Porky Pig

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Alias: Cadet (in Duck Dodgers)


Eyes: Black
Hair: None
Race: Pig


Legal status: U.S. citizen
Marital Status: Single
Known relatives: Cicero Pig (nephew, only in comics)


Story: Porky Pig is the typical everyday man and sidekick.


Continuity: Looney Tunes
Publisher(s): Warner Bros.
First app.: Cartoons: I Haven't Got a Hat (1935)
Creator(s): Isadore 'Friz' Freleng
Country of origin: USA


Background notes: Like many other popular cartoon characters, Porky started out as just another character in a cartoon. In this case it was in the cartoon I Haven't Got a Hat from 1935. His voice was done by Joe Dougherty, who really did stutter like Porky. In the cartoon he recited a part of Custer's Last Stand with his stutter. In his second cartoon, Gold Diggers of '49 from 1936, he had a major role as the father of the hero's sweetheart. From here his popularity took off, and within 1936, he occurred in another 17 cartoons, less than half of which paired him with Beans the Cat, the hero in Gold Diggers of '49. In 1937, he appeared in another 16 cartoons.

As a result of his popularity, Porky also became one of the characters to have a closing remark in the cartoons. Where the other closing characters said "That's all folks!" (except Bugs Bunny who said "And Dat's De End!"), Porky Pig's stutter would turn it into the popular and highly recognizable "Th-th-th-that's all folks!"

Porky appeared in around 150 cartoons up until 1966, where Porky's last appearance in a theatrically released cartoon was Mucho Locos. Joe Dougherty only did Porky's voice for the first three years. In 1937, Porky's Duck Hunt was released, with Mel Blanc doing the voice. Blanc continued Porky's stuttering, but changed it to enhance the comedic effect, rather than just being recognizable character trait. Mel Blanc officially became the permanent voice of Porky until his death in 1989. Of these cartoons, Porky received an Oscar nomination for The Swooner Crooner from 1944. After Mel Blanc's death, Porky's voice has mostly been done by Bob Bergen, but other voice actors have had the job over the years.

From the late 1960s and up through the '70s, '80s and '90s, Porky only appeared in reruns like The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour and The Merrie Melodies Show, with the occasional appearance in specials and movies containing new material. This included a sequel to Duck Dodgers in 1980 (named Duck Dodgers And The Return Of The 24 ½th Century), Who Framed Roger Rabbit from 1988 and Space Jam from 1996.

Then in 2002, Baby Looney Tunes started. Here a baby version of Porky, named Baby Porky, was seen in a couple of episode. In 2003, Duck Dodgers was made into a cartoon series. This lasted until 2005, and in the mean time, Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003) and a couple of short cartoons were released.

In the latest cartoon series, The Looney Tunes Show (2011-2013), Porky was a regular, but not one of the main characters. In the cartoons, Porky's voice was done by Bob Bergen. There are no record of Porky occurring in cartoons after this, but he can be expected to appear in future cartoons.

A somewhat different type of appearance from the cartoons, is Porky Pig in Robot Chicken. Different because it is stop-motion animation with dolls, and different because the series has a rather mature/violent content. So far, Porky has appeared in two episodes, Rodiggiti from 2006 and Snarfer Image from 2014.

In the beginning, Porky was just a fat pig in a sweater, with no real recognizable features, other than his stutter. His current looks came gradually in the following years. Though he did become a bit slimmer later on, his appearance in Get Rich Quick Porky from 1937, is Porky as we know him today. Also in his first appearance, Porky was a school kid. This was also changed, in this case by his second appearance in Gold Diggers of '49, and he has remained an adult/young man since then. In the cartoons, Porky became the everyday man, and he never really had an established family. In some cartoons he would have parents in some he would have kids, but the only recurring "family" was the nephew Pinky, and his girlfriend Petunia.

In comics, Porky was there from the start, when Dell started the series Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Comics in 1941. Here Porky stayed the entire 246 issues (the series changed name a couple of times during the 246 issues). The series spawned a lot of spin-off series like Daffy Duck and Bug Bunny, and Porky had his own series Porky Pig, which ran from 1952 to 1962 (57 issues, starting with #25) and again from 1965 to 1984 (108 issues). In the current Looney Tunes series from DC Comics, Porky has been a regular since the start in 1994. In the comics he was given more attention in relation to his girlfriend Petunia, and he was given the nephew Cicero. For some reason, his other nephew, Pinky Pig, from the cartoons, has never been used in the comics.

In computer games, Porky appeared a little late, compared to the other popular characters. His first appearance was in Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday from 1995 (for the SNES platform). Later he appeared in the games, Looney Tunes: Marvin Strikes Back! from 2000, (Game Boy Color platform), Looney Tunes: Space Race also from 2000, (Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 platform), Looney Tunes: Back in Action from 2003 (for PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance and GameCube), and Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal from 2007 for Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2).

In terms of merchandise, it appears that Porky has been used from the start, and he can be found on a vast number of items. The earliest example found so far is a wind-up toy from 1939, but most likely older merchandise can be found.


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