. . . often use the character of Porky Pig to stand in for and represent the American Everyman, and PORKY'S PRIZE PONY proves to be no exception to this rule. Warner's clairvoyant savants show a beleaguered Porky saddled with a bumbling never-was wannabe nag throughout PRIZE PONY. Since Warner's Animated Shorts Seers division aimed most of their output at We Americans of (The Then) Far Future, PRIZE PONY begs the question of exactly WHO is the dilapidated steed meant to symbolize? One important clue to answering this query comes between 1:55 and 2:10, as the stalking horse tries to present an erect tail, only to have it fall limp three times. It's a well-know True Fact that so-called White House Resident #45 has been impotent since the 1900s, prompting his Rage against Humanity. This conclusion is borne out when the sorry trotter nonsensically tumbles through a White House at PRIZE PONY's four-minute mark, emerging as a geriatric geezer dressed in human clothing rocking in a rocking chair! (How better could Warner's prognosticators dovetail this Deplorable Equine Figure with America's second Advanced Stage Alzheimer Prez?) Then at 4:45 Rump's rocking horse kicks the bucket, sabotaging America's True Leadership. Certainly the message from Warner Bros.' Extreme Early Warning System in PRIZE PONY urges us to send Red Commie KGB Chief Vlad "The Mad Russian" Putin's Manchurian Candidate Nag BACK to the Kremlin (or, perhaps better yet, DOWN to Osama's Glue Factory) while we still can!
4 Reviews
Porky Pig and the horse
TheLittleSongbird21 January 2018
Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.
Chuck Jones deserves his status as one of animation's most legendary, greatest and most important directors/animators. He may have lacked the outrageousness and wild wackiness of Bob Clampett and Tex Avery, but the visual imagination, wit and what he did with some of the best-known and most iconic characters ever were just as special. 'Porky's Prize Pony' may not be one of his best cartoons or see him on the most top of forms, but it is not one of the finding-his-feet quality of his earlier cartoons.
Porky is amusing and likeable, if slightly bland. Have always thought that, while a pretty decent lead character he fared better playing it straight paired with characters with funnier material and more interesting personalities, one of the strongest examples being Daffy Duck.
The story is basic and predictable, showing in some, but not all, of the pacing, which is mostly lively but on occasions momentum is lacking.
Mel Blanc's voice acting as ever shows how amazing and multi-talented a voice actor he was, showing a knack for bringing an individuality and different personalities to every character he voiced.
'Porky's Prize Pony' is very amusing and neatly executed, and sometimes very funny indeed, if never quite imaginative enough compared to Jones' later classics. Porky is a bit bland but the horse effortlessly steals the show and is great fun. The two work well together.
Animation is excellent, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading and very meticulous in detail. Jones does direct very solidly. Ever the master, Carl Stalling's music is typically superb. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it.
Overall, pretty good but not great or outstanding. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Chuck Jones deserves his status as one of animation's most legendary, greatest and most important directors/animators. He may have lacked the outrageousness and wild wackiness of Bob Clampett and Tex Avery, but the visual imagination, wit and what he did with some of the best-known and most iconic characters ever were just as special. 'Porky's Prize Pony' may not be one of his best cartoons or see him on the most top of forms, but it is not one of the finding-his-feet quality of his earlier cartoons.
Porky is amusing and likeable, if slightly bland. Have always thought that, while a pretty decent lead character he fared better playing it straight paired with characters with funnier material and more interesting personalities, one of the strongest examples being Daffy Duck.
The story is basic and predictable, showing in some, but not all, of the pacing, which is mostly lively but on occasions momentum is lacking.
Mel Blanc's voice acting as ever shows how amazing and multi-talented a voice actor he was, showing a knack for bringing an individuality and different personalities to every character he voiced.
'Porky's Prize Pony' is very amusing and neatly executed, and sometimes very funny indeed, if never quite imaginative enough compared to Jones' later classics. Porky is a bit bland but the horse effortlessly steals the show and is great fun. The two work well together.
Animation is excellent, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading and very meticulous in detail. Jones does direct very solidly. Ever the master, Carl Stalling's music is typically superb. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it.
Overall, pretty good but not great or outstanding. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Porky the trainer and the jockey in this one
llltdesq9 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This short is similar to Porky and Teabiscuit in some respects and wildly different in others. As I will be discussing details here, consider this a spoiler warning:
In this short, as in Porky and Teabiscuit, the action takes place at a racetrack and both feature very unlikely horses in a race. Porky is the jockey in both shorts. Otherwise, except for a few other relatively minor points, they are quite different. For one thing, Porky is a child in Teabiscuit and an adult here. For another, Porky is definitely second fiddle here to the horse.
My favorite bit in here is when Porky is singing different lyrics set to the tune to "We're In the Money". The lyrics are actually quite good. The race itself is very well animated, with some very nice detail work. At one point, the speed lines for Porky's horse coalesce themselves into the outline of a locomotive! Much of the short is taken up with sight gags arising from the horse trying to convince Porky that he really can be a good steeplechaser! Things generally go comically awry with the horse's attempts to impress Porky.
All in all, some really nice gags make this an enjoyable short. Porky and Teabiscuit has been released on a Looney Tunes Golden Collection (Volume 3, if I remember correctly) and hopefully this one will make one in the future. Worth finding. Recommended.
In this short, as in Porky and Teabiscuit, the action takes place at a racetrack and both feature very unlikely horses in a race. Porky is the jockey in both shorts. Otherwise, except for a few other relatively minor points, they are quite different. For one thing, Porky is a child in Teabiscuit and an adult here. For another, Porky is definitely second fiddle here to the horse.
My favorite bit in here is when Porky is singing different lyrics set to the tune to "We're In the Money". The lyrics are actually quite good. The race itself is very well animated, with some very nice detail work. At one point, the speed lines for Porky's horse coalesce themselves into the outline of a locomotive! Much of the short is taken up with sight gags arising from the horse trying to convince Porky that he really can be a good steeplechaser! Things generally go comically awry with the horse's attempts to impress Porky.
All in all, some really nice gags make this an enjoyable short. Porky and Teabiscuit has been released on a Looney Tunes Golden Collection (Volume 3, if I remember correctly) and hopefully this one will make one in the future. Worth finding. Recommended.
The horse that never gives up.
wondermoose-128 March 2006
A clumsy horse with dreams of glory on the track sees Porky Pig as his ticket and is determined to win him over. Like Wile E. Coyote in the later Chuck Jones Roadrunner cartoons, the horse seems to have a high threshold of pain, plus there is little dialog. Lots of horse and horse race gags--and horse racing was quite popular then. It's a mystery as to how or why the horse tumbles out of a barn clad in a floppy hat, a union suit that he must have donned through the trap door, and astride a rocking chair. Inspired by a scene from another movie or something the writer saw on a visit to the countryside perhaps. "The Old Grey Mare" plays in tune with the creaking chair and throughout the short. No Technicolor treatment for this one but we can learn something from the horse who is the real star here: Don't stop striving for excellence. A similar horse turns up in "The Draft Horse" just a few years later, and Chuck made more and better cartoons.
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