Old Glory

Old Glory (1939)

Porky Pig balks at learning the Pledge of Allegiance until Uncle Sam appears to him in a dream and gives him a lesson in American history.

Date of release
1939-07-01
TMDB
5.1 / 10 (33)
Runtime
9m
Genres
Animation, History, Family
Director
Chuck Jones

Casting

Interesting facts

Old Glory is a 1939 American animated propaganda short film directed by Charles Jones. The short was released on July 1, 1939. It is part of the Merrie Melodies series and the 60th cartoon to feature Porky Pig. It was also the second color film in the Merrie Melodies series to feature Porky, following the character's debut in I Haven't Got a Hat (1935). The cartoon was commissioned by Warner Bros. as a counterpart for a series of live-action films about American patriotism. It was re-released as a "Blue Ribbon" reissue in 1945 and 1953, rendering the original film and credits lost.

Production

The animation in Old Glory is realistic and heavily rotoscoped, different from the usual Warner Bros. style. Director Chuck Jones was known for his Disney-like style during this period, and Schlesinger assigned him to make this cartoon for that reason. The scene with Patrick Henry (voiced by John Litel) saying his "Give Me Liberty" speech was rotoscoped from the Warner Bros. color two-reel historical short Give Me Liberty.

There were many different tones of colored inks used on the film. Uncle Sam has different tones on his hat, beard, face, and clothes. All the other characters were treated in a similar manner. There were many cels depicting the Flag of the United States in its stars and stripes.

The film was produced during a heat wave in Los Angeles. On account of the lack of air conditioning at the studio, the production staff initially relied on two large fans to keep cool. They had to be pointed at the ceiling so that they did not blow cels and drawings across the room. Eventually production moved to night time, since the temperature dropped at night.

Old Glory is Jones's first short to feature Porky Pig. It is also Porky's first appearance in a color Merrie Melodies entry since his debut in I Haven't Got a Hat (1935), and his first short in three-strip Technicolor.

Most Leon Schlesinger animated shorts were first screened at the Warner Bros. Theater at the Hollywood Boulevard. This film was instead screened at the more prestigious Carthay Circle Theatre. All animation studio employees were invited to attend. The film was screened alongside the live-action Dark Victory.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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