Crowing Pains (1947)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Absolutely Fantastic

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

. . . before anyone else that the American Character Harbored a Fatal Flaw as Bad as Germany's in the 1930s. These prophetic animators had just lived through an Era in which a Testicularly-Challenged Austrian Corporal plunged the world into a Decade of Chaos by raving and ranting slurs against Minority Groups. The Looney Tuners Witnessed a Nation becoming convinced that "Up" is Down, "Black" is White, and "East" is West simply by seeing one Lying Maniac riling up Stadiums full of Cheering Dittoheads. CROWING PAINS features Foghorn Leghorn bamboozling the gullible U.S. Public--in the person of Henery Hawk--that the Guardians of the Barnyard (Sylvester Cat and Barnyard Dog) are CHICKENS eager to become a Two-McNugget Happy Meal. In a World in which a Seven-Times-Bankrupt Game Show Host turned in as a Tax Cheat by HIS OWN ACCOUNTANT, subject to 4,000 lawsuits (hundreds secretly settled against him, but with thousands still pending), wedded to a Porn Star illegally smuggled into America, financially beholden to America's Two Great Enemies (Russia and China), soliciting further counts of HIGH TREASON Daily on Television while using the U.S. Mass Media as a Brainless Mouthpiece to cast his stones at Everyone Else's Achievements while his own Paper-Thin Glass House remains untouched is illustrated perfectly by ventriloquist Foghorn Leghorn as CROWING PAINS comes to its Sad But True Conclusion.

Once again, Henery Hawk is out to get a chicken and has his sights set on Foghorn Leghorn. Once again, Foghorn points him at another victim. In this case it's Sylvester the cat who, at the start of the cartoon, is about to murder Barnyard Dog (!) before Foghorn saves him. This may be the only time in all their cartoons together that Foghorn does Barnyard Dog a favor. Usually the two are at each other's throats. But I guess this time they have a mutual enemy in Sylvester. Solid voice work from the always-dependable Mel Blanc, who seemed to still be perfecting his Foghorn voice at this time. It would be a little deeper as time goes on. Energetic music from Carl Stalling. The animation is good with well-drawn characters and backgrounds. The Technicolor is always a plus. The short is funny, if not particularly hilarious. It's nice to see Sylvester interacting with characters he doesn't normally share the screen with.

This Looney Tunes cartoon is very entertaining from start to finish. Whilst some of the animation isn't always that great as Foghorn is a little overweight here, the music is good, the gags come by thick and fast and the short essentially is funny.The characters are still their fun and likable selves. While Sylvester is suitably slobbery and Foghorn witty, it is Henery who steals the show, and their partnership is perfect. Barnyard Dog also gives an entertaining performance. The marvellous vocals of Mel Blanc really made Crowing Pains so fun to watch especially, and the story was cool. I admit there is a fair amount of violence and poor Sylvester gets the most of it.All in all, it is fun, helped by the perfect performances from the Looney Tunes characters and most importantly from Blanc. 9/10 Bethany Cox

At the start of `Crowing Pains' the Barnyard Dog is clobbered by somebody disguised as a bush. Surprisingly, the attacker is not a rooster, but Sylvester the cat! It's his voice that gives him away, not his looks, as life was obviously good to him when this picture was made. Foghorn Leghorn is also a bit overweight, while Barnyard's voice had not quite reached the right pitch. Another big surprise is that Foghorn turns out to be the smartest of the three, while Sylvester is the most violent.Having often wondered exactly why there is so much animosity between the rooster and the dog, one might think that the addition of a cat on this farm would make a lot of sense. It would be quite natural to see a cat chasing a rooster, and in turn being chased by a dog. But there is nothing rational about the way these animals try to hurt each other at all. The humour is all over the place, resulting in one of the most manic and violent entries in this farm based series (Barnyard actually seems to be in pain most of the time).Let us not forget the star of this cartoon, Henery Hawk, who is convinced by Foghorn to disguise himself as an egg (to get that big chicken, Sylvester). The depiction of lunacy (as presented by Sylvester when he thinks he just laid an egg) would also be frowned upon in this day and age. `Crowing pains' feels a lot like the first series of Blackadder in which the characters had not quite come into their own. If only the old Sufferin' Sukkatasher had spent more time on this farm in later years, the relationships might have gotten more finely tuned and the reasons for using the farm as a battleground a bit clearer. Perhaps, like so many warring nations before them, the animals had long forgotten the original reason for fighting each other. 5 out of 10