Looney Tunes: "The Wearing of the Grin"

Premiered July 28, 1951

It is a dark and stormy night and 12 miles to Dublin.   

Porky Pig (Mel Blanc) spies a "quaint old" castle in the distance and decides to see they can give him a place to stay for the night. 

On the way to the castle, he sees a sign that says "Beware the Leprechauns" and scoffs at the idea. 

Upon arrival, Porky is greeted by a "picturesque caretaker of the auld sod" who introduces himself as Seamus O'Toole  (an uncredited John T. Smith).  O'Toole informs him that nobody lives in the castle - apart from himself and the leprechauns. 

Porky scoffs at this again and demands to be taken to a room, slamming the front door.  This causes a mace above the door to fall, knocking Porky out cold. 

The caretaker is revealed to be a couple of leprechauns (calling themselves O'Pat and O'Mike) who, in true fairy fashion, decide to mess with Porky's head after concluding that he has come to steal their pot of gold. 

When Porky comes to, he is escorted to a room by HALF of the caretaker and doesn't notice at first. When he does notice, Porky is terrified and hides in the bed, which turns out to be a trap door! 

Porky drops down a shaft, landing in a leprechaun courtroom.  There the leprechauns charge and convict him of attempting to steal their pot of gold and sentence him to the "wearing of the green shoes." 

At first Porky admires the nice shoes, but soon comes to realize that they are cursed, as his feet begin a frantic Irish jig that dances him through a nightmarish landscape full of Irish symbols while O'Pat and O'Mike laugh at him. 

Will Porky be able to escape the leprechaun's trickery?  Or is he doomed to the "wearing of the green shoes" for all eternity? 

RigbyMel says: 

This Chuck Jones-directed short is the last solo appearance of Porky Pig in the classic era of Looney Tunes.  Porky was Warner Brothers' breakout star when he debuted, but had since been eclipsed by Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny.  

"The Wearing of the Grin" also stands out since there are not all that many St. Patrick's Day themed cartoons out there.   Some might argue that the short doesn't explicitly take place on March 17th, but with all the leprechaun mischief and Irish symbols (like harps and shamrocks), I think it has enough Irish detail to qualify as a "holiday" short.  

The green shoes plot point in this short borrows heavily from Hans Christian Andersen's 1845 fairy tale "The Red Shoes," which concerns a pair of ballet slippers that never let their wearer stop dancing.  His jig through an amazing surrealist Salvador Dali-inspired landscape is quite memorable.  

It's also interesting to note that the title of this short is a reference to "The Wearing of the Green," an old Irish street ballad. 

The animation is a lot of fun to watch and the voice work is - as always - great.  If there's a complaint to be made about this short, it's that the "Irishness" is a bit overly broad and stereotypical, but as this is a cartoon, broad and stereotypical work reasonably well for comedic purposes.  

"The Wearing of the Grin" is a silly and enjoyable short and is worth including in your holiday viewing this March.  

RigbyMel's rating: 

3 shamrocks

Garfield's Halloween Adventure (aka Garfield In Disguise)

Premiered October 30, 1985

"Halloween is my kind of a holiday. Not like those other stupid holidays. I don't get pine needles in my paws. There's no dumb bunnies, no fireworks, no relatives, just candy. Boom, you go out, you get candy. It's as simple as that."

Garfield (Lorenzo Music) wakes up and is excited to learn that it's Halloween.  He informs Odie (Gregg Berger) that this is the night when dogs help cats get candy.  If Odie helps, he'll get one piece of candy.  They go hunting in the attic for costumes.

After trying on many outfits, they settle on pirate costumes.

Orange Beard the Pirate and Odie the Stupid 

Their owner, Jon Arbuckle (Thom Huge) sends them off to trick or treat.

They have a productive evening of trick or treating, and score bags full of candy.  (Plus a couple of unusual trick or treaters.)

"Candycandycandycandycandy!"

Garfield then notices lots of houses on the other side of the river and wants to go across to pillage more candy.  He and Odie find a boat and commandeer it "in the name of Orange Beard, the pirate!"

However, Garfield's plan doesn't work out as intended.  Odie quickly loses the oars and they drift downstream for a while, unable to steer.  They are dejected and Garfield says he's done being a pirate. Just when all seems lost, Odie spots a dilapidated, old house on an island.  Garfield thinks maybe  they should go inside.

What the house contains will make this a Halloween they will never forget!

RigbyMel says:

I remember watching this special when it first aired.  I was a big fan of Garfield back in his 1980s heyday and watched many (but not all) of the assorted tv specials and series featuring the character.   This one really sticks in my memory because the whole pirate ghost plot scared the bejeezus out of me when I was a wee, sensitive little girl.

ZOINKS!

That being said, Halloween is supposed to be spooky and this special delivers horror and hilarity with just the right amount of gusto for kids (and the young at heart).

The scenes of Garfield and Odie trying on Halloween costumes found in a trunk in Jon's attic are quite amusing as is Garfield's mantra of "Candycandycandycandycandy!" and also stuck in my memory.  Recent re-watchings made me realize how many inoffensive, but forgettable songs were included in this special,   (The best ones are the cod pirate song Garfield sings on several occasions and the presence of Lou Rawls's singing voice.)

 We also get plenty of fun interaction between Garfield, Jon and Odie, as one would expect. There is also a nice little moment where Garfield doesn't let his greed get the better of him and decides Odie deserves his ACTUAL fair share of the candy after all they've been through together on this particular Halloween. This is not an unexpected plot point, but it is well deployed.

It's also interesting to note that Garfield's Halloween Adventure was the first Garfield animated special to feature a completely original story, as opposed to one that was adapted from the comic strips.

Garfield's Halloween Adventure is definitely worth seeking out during the Spooky Season!

RigbyMel's rating:



3 and a half jack o'lanterns

"My boat's gone, my candy's gone, the dead pirates are coming any minute, it's past my bedtime, and I wanna go home!"

J.A. Morris says:

While I was also a huge fan of the lasagna-obsessed feline back in the 80s, I didn't watch this special until recently.  But it's become a Halloween tradition in our house.  It has just enough spookiness to keep viewers (especially younger ones) on their toes.  The last act is especially chilling compared to other holiday specials of its era.

While the songs aren't classics, two of them are sung by Lou Rawls.  The opening theme is a fun up-tempo number.  Rawls also delivers another song called 'Scaredy Cat', sung from the perspective of Garfield.

Garfield & Odie get a scare from a creepy old man.

The voice actors here are the same ones who later worked on the series Garfield And Friends.  For me, Garfield will always "speak" with the voice of Lorenzo Music, and Music is great as always.  C. Lindsay Workman is also memorable as the voice of the old man who lives in the (possibly) haunted house.     

A note about the title:It originally aired as Garfield In Disguise, I'm not exactly sure when or why the name was changed.  The special currently streams on Hulu and Amazon.  It's being reissued on a dvd titled Garfield Holiday Collection on November 4. 

Spaceclown?

I didn't see this as a kid, so I'm giving it slightly lower rating than RigbyMel, since it doesn't hold any nostalgic value for me. But Garfield's Halloween Adventure is an entertaining special and a reminder of why Jim Davis' characters were so beloved in their time.
J.A. Morris' rating:

3 jack o'lanterns

The Simpsons: "I Love Lisa"

Premiered February 11, 1993.

"I love Lisa Simpson, and when I grow up I'm going to marry her!"
-Ralph Wiggum

Valentines are passed out in Miss Hoover's class. Everyone gets at least one Valentine...except Ralph Wiggum (Nancy Cartwright).

Lisa notices this and feels sorry for Ralph.  She erases her name from a Valentine and gives it to him. Ralph is touched by this gesture, thinking Lisa's Valentine was declaration of love.  He asks if he can walk her home, she lets him but isn't comfortable with it.

Later, Ralph shows up at the Simpsons' house, and Lisa hides from him.  When her father Homer (Dan Castellaneta)  hears Ralph say "I'll do anything for Lisa", he puts him to work doing housework and home repairs.

Meanwhile, a school play is being planned in honor of Presidents Day.  Ralph and Lisa are cast as George Washington and his wife Martha.  Lisa fears that Ralph's "love" for her will ruin the play.

At the same time, Bart is attempting to cause havoc on Valentine's Day by writing confrontational messages on candy hearts.

"Attention everyone, this is Principal Skinner. Some student (possibly Bart Simpson) has been circulating candy hearts with crude off-color sentiments."

Ralph asks Lisa to accompany him to Krusty the Clown's 29th Anniversary Special, one of the toughest tickets in town. (Bart is very upset that Lisa gets invited instead of him!)   Lisa asks Homer if it's okay to accept gifts from someone you don't like. Homer tells her not to let her conscience bother her about it, so Lisa accepts the invitation.

"Watch this, Lisa. You can actually pinpoint the second when his heart rips in half."

Their "date" to the Krusty show does NOT go well.  Ralph declares his love and intent to marry Lisa on live television.  She loses her cool and tells him she only gave him the Valentine out of pity, which crushes his spirits.

A week later, it's time for Springfield Elementary's Presidents Day play.
Will Ralph forgive Lisa?  Or will he let his feelings get the better of him and make a scene during the play?

J.A. Morris says:

A very good episode from the classic era of The Simpsons. In elementary and middle school, I remember a few times when a Valentine led to misunderstandings. Lisa's pity for Ralph backfires and create a monster. Yes, Ralph is annoying, but he has no reason to think Lisa doesn't like him "in that way" until she tells him so.

Itchy & Scratchy get a Valentine's Day cartoon!

In addition to the stuff mentioned in the summary, we get some funny scenes that feature Ralph's father, Chief Wiggum (Hank Azaria) abusing his power as Chief of Springfield Police Department.

Apu gouges Homer for (dusty) last-minute Valentine candy 

I'm a huge fan of The Simpsons.  I Love Lisa is a very good episode and anyone who ever spent a Valentine's Day alone will sympathize with Ralph Wiggum.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 and a half Valentine Hearts.

RigbyMel says:

This is a classic episode from season four of The Simpsons.  It is also a bit of a rarity in the world of holiday television as it combines Valentine's Day AND Presidents Day.  To my knowledge, this may be the only Presidents Day show on record -- or at least the only one that isn't a documentary.

"We are the mediocre presidents.  You won't find our faces on dollars or on cents ..." 

As is typical of the series, the jokes come fast and furious.   My favorite non sequitur of the episode involves the "Monster Mash" being inappropriately played to kick off the Valentine show on KBBL radio.   Principal Skinner's Vietnam/Apocalypse Now flashback via intercom and Bart's response to it ("Cool!  I broke his brain!") are pretty amusing as well.

Lisa and Ralph star in a "thorough re-telling of the life of George Washington"

The main plot, of course, revolves around Ralph's unrequited love for Lisa and is handled very well.   There are shades of Charlie Brown evident in the gift of a "used" Valentine and Lisa learns that sometimes no good deed goes unpunished.   Both Ralph and Lisa's positions are utterly relate-able.   I remember being VERY careful about what Valentines I gave to classmates in elementary school exchanges.

I also like that the situation resolves with Ralph and Lisa deciding to just "bee" friends.

This episode is well worth re-visiting!

RigbyMel's rating:

3 and a half Valentine hearts