Walky Talky Hawky
| Walky Talky Hawky | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies (Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn) series | |
 The October 17, 1953 Blue Ribbon reissue title card of Walky Talky Hawky. |
|
| Directed by | Robert McKimson |
| Story by | Warren Foster |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by | Richard Bickenbach Cal Dalton Don Williams Robert McKimson |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 31, 1946 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7:00 |
| Language | English |
Walky Talky Hawky is a Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1946 and directed by Robert McKimson. All voice characterizations are performed by Mel Blanc.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Henery Hawk discusses his cravings with his father, who then tells him "Your mother and I are outcasts, hated and hunted because of what we are: chicken hawks." Ashamed, he explains that Henery is also a chicken hawk and as such must feed on chickens. More enthusiastic than his father, Henery Hawk sets out to find a chicken, however, as he tries to fly, he falls from the tree and tells the audience "someday I gotta learn to fly." Meanwhile, in a barnyard, Foghorn Leghorn and The Barnyard Dawg are feuding as always.
Henery meets Foghorn, who, seeing the hawk as a potential pawn against the Dawg, tells Henery he is a horse and that the Dawg is a chicken and Henery Hawk deliberately bites the Dawg in the tail causing the Dawg to wake up from his nap and Henery warns the Dawg "are you gonna come quietly or do I have to muss ya up?!", but the Dawg chases Henery but gets choked on the leash and falls while Foghorn whacks the Dawg in the head like he's playing Croquet. Henery is still running but Foghorn tells Henery not to give up and Henery carries the Dog house with the Dawg in it like a Train while the Dawg investigates with a Mirror and sees Henery and lifts up his house and gives chase but is choked and falls again and Foghorn puts a knight's Helmet on the Dawg and whacks the Dawg in the side of the head many times causing the Dawg's head to shake inside. Foghorn tells Henery that the Dawg is a "foxy chicken" and they have to "outsmart him" and Foghorn whispers the plan into Henery's ear. Henery lures the Dawg out of his house by drawing a Doorbell and presses it and plays a Piano while the Dawg dances to the music and the Dawg gets whacked and trips over various objects while walking clumsily and landing on a Rollerskate. When the Dawg surrenders and asks Henery what he is looking for, Henery tells the Dawg "You're a chicken, I'm a chicken hawk, and I'm gonna eat chicken!", the Dawg realizes he's been the victim of Foghorn's prank and points out "I'm NO chicken! THAT'S a chicken!" and Foghorn accuses the Dawg, "Don't you, I say don't you call ME a chicken, YOU chicken!" Henery realizes he's been tricked and he releases the Dawg on Foghorn which starts a brawl between the two of them. When the brawl takes them into a barn, an actual horse forcibly ejects them, clunking their heads together in the process. The two foes, shaking hands to prove solidarity, re-enter to double-team the horse. Finally, Henery captures Foghorn, the Dawg, and the horse, mimicking Foghorn and telling the camera that "One of these things, I SAY, ONE OF THESE THINGS, has GOT to be a chicken!" as the cartoon irises out.
[edit] Awards
The film is mostly notable for being an Academy Award for Animated Short Film Nominee, losing to MGM's cartoon The Cat Concerto, which shared one of 7 oscars for the Cat and Mouse team.
[edit] Trivia
Leghorn's imitation of a whinnying horse, effected by pressing a finger against the side of his nose and creating the nasal sound, mimics the technique Mel Blanc actually used to make the sound.
This is the only cartoon where Leghorn has 3 front toes.
This is the first time Henery Hawk teams up with Foghorn to get the Barnyard Dawg when Foghorn tells Henery that the Barnyard Dawg was a chicken. This would only happen more than once in the other Foghorn/Henery shorts.
All of the dialogue for this cartoon was recorded on January13th,1945.
[edit] Availability
It can be watched on youtube here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azE9nNSUrJo&context=C3101101ADOEgsToPDskI5w0kfZxIPXOdZ8hZ-zAw6 The short occurs digitally remastered in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection. It is also part of Bugs Bunny: Superstar Part 2 in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4.
It is the only Foghorn Leghorn cartoon that does not survive with its original technical credits (as it was reissued during the time where credits had to be cut for the reissue).
