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You Ought to Be in Pictures

Summary

You Ought to Be in Pictures is a 1940 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short film directed by Friz Freleng.[1] The cartoon was released on May 18, 1940, and stars Porky Pig and Daffy Duck.[2]

You Ought to Be in Pictures
Directed byI. Freleng
Story byJack Miller
Produced byLeon Schlesinger
StarringMel Blanc
Leon Schlesinger
Fred Jones
Chuck Jones
Bob Clampett
Michael Maltese
Gerry Chiniquy
Henry Binder
Paul Marin
Music byCarl W. Stalling
Animation byHerman Cohen
Color processBlack and white (computer colorized in 1995)
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
May 18, 1940
Running time
9:44
LanguageEnglish

The film combined live-action and animation, and features live-action appearances by Leon Schlesinger, writer Michael Maltese, animator Gerry Chiniquy and other Schlesinger Productions staff members.[3] The title comes from the popular 1934 song "You Oughta Be in Pictures" by Dana Suesse and Edward Heyman, which plays in the beginning of the film.

In 2016, it was shortlisted for the 1941 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.[4]

Plot edit

 
Daffy tries to convince Leon Schlesinger that he should become the new star of Warner Bros. cartoons

Daffy wants to be the top star in the studio. To this end, he persuades Porky to resign from the Schlesinger studios to pursue a career in feature films as Bette Davis' leading man. Porky goes to Leon Schlesinger and asks to have his contract torn up. Schlesinger reluctantly agrees, and wishes Porky the best of luck. "He'll be back!" chuckles Schlesinger after Porky is out of earshot.

Porky spends the rest of the film trying to get into the lots and sets of an unnamed studio, with little success. After several failures, from convincing the security guard to let him in to dressing up as Oliver Hardy to gain access, until the guard gives chase, and inadvertently interrupting the shooting of a ballet film, he decides to see if Schlesinger will take him back. He returns to Schlesinger's office after frantically dodging his cartooned car in and out of "actual" Los Angeles traffic, only to see Daffy doing a wild audition to become the new star of Warner Bros. cartoons, openly disparaging Porky. Porky then takes Daffy with him to another room, and proceeds to beat him senseless. After this, he hurriedly runs into Schlesinger's office to beg for his job back. Schlesinger, laughing heartily and saying "I knew you'd be back!", reveals that he didn't really rip up Porky's contract, and happily tells him to get back to work. Porky gladly thanks him and runs back into the animation paper that he was in when the short started. Daffy, still not quite having learned his lesson after being beaten by Porky, again attempts to persuade Porky to resign and work with Greta Garbo, only to get splattered with a tomato.

Cast edit

Production edit

Daffy Duck emerges as a markedly self-centered figure in You Ought to Be in Pictures, driven by an insatiable desire for wealth and fame, signaling a departure from his traditional role as a mischief-making eccentric. This shift in characterization serves as a precursor to the evolution of Daffy's persona in subsequent productions, notably exemplified in Rabbit Fire and onwards, until his eventual return to his original screwball demeanor in the late 2010s. Notably, this film marks Friz Freleng's directorial debut with Daffy Duck upon his return to Warner Bros. Studios following a tenure at MGM's cartoon division.[5]

The significance of You Ought to Be in Pictures extends beyond its narrative content, as it features notable cameos from various studio personnel, including Leon Schlesinger, Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Michael Maltese, Gerry Chiniquy, Henry Binder, and Paul Marin. Additionally, the film's runtime, spanning nine minutes and 45 seconds, places it among the longest Looney Tunes cartoons of the Golden Age of Animation, with only Horton Hatches the Egg surpassing it in length.

To manage production costs, the animation team employed minimal special effects, opting instead to integrate live-action footage seamlessly with animation through innovative techniques. Stock footage from the 1936 Western California Mail was repurposed to depict Porky's journey through the studio backlot.[6]

Despite its initial release in black and white, the short gained enduring popularity, finding regular broadcast on television networks like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Its enduring legacy is underscored by its inclusion in the "50 Greatest Cartoons" list compiled by animation professionals in 1994.

Reception edit

Animation historian Jerry Beck writes, "Predating Who Framed Roger Rabbit by several decades — in fact, it's credited with inspiring the 1988 film — You Ought to Be in Pictures is one of the most memorable of the black-and-white-era Porky Pig cartoons. It's also one of the funniest."[6]

Home media edit

References edit

  1. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 103. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 70–72. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ^ Schneider, Steve (1988). That's All, Folks! : The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Henry Holt and Co. pp. 65–66. ISBN 0-8050-0889-6.
  4. ^ 1941 Retro-Hugos, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved August 28, 2017
  5. ^ Beck, Jerry (ed.) (1994). The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals. Atlanta: Turner Publishing.
  6. ^ a b Beck, Jerry, ed. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-64722-137-9.

External links edit

  • You Ought to Be in Pictures at IMDb  

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