Often an Orphan
| Often an Orphan | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies (Porky Pig/ Charlie Dog) series | |
| Directed by | Charles M. Jones |
| Produced by |
Edward Selzer (uncredited) |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by |
Ken Harris Phil Monroe Lloyd Vaughan Ben Washam |
| Layouts by | Robert Gribbroek |
| Backgrounds by | Peter Alvarado |
| Studio | Warner Bros. Cartoons |
| Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date(s) | August 13, 1949 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7:32 |
| Language | English |
Often an Orphan is a 1949 cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series. It stars Charlie Dog and Porky Pig and is the last Charlie Dog short to have Porky present in it. The cartoon deals with Charlie trying to get Porky to adopt him after his old owner dumps him at Porky's farm on a trip disguised as a picnic. Charlie instead irritates Porky and the short deals with him trying to get rid of the dog in various ways, but fails each time.
The cartoon opens with a car driving up near a farm for a picnic and a man coming out and the dog Charlie coming out shortly after him. The man throws a stick, and when Charlie is off getting it, the man packs up and leaves in his car, deliberately leaving the dog behind. After Charlie is dumped, he tries various tricks to attract new owners from the people driving along the road. After three failures in various ways, he hears Porky singing and decides to go talk to him. He annoys Porky though as he says he is 50% various dogs but is mostly a Labrador Retriever. He eventually drives Porky crazy and is kicked off his property. A series of gags then ensues with Charlie trying to become Porky's dog, with them all failing until Porky is about to kick Charlie out but is stopped by a nearby humane society worker, who is spying on Porky, who does not want to get in trouble with the law. Porky then sings Rock-a-bye Baby as he carries Charlie back and puts Charlie down. After the Humane Society worker leaves, Porky demands that Charlie leaves, but Charlie sadly and dramatically pleads Porky not to kick him out, as he always wanted to live in the country, and not the city, while Porky finally feels ashamed of himself and his actions:
Porky finally feels sorry for Charlie's traumatic experience in the city and tricks Charlie into accepting him as a pet and puts him in a "sleeping bag" (which is actually a golf bag) which he promptly shuts and, cackling evilly, sends Charlie off to Scotland in it. However, when Porky returns Charlie is there in Scottish attire complete with a bagpipe and he eventually drives Porky into accepting him as a pet with the bagpipe's annoying music.
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Wikipedia