Throughout the last several weeks, I’ve been talking about Warner Bros. and Merrie Melodies. I know it would seem that I look obsessed with these cartoons, however, that is not the case. Unlike Schlesinger’s other works’, this one is entirely different. This cartoon is actually a very serious cartoon, compared to the usual funny antics Merrie Melodies. This is what surprised me the most about this cartoon. I’m actually a little shocked that Merrie Melodies produced something that was this serious. There is no humor at all. If you watch the animation above, you’ll see what I mean. In this post, I will give a brief summary of the animation, talk about the style of animation, as well as, discuss the historical aspect of the animation.
The animation begins with Porky trying to learn the Pledge of Allegiance. However, while trying to recite it properly, he gets bored and falls asleep. Young Porky then has a dream where Uncle Sam comes and talks to him about the history of the United States. Uncle Sam begins to tell Porky about the thirteen colonies and how they founded America. He says that they came to this land for freedom, but instead they got “oppression, unfair taxes, tyranny, unfair laws, injustice (this word is repeated several times – it can be seen as a gag, but it is the only one if it is considered a gag). It then cuts to Patrick Henry reciting the “give me liberty or give me death” speech. At the end of his speech, it his image is superimposed with an image of a shooting canon. The smoke from the fired canon transitions to Paul Revere riding on horseback yelling “to war.” The image cuts to people marching down a street with weapons to the song Yankee Doodle. Then the footsteps of the men are matched with the gavel of John Hancock, as he signs the Declaration of Independence. Another canon transition occurs and shows the year 1776. In that scene, there are three men playing the drums and flute marching towards the camera. There image is superimposed with the liberty bell ringing. This transitions to the U.S. Constitution being signed by George Washington. Then Porky asks what happens next and Uncle Sam tells him the expansion to the West. This is shown by an empty U.S. Map as silhouettes of people and wagons walking across the screen as states appear on the map. It then cuts back to Porky and Uncle Sam. This is where Uncle Sam calls Abraham Lincoln a great American, paying tribute to a statue of him. Then Porky wakes up and recites the Pledge of Allegiance as the camera goes up the flag pole to reveal the waving U.S. American Flag.
If you have seen other Merrie Melodies animations, then you may be able to see a difference in the animation. For example, if you look at the face of Porky, he is very shiny looking. The more noticeable appearance is the way Uncle Sam is portrayed. His face is very clean and defined, almost as a collectible plastic doll of some kind. This is also seen with all of the other people. It looks much more like a refined cartoon than an actual wacky cartoon. It has a much more realistic feel to it than most other animations. This animation is actually heavily based in rotoscope, which is a different style from what is usually done. Chuck Jones was the director of this piece and was known for his Disney-like animation. This is the reason Schlesinger had Jones do this piece of animation.
How historical does this piece get? The answer to that question is simple; it is all historical. This whole animation deals with the history of America. You have the infamous Uncle Sam telling the story. There are the original thirteen colonies to begin with. We all know Patrick Henry gave a famous speech and was one of the nation’s founding fathers. We also know about Paul Revere’s patriotism and how he rode on horseback to warn the Americans the British were coming during his midnight rides in the American Revolution. Then there is John Hancock, who was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, a very important document. There was also the Constitution signed by Washington, which is an extremely important document, giving everyone freedoms. At the end, Uncle Sam includes Abraham Lincoln as a great American. We all know about Abraham Lincoln and his Gettysburg Address and Emancipation Proclamation. Not to mention he was the 16th President of the United States. There are also a couple of historical significance from year this animation was created. At the end of the animation, if you listen to the Pledge of Allegiance Porky recites, there is no “Under God” section in what he says. This is because that section of the Pledge was not put in until 1954, however this animation was made in 1939. Also, if you count the number of stars on the U.S. Flag at the end, there are only 48 stars. This is because Hawaii and Alaska did not become official states until 1959. There is one last interesting thought about this animation. It was released 3 days before Independence day in 1939. I find it interesting that it came out 2-3 months before the start of WWII. Do you find this interesting?
ETA: I commented on the Blogs of Courtney Webber and Samantha Francis.
Til Next Time…
