Wholly Smoke (1938)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Wonderful character development!

Very disappointing...

An Exercise In Nonsense

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.'Wholly Smoke' may not be one of my favourite cartoons of all time, but for me it is up there among the best of the late 30s Porky Pig cartoons, one of his best solo cartoons and one of his best directed by Frank Tashlin. Tashlin directs wonderfully here in 'Wholly Smoke', the cartoon boasting some of his cleverest, most imaginative and wittiest visuals and not only does Tashlin engage with the material he actually seems to be having a ball with it.Porky is likeable as ever, effectively playing it straight and he isn't underused or too much of a support character. It will be admitted though that Nick O'Teen, with a sterling voice over from Tedd Pierce, and the smoking caricatures, in the hallucinatory sequence that dominates the cartoon to unforgettable effect, display stronger personalities. A lot of fun 'Wholly Smoke' is, especially with the delicious wackiness tonally and the various smoke characters and caricatures that are great to spot. It is one of Tashlin's weirdest and the weirdest for Porky, but this is in a wonderful way. 'Wholly Smoke' is essentially a message cartoon, with a message that makes its point without preaching too much. It is also a message that eighty years on is an important and relevant one, more so now where smoking is no longer something that most people back then did because it was fashionable and a social thing but now an increasingly unhealthy lifestyle choice although addressed more in the media about the consequences.Mel Blanc is outstanding as always. He always was the infinitely more preferable voice for Porky, Joe Dougherty never clicked with me, and he proves it in 'Porky's Building'. Blanc shows an unequalled versatility and ability to bring an individual personality to every one of his multiple characters in a vast majority of his work, there is no wonder why he was in such high demand as a voice actor.The animation is very good. It's fluid in movement, crisp in shading and very meticulous in detail. The story is paced beautifully but it is a case of everything else making more of an impact.Carl Stalling's music is typically outstanding. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it.In summary, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

. . . William Randolph "CITIZEN KANE" Hearst foisted REEFER MADNESS upon gullible Rich People Party puppets such as Nancy "Just Say No" Reagan, Warner Bros. courageously confronted America's REAL corporate smoke culprit, Big Tobacco, with this Looney Tune animated short, WHOLLY SMOKE. As Porky Pig learns here, international health experts have documented 1,418.7 American Murders at the hands of the Bright Leaf Boys for every ONE fatality somehow attributed in part to pot (usually a hiking backpacker or bird watcher stepping on a land mine near a marijuana factory farm run by illegal foreigners in one of America's National Forests). Warner's child Porky Pig is victimized by every trick in Big Tobacco's Book, from the Cartoonish enticements of Joe Camel to the peer pressure applied by hired shills. Warner's "Nick O'Teen" character epitomizes the slick youth outreach that the Coffin Nail Corporations still are allowed to practice Today, with their peppermint and bubble gum-flavored E-cigarettes. But as the Trumpsters will say while they eliminate Affordable Health Care, Medicare, and Medicaid, "You can't live Forever!"

Wow, who would have thought it? They made an anti-smoking cartoon in 1938! Pretty amazing....and wild, too. This Porky Pig cartoon has our favorite porker learning a lesson about smoking, especially at a young age. Too bad the message was just about kids smoking, instead all of us.Without going into the story, I was fascinated by a number of the sight gags in here like the smoke ring blowing contest; Porky's German mother, Mr. "Nick O'Teen" (who lives at 1313 Tobacco Road); the harmonizing matches; the cameo appearances of The Three Stooges, Bing Crosby, Cab Calloway, Hispanic dancers from Havana....and more.A great lesson, and a great cartoon!

just a reminder that this was made back when smoking was still a common thing for the public. And didn't know that smoking was not healthy to do.Porky was given 5 cents to give at church and was told not to spend it.On his way to the chapel, he find a kid smoking a cigar. He tells him little kids shouldn't smoke. The kid doesn't think Porky is man enough to smoke. So Porky bet on his nickel that he can smoke.After getting dizzy and coughing a lot he winds up at a smoke shop. And is greeted by Nick O'Teen the smoke cloud dude. He was pleased to see that Porky is interested in smoking so Nick tests if Porky really does like to smoke. But getting his pipe, cigar, cigarette and tobacco friends to sing and remind that little kids shouldn't smoke.For a cartoon this old it does have a good message in letting kids know that you shouldn't smoke at a young age.But if this was made decades later it be "Smoking is bad for you". But can't blame the way people thought of smoking back in the olden days.Sad thing is this is one of the many Looney Tunes that's been censored a few times. I never seen an uncut version or uncensored version of this fine cartoon.I hope one day it'll be part of a collection of uncut Looney Tunes DVD.