Purely Joyful Movie!

Just perfect...

A Major Disappointment

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Frank Tashlin had returned to the Schlesinger studio in 1942 after a four year absence. He returned in stronger form, directing several cinematic masterpieces.This Oscar nominated short is one of most popular and celebrated short he directed. The WB cartoons are known for caricaturing famous celebrities of the day. There were a few cartoons in the late 30's that lampooned popular crooners, but this was the ultimate tribute to the crooners and the songs they popularized. Frank Sinatra was an up and coming singer around this time and his intense popularity with teenage girls is referenced. Bing Crosby is featured as his rival to the ladies. I wonder if either of them ever commented on their depiction in this short, given how popular it was.This short was very popular among release and would be referenced in and influence future cartoons of this type. Chief among them Tex Avery's LITTLE TINKER (1948) and an uninspired CATCH AS CATS CAN (1947).One of my favorite shorts from the wartime period.

. . . is about more than propagating enormous piles of chicken eggs, Warner Bros. makes clear. The sign at the beginning of SWOONER CROONER indicates that Porky Pig is managing the "Flockheed Eggcraft Factory--100% War Work." But is this facility REALLY populated by farmyard fowl? Heck no! When one hen is temporarily Defeathered about four minutes into this animated short, it's revealed that underneath her fluffy white quills she's sporting a matching lingerie set comprised of a lacy pink brassiere and panties! Furthermore, whenever the Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby roosters croon love songs, they send this female flock's egg ducts into overdrive, upping their output from a single white orb to dozens of eggs popped out per hen at a single sitting. Clearly, SWOONER CROONER constitutes a U.S. War Department-sanctioned effort to get America's Rosies riveting overtime. Why all the love songs at a "100% War Work factory?" (After all, these are not the "Make love, not war" 1960s!) Mainly this bullets & bombers by candlelight campaign was implemented due to Hitler's threat to spearhead a "Thousand Year Reich" or Ten-Century Reign of Nazi Terror. This, of course, raised the specter of a multi-generational conflict. That made it the DUTY of every American woman to become pregnant at every opportunity, preferably with twins, at least, since the Babes of Today became Tomorrow's Grunts. (And if Rosie could not be with the one she loved--or to whom she was wed--her marching orders were to love the one she was with!) That way, Rosie could make tanks, and have her baby, too. In hindsight, this proved to be Overbirth, leading to the Baby Boom, but who wants to be a Monday morning quarterback?

I have loved Looney Tunes cartoons for as long as I can remember, and I could watch them all day if I wanted to. Swooner Crooner is just wonderful, and one of Porky's best for me. Porky is great value here, he can be bland when he is partnered with stronger characters but he is always endearing regardless. The animation is beautiful to watch, very crisp and vibrant in colour, while the music has so much character and nostalgic value. The songs are a treasure trove of old favourites, and are just a joy to the ear. Maybe the story is not the strongest one in the world, though it is an original one, but that doesn't matter in the slightest to me as there is never a dull moment and the whole of Swooner Crooner is relentlessly entertaining. The dialogue has freshness and wit, the gags are clever and imaginatively timed- the auditions especially are an absolute riot- and the caricatures of Frank Sinatra(the best one for me), Bing Crosby, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Durante, Nelson Eddy and Al Jolson are really fun to spot. Mel Blanc's vocal characterisations never disappoint, always a large part of why Looney Tunes cartoons work so well as a majority whole, and Swooner Crooner is no exception. All in all, wonderful and recommended with no hesitation. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I agree with most of the above reviews, but the one that appears just prior to mine (at least as I am writing this) has a glaring error! It was written by a man in England who seems not to have been paying attention to the plot, which he scorns! No, Sir, the hens are not laying piles of eggs because they are aroused by Frankie's singing! They are DISTRACTED by his singing and are NOT laying eggs! THAT's why Porky is auditioning other caricature roosters: To get the hens back to work! The auditions are a riot! Sorry that you, Sir, are offended by what happens in this cartoon. Wake up, Man--this is not deep Orson Welles stuff! Take it as the funny send-up that it is!