Frommer notes, “The 1946 cartoon is so packed with funny jokes, clever puns, imaginative imagery and lively music that it is still considered one of the best produced by Looney Tunes. Set at New York’s Polo Grounds, the cartoon also foreshadowed a golden age of baseball in which the city’s three teams dominated the national pastime.”
Fans of a certain age will definitely get the writer’s references. But what they may not have seen is another Looney Tunes offering I’d never heard of until now: “Porky’s Baseball Broadcast,” which came out in 1940. This one takes place during the World Series at “Yankem Stadium” and has some problems, such as having the Chicago Cubs facing the New York Giants (and pitcher Carl “Bubble.” But should that be Babe Ruth in this picture?).
Just for fun (and what else can it be when you talk about cartoons) we did that another smart but more irreverent analysis of “Baseball Bugs” from USSMariner.com – a site dedicated to the Seattle team – from 2006.
Here’s a review of “Baseball Bugs” from Anthony’s Animation Talk, a YouTube channel dedicated to that medium. I found it a bit mocking that Anthony is from Australia and is more of a cartoon fan than a baseball fan! You’ll notice that there are a few similarities between the versions of Bugs and Porky.
#Throwback #Thursday #Porky #Ron #Kaplans #Baseball #Bookshelf