. . . for its treacherous Rape of Nanking, PORKY'S PARTY STORYBOARD REEL reveals. This 13-minute "Bonus Feature" on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 3, Disc 3 (2005) shows BOTH the Pre-Rape and Post-Rape versions of Uncle Pincus Pig's birthday gift note to nephew Porky, which the elder Missionary Pig has dispatched from Hotel Tapioca, Hong Kong. Though the Pre-Rape storyboard gift note refers to a miracle-working "Japanese Silkworm," the Post-Rape note actually shown in this cartoon's 1938 theatrical release deprives Japan of any credit for this Wonder Worm, simply referring to it as an "Oriental Silkworm." As America tries to retrieve all of its Gold Medal Swimmers and Rowers from the Sewage Troughs of Rio, one can only anticipate the next Summer Olympics--the 2020 Games of the 32nd Olympiad--in Tokyo, Japan, with total trepidation. Everyone knows that U.S. Pachyderm Party Congressman and World Record Miler Jim Ryun saw his Metric Mile Gold Medal dreams vanish when he caught diarrhea from the unsanitary conditions there back in 1964. Now that even more of the World War Two American Occupation Force has been withdrawn, things have gotten worse during the past five decades in terms of Japan back-sliding on the Basic Principles of Sanitation. I've heard recently that some public toilets in Japan do not even feature a reliable stock of bathroom tissue! Maybe Warner Bros. needs to do an animated short explaining WHY U.S. Olympians must always BYOTP to these Games!

. . . in one of the pop classics of the U.S. Bicentennial year, with a redundant opening line about Time slipping into the Future. The rockers who came up with this stuff seem to have been heavily influenced by Looney Tunes, particularly PORKY'S PARTY, the main theme of which is "Bra the Braless." Porky's Uncle Pincus sends America's favorite pig one silkworm from Hong Kong as a birthday present. Though this caterpillar can churn out nylons, bloomers, or top hats in mere seconds, his specialty seems to be brassieres. Since American Lingerie Pioneer Howard Hughes had yet to invent cantilevered, push-up, and rocket-cone boulder holders at the time PORKY'S PARTY hit the Big Screen, the many-hued melon-minders popping up here are of a kinder, gentler variety than Howard's future output. However, Warner Bros. was responding to an urgent need recently highlighted by National Geographic Magazine's photo spreads documenting the dangers of unbridled drooping among the naturalist ladies of developing nations. It was bad enough that America's own economy was sagging in the 1930s, Warner felt. Deflation was rampant, so it was up to America's Womenfolk to perk up their unemployed male peers with the Wonder of Silk.

I do like Porky Pig. There are other Looney Tunes characters that are stronger leads than him(ie. Bugs, Daffy) but Porky is still a likable and quite endearing character all the same. Porky's Party is one of the best of his early cartoons, not only is it hilarious but it allows Porky to be part of the action rather than just be a bystander who appears every now and then. The dog and the penguin are great supporting characters, both of them have some really great gags, the dog with the alcohol/hare tonic and the razor and the penguin with the wild but very funny gag of the top hat propping up inside him and when he disguises himself as a hat-stand. The last minute or so is wild chaos and in that unmistakable Bob Clampett style, which I loved. There is even a bird/ostrich character who turns up briefly, but with a visual gag involving a sign that still makes its mark. The animation is crisp and colourful, and the music is full of that vibrant energy you'd expect from Looney Tunes. Mel Blanc's voice work is spot-on as well. It is true that there is not much of a plot but the humour, animation and interplay between the characters makes that not matter at all. 10/10 Bethany Cox

"Porky's Party" is an excellent Porky Pig cartoon directed by the wackiest of all animation directors: Bob Clampett. Clampett gave his cartoons at Warner Bros. a great amount of youthful energy and a kind of craziness that is UNMATCHED, with "Porky's Party" certainly being no exception to the rule. The plot of this film can be summarized quite easily: Porky invites two of his friends over to his house for his birthday party, where they all undergo some hilarious misadventures. One of the causes of all the trouble is a mischievous silkworm that Porky receives as a birthday gift from his uncle. Accompanying all these wacky adventures is the wonderfully swinging music score by Carl Stalling.My favorite scenes from "Porky's Party" include the following (but DON'T read any further until after you have seen this cartoon). Porky is absolutely hilarious at becoming embarrassed by all the feminine undergarments that the silkworm sews from underneath Porky's coat. Porky becomes no less hilarious upon spotting his dog Black Fury with exceptionally long hair and a mouth covered with shaving cream, after which Porky gyrates wildly in all directions while shouting, "Mad dog!" And the penguin, after having accidentally eaten the silkworm, just cannot prevent his own head from popping into a top hat; the ending of this cartoon features the wildest sight gag of all, in which the exasperated penguin becomes an unbelievable conglomeration of garments sewn by the silkworm!"Porky's Party" can be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 Disc 3, with an additional audio commentary by contemporary animators John Kricfalusi and Eddie Fitzgerald, who are both huge fans of Bob Clampett. During the aforementioned scene of Porky with the undergarments, Fitzgerald simply cannot control his rather contagious laughter!