Warner Bros' "You Ought to Be in Pictures" is what Daffy tells porky in this mix of live action and animation we have here. But of course, Daffy wants Porky's place and Porky, naive as he is, believes him right away. This film runs a couple seconds under 10 minutes, so it is 3 minutes longer than these films usually are. It is in black-and-white and the most interesting thing here for me was not really the slapstick comedy, but how they mixed live action and animation. As a result of this we have the only acting credit for the influential Leon Schlesinger, who plays himself in here. And the funniest thing about it is how it actually turned out so true. Poor Porky. His star was fading quickly, even if he stayed somewhat relevant for a long time still. But the stardom of (Bugs and) Daffy is something he never managed to achieve. I feel kinda sorry for him. This film has its good and bad moments, but overall it's a really interesting take in terms of film on film. I recommend it. Oh yeah the voice acting is strong too of course, but that's a given with Mel Blanc on board I guess.
... View MoreThis was a brilliant cartoon, mixing animation with live action. The result is one of my all time favourite Looney Tunes cartoons. Leon Schlesinger is great as himself, and Daffy is enormous fun as he tricks Porky into entering the movie business. But really it is Porky's picture, I particularly loved the part when he smuggled himself in disguised as Oliver Hardy. The animation is excellent and doesn't jar with the live action sequences. The music is lovely, and there is a wonderful script that the toons and the actors do a great job with. While it is a tad predictable, the story works wonderfully as a Hollywood satire, and the references to Greta Garbo and Errol Flynn, all to name a few, were well done. As well as voicing Daffy and Porky, Mel Blanc plays a stagehand and a security guard, and these are roles he excels in.My favourite bit? I don't know. Daffy murdering Largo Al Factotum in an attempt to gain Porky's former position with Schlesinger growing visibly irritated was one, and the part with Porky's confrontation with Schlesinger was quite poignant. All in all, as a cartoon You Ought To Be in Pictures is hilarious and unique. 10/10 Bethany Cox
... View MoreWow, this is different, and way ahead of its time, that's for sure. You have a 1940 cartoon that mixes live characters with cartoon ones, such as Porky Pig. This is almost a half-century before "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" came out!We are at the artist's studio where Porky Pig and Daffy Duck are drawn and when everyone goes to lunch, Daffy comes alive and asks Porky, "Say, you want a good job?""I know where you can get a good job in features as Bette Davis' leading man," says the duckster. Porky is reluctant, saying he already as a good job and a contract but Daffy, sounding the Devil pouring bad advice into Porky's ear, advises him to go up and tell the boss that "I quit." Unfortunately for Porky, Daffy's advice wasn't very good.I loved Porky's line to the boss: "What's Errol Flynn got that I haven't?"Notes: It was interesting to see Looney Tunes producer Leon Schlesinger, although he wasn't much of an actor, and the voice behind all these famous characters, Mel Blanc, who plays both a security guard and a stagehand......This cartoon runs almost 10 minutes, which is several minutes longer than normal.
... View MoreOn the urging of Daffy Duck (who has ulterior motives), Porky Pig decides to quit the business of making animated shorts to pursue live action movie roles in this curiosity of a short from 1940 that blends animation and live action. Only worth seeing for the sheer novelty of the experimental blending, this short isn't that humorous and the acting of the guard in particular is way too over the top. But as it is, t's still better than the awful "Space Jam" that did the same thing, but WAY worse in every way. This animated short can be seen on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 and also features an optional commentary by Jerry Beck.My Grade: C+
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