Porky Pig

Porky Pig is a character from the Warner Bros. cartoon series Looney Tunes.

The anthropomorphic character was created by Bob Clampett and first appeared in the short film I Haven't Got a Hat (1935, directed by Friz Freleng).

In the USA, the character became particularly popular due to the animated series Porky Pig Show (1964 to 1972). In the original, Porky Pig was first voiced by Joe Dougherty, who was a stutterer and tried to incorporate this into the role. However, as he was poor at controlling his stutter, the constant repetitions made the production costs too high for the company, so the role was given to voice talent Mel Blanc. Every cartoon episode ended with Porky's "THAT'S ALL FOLKS!", and a variation of "THAT'S ALL FOLKS" is also inscribed on Mel Blanc's tombstone.

After many episodes as the main character, Porky Pig was "signed on" as a sidekick for the new cartoon duck Daffy Duck, who later also served as a sidekick for the rabbit Bugs Bunny. These characters were also all voiced by Mel Blanc.

The first broadcast of Porky Pig in Germany was on 3 January 1972 on ZDF. The distinctive German dubbing voice came from Walter Gross. His "Und immer schön fröhlich bleiben" at the end of each episode is best remembered by all children of the 1970s. A total of 50 episodes were broadcast.

The broadcast led to massive parental protests in Germany because of the depiction, which was seen as glorifying violence. ZDF subsequently cancelled the programme.

In contrast, reruns on private television in recent times have failed to elicit any public response in this regard.

In the movie Wrong Game with Roger Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988), Porky Pig has the closing line in a cameo appearance with his famous "That's All Folks!" line.

On ZDF, the episodes ran with longer opening and closing credits and in a different compilation. Originally, Roadrunner, Speedy Gonzales and Bugs Bunny were also included. The private television stations broadcast a new compilation with the above titles. Porky Pig was dubbed in two stages on behalf of ZDF: In the early 1970s with Walter Gross (Porky Pig) and Dieter Kursawe (Daffy Duck), in the mid-1980s Wolfgang Spier (Dick) and Wilfried Herbst (Daffy) spoke. In the meantime, Santiago Ziesmer is the German voice of the character.

Episodes

See also

• Porky Pig / Filmography