (AKA Bugs' Bunny
Bugs' Bunny
Bugs' Bunny was an unnamed rabbit before he was evolved into Bugs Bunny. It was also named Happy Rabbit.The rabbit's first appearance was essentially the same as the early Daffy Duck...
), who has a mere cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
.
A title card at the beginning claims that the cartoon is adapted from a book called The Pains Came, but this is merely a joke, a pun off the novel and film The Rains Came
The Rains Came
The Rains Came is the title of a novel by Louis Bromfield, published in 1937, as well as the 1939 20th Century Fox film version which followed it...
.
Plot
The cartoon begins with a tour of a hospital where we see many patients resting in their beds. Porky soon checks in with a stomach ache, caused by overeating at his birthday party. Instead of a real doctor, he encounters a crazy cat patient who introduces himself as "Dr. Chilled-Air" (a reference to Dr. KildareDr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
). After Porky tells him what's wrong with him, the cat decides to take an X-ray of Porky's stomach. Inside we see a birthday cake with one big piece missing. The cat then sympathetically escorts Porky over to a bed where he throws him into it and he bounces up off of the bed, his jacket comes off and the gown goes on. The cat then brags to the other patients, "Look fellas! I got a patient! I got a patient!" The cat then grabs the bed and pushes it really hard so they are speeding through the hospital where he sings "I've got a terrific urgin' to be a famous surgeon so I'm going to start out to carve my new career." He rushes Porky into Surgery where we see him sharpening knives and cleaning a saw with a rag. The cat then walks up to Porky who is lying in bed unsure of what the cat's plans are, takes the covers down and lifts his gown to operate. Porky sees what the cat is up to and yells, "Hey! What's the big idea?" He tries to escape the cat by slipping through the covers then running down the hall. He runs out of the hospital and back to his house where the cat is hot on his trail. Porky runs into his bedroom and slams the door and the cat follows him where he finds Porky lying in bed. Thinking he has the upper hand, the cat tries to operate on him again where he then sees a sticker pasted on Porky's stomach that reads "Do Not Open till Xmas." The cat confused looks at the camera and says "Christmas?", then jumps in bed next to Porky and states "I'll wait" much to Porky's horror.
Censorship
- On Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network (United States)Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...
(except for The Bob Clampett ShowThe Bob Clampett ShowThe Bob Clampett Show was an animation anthology television program which ran from 2000 to 2001. Produced by the Cartoon Network, it featured animated theatrical shorts from the Warner Bros. library that were animated or directed by Bob Clampett, as well as a selection of shorts from the Beany and...
which aired this short uncut) and NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, all of the scenes with Rochester, from radio's The Jack Benny ProgramJack BennyJack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
as an elevator operator are cut.
Availability
- Patient Porky is available, uncut and restored, on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 is a Looney Tunes collection on DVD. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on October 30, 2007....
, Disc 3.
See also
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1940–1949)
- List of Bugs Bunny cartoons
External links
- Patient Porky at the Big Cartoon DataBaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....