Swooner Crooner

Swooner Crooner
Short Information
Series:	Looney Tunes (Blue Ribbon)
Production No.:	2-15
Reel No.:	1225
Supervision	Frank Tashlin
Story	Warren Foster
Animation	George Cannata
Uncredited Animators	Cal Dalton Arthur Davis Izzy Ellis
Uncredited Layouts	David Hilberman
Uncredited Backgrounds	Richard H. Thomas
Uncredited Voice Characterizations	Mel Blanc (Porky Pig) Sara Berner (Swooner Chicks) Bea Benaderet (Swooner Chicks) Richard Bickenbach (Frank Sinatra Rooster, Bing Crosby Rooster) Sam Wolfe (Nelson Eddy, Al Jolson, Jimmy Durante, Cab Calloway)
Music	Carl W. Stalling
MPAA No.:	9707
Release date(s):	May 6, 1944
Blue Ribbon Re-Release date(s):	February 12, 1949
Honors:	Academy Award Nominee of 1944 Note: Lost to Tom and Jerry's Mouse Trouble (M-G-M).
Preceded by	Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips
Followed by	Russian Rhapsody

Swooner Crooner is a 1944 Looney Tunes short directed by Frank Tashlin.

Plot

Porky Pig is the supervisor of the "Flockheed Eggcraft Factory", where dozens of hens lay eggs for the war effort (in this case, World War II). The hens suddenly get distracted from their egg laying when a handsome rooster named Frankie (who sings like Frank Sinatra) is heard singing outside. Frankie's renditions of "It Can't Be Wrong" by Dick Haymes and "As Time Goes By" (from Casablanca, 1942) causes all the hens to swoon.

Porky rushes to investigate. Soon, he's auditioning for a new crooner; those showing up are caricatures of Vaughn Monroe ("Shortnin' Bread"), Al Jolson ("September in the Rain"), Jimmy Durante ("Lullaby of Broadway"), Cab Calloway ("Minnie the Moocher", "Blues in the Night"), and Bing Crosby ("When My Dream Boat Comes Home").

Porky asks the Bing Crosby rooster (who introduced himself as "The Old Groaner") to be the crooner, provoking a competition with Frankie. Between the two of them, the overexcited hens' egg production is increased to a level beyond what Porky can handle, including a just-hatched hen chick laying an egg many times her own size.

Surveying literal hills and mountains of eggs all over his farm, Porky was impressed and asks the two roosters, "How did you ever m-m-make 'em lay all those eggs." The roosters demonstrate their technique by crooning at Porky, who lays a mountain of eggs himself as a result.

Availability

• VHS - Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals: Porky Pig Cartoon Festival Featuring "Nothing but the Tooth" (with Porky's drum ending audio)
• VHS/LaserDisc - Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs and Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons (with Porky's drum ending audio)
• LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 1, Side 9, Hooray for Hollywood (with Porky's drum ending audio)
• VHS - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 9, Hooray for Hollywood (with Porky’s drum ending audio)
• DVD - Blues in the Night (1995 Turner dubbed version)
• DVD – Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3, Disc 2, restored, however, the 1941-55 end cue is used instead of Porky's drum ending audio because the USA 1995 dubbed version is used as the source of the soundtrack (includes audio commentary from music historian Daniel Goldmark).
• DVD - Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection, Disc 2 (restored)
• Blu-ray – Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc 2 (restored)
• Streaming - HBO Max (restored)

Censorship

• Versions of this cartoon shown on most American TV channels (particularly Cartoon Network, Boomerang, TNT, TBS, and some local syndicated affiliates) cut the part where the Al Jolson rooster auditions in blackface with "September in the Rain," going from the Nelson Eddy rooster tiring himself out while singing "Shortnin' Bread" to the Jimmy Durante rooster singing "Lullaby of Broadway."

Notes

• The cartoon was nominated for the 1945 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons), which it lost to the Tom and Jerry cartoon "'Mouse Trouble".
• This cartoon was re-released into the Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies program on February 12, 1949. In fact, it was the first Looney Tunes short to be re-released under the Blue Ribbon program and the only Looney Tunes short to be re-released under "IN TECHNICOLOR" before Warner Bros. changed to "Color By TECHNICOLOR".
• The copyright was renewed in 1972.
• Part of the cartoon's basic premise was reused in the 2004 short "Cock-a-Doodle Duel" with Foghorn Leghorn. In it, Foghorn competes with a genetically-engineered rooster to make hens lay eggs.
• Pre-1995 prints are known to keep the original ending music with Porky Pig's "T-t-t-t-that's all folks!" However, both the European and American Turner dubbed prints change the ending music audio to the 1941-55 MM rendition. Hence, the DVD and Blu-ray releases use the USA 1995 dubbed version's soundtrack.

Gallery

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Swooner crooner-1.png

External Links

• "Swooner Crooner" at b98.tv
• Swooner Crooner at the Internet Movie Database

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