Little Orphan Airedale is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Charles M. Jones and released on October 4, 1947.[1] Its major significance is its status as the official debut of Jones' version of Robert "Bob" Clampett's character, Charlie "Rover" the Dog.[2] The title is a play on Little Orphan Annie.
| Little Orphan Airedale | |
|---|---|
 Blue Ribbon title card | |
| Directed by | Charles M. Jones |
| Story by | Michael Maltese Tedd Pierce |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer (uncredited) |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by | Lloyd Vaughan Ben Washam Ken Harris Phil Monroe |
| Layouts by | Robert Gribbroek |
| Backgrounds by | Philip DeGuard |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 7 minutes |
| Language | English |
Plot
editThe cartoon's story (which is essentially a re-working of Bob Clampett's 1941 short Porky's Pooch) is about a dog named Rags McMutt, who has just escaped from the dog pound and accidentally meets Charlie, an old friend of his, in a car that he used as a hiding place. Charlie tells Rags about the troubles he had. While looking for prospective masters, Charlie imitated several passersby (including a man with sleepy eyes and big lips as a caricature of Mel Blanc). He happened to notice Porky, envisioning him as a sucker. After helping Porky with his groceries, he offers to be Porky's dog, showing him the various tricks. Porky refusingly resists his persistence, but Charlie keeps coming back. Just as Porky forces Charlie out of his apartment by the belly, Charlie begs not to be roughly handled "the way I am", whispers into his ear and makes a girlish wink in front of the camera. Porky, believing that the dog is female and is pregnant, takes him in, puts him into bed and feeds him with some milk and broth. As Charlie's name gets revealed, Porky realizes that he has been fooled and gets enraged, and throws Charlie out of his apartment by slamming the bed through the wall. After more tricks, Porky finally manages to send him to Australia, only to see him back from various exotic places, and Charlie describes to him the kangaroo, proceeding to hop around, using Porky as the joey. When Rags sees how Charlie begs Porky to keep him as a pet, he decides to go back to the pound (even though he has a hard time getting back in).
References
edit- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 179. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 64. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
External links
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