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!"

Directed by Frank Tashlin, "Wholly Smoke" is a very good black-and-white Porky Pig cartoon dealing with the avoidance of smoking. On his way to Sunday school, Porky is diverted by a cigar-chomping gangster. This leads him directly into a smoke shop, where many horrors await Porky.My favorite moments from "Wholly Smoke": The gangster does various flashy tricks with his cigar, but when Porky tries the same tricks, he fails. (Helping this scene along is, of course, Carl Stalling's music score.) At the smoke shop, I recognize caricatures of the Three Stooges (Larry, Curly, and Moe), Cab Calloway, Bing Crosby, and Rudy Vallee."Wholly Smoke" features a very early version of Porky Pig that I especially admire - an adorable little child, determined to do what is right. Indeed, by the end of this cartoon, Porky learns his lesson - NO SMOKING.

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!