Porky Pig
“St-st-st-stop in the name of the law!”
Porky Pig is a blasphemous graven image of a talking pig a free range, free lance, private detective and former police officer, who first appeared in a series of two long lasting detective serials from the 1930's where he investigated gristly killings: Merrie Murder Mysteries and Loony Bin.
Early appearances[edit]
Porky's first appearance was in 1935's I Haven't Got a Face! directed by Fritz Lang. Studio head Leon Schlesinger was appalled by the onscreen violence depicted in the popular Our Gang series and ordered a response to restore the public's faith in law and order during a peak crime wave. It wouldn't be until 1937 that Porky finally came face to face with the killer he'd been looking for in the short Duckhunter; introducing Daffy Duck. Porky would often paired him with a cannibalistic quack psychiatrist kept behind bars, with his bill muzzled by a mask, who leads Porky down a series of wild goose chases and dead ends as he hunts down killers like Buffalo Fudd and the Red Cowboy in Silence of the Hams.
Bob Clampett's reimagining[edit]
. In 1939 Bob Clampett re imagined the character as a globe trotting OSS agent, who often acted the part of the antagonist, setting up dictatorships in developing countries like the Dodo's republic of Wakystan. However everywhere the haram ham went he was seen as just another capitalist pig by the locals.
Behind the scenes[edit]
It was at this time that Porky and Daffy renegotiated their contracts with the studio and Daffy used his greater popularity as leverage to land more heroic lead roles. The two also starred in a wider variety of genres to avoid being typecast, starring in smash hits like Robin Hood Daffy and Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century under director Chuck Jones.
But the two's partnership soon fell apart as they hated each other behind the scenes, so Porky ended up playing second fiddle to a cat, of the regular non talking variety. Porky could see his star on the Hollywood walk of fame from the gutter he now stewed in, a washed up has been ham of an actor. No longer able to bring home the bacon and feed his family, Petunia packed her bags.
Comeback and later years[edit]
His agent got him a bit part in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but he was outraged that they cut most of his scenes to focus on Bob Hoskins. However filming had given Porky an excuse to get back into shape, starring in a number of video games. Soon he and Bugs found themselves starring in White Rabbits Can't Jump, which led them to Space Jam.
For a while it seemed like the Looney Tunes were back in action, but at the ripe old age of 68 many felt it was time for the franchise to pass the torch to the next generation. Than the studio started rolling out the obligatory sequels and prequels before rebooting the timeline of the Looney Tunes crew by revisiting them in their academy days, only played by younger voice actors. Fortunately, TV's most famous Eager Young Space Cadet still manages to stay afloat riding the nostalgia from the Duck Dodgers conventions.
“Sh-sh-sh-shows over folks, move along!”
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