Weasel While You Work | |
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Directed by | Robert McKimson |
Story by | Mike Maltese |
Produced by | John Burton Sr. (uncredited) |
Starring | Mel Blanc |
Music by | John Seely |
Animation by | Warren Batchelder Ted Bonnicksen George Grandpre Tom Ray |
Layouts by | Robert Gribbroek |
Backgrounds by | Robert Gribbroek |
Color process | Technicolor |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 6 mins |
Language | English |
Weasel While You Work is a 1958 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Robert McKimson. [1] The cartoon was released on September 6, 1958, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg. [2] The weasel seen in this short previously appeared in Plop Goes the Weasel (1953) and Weasel Stop (1956).
Unlike many Foghorn shorts, this one takes place during the winter. The title is a pun on the phrase "whistle while you work".
At wintertime, Foghorn grabs Barnyard Dawg from his doghouse, coats him in snow, and puts snowman decorations on him. Dawg emerges from the snowman and says he'll "moidah da bum!". He sharpens one of Foghorn's ice skates, which causes Foghorn to fall through the ice when he skates a circle. In revenge, Foghorn rolls a snowball down the hill toward Dawg, who moves out of the way, doghouse and all, just before the now giant snowball hits a curve and flies back at Foghorn, burying him. Foghorn emerges, declaring "That dog's like taxes. He just don't know when to stop".
Suddenly, Foghorn is attacked by a ravenously hungry weasel who gnaws Foghorn's leg. Foghorn grabs the weasel and asks him if he wouldn't prefer some venison. Foghorn slips antlers onto Dawg's head and directs the weasel to him. The weasel attacks Dawg's leg. Dawg notices the antlers and removes them, and asks the weasel how he'd like some frozen chicken.
Foghorn is knocked unconscious when his sled hits a log Dawg has placed in his path. While Foghorn is down, Dawg covers him in water, which freezes him. Dawg tells weasel to eat hearty, so the weasel hits the frozen Foghorn with an axe. Foghorn says he's got a splitting headache and falls in half. To get revenge, Foghorn traps Dawg in a corset making him look like a seal and gives him to the weasel to cook. While being peppered, Dawg sneezes, which causes an avalanche of snow to fall on him. A furious Dawg tells the weasel that he's a dog and that he should get a chicken instead, cryptically pointing out Foghorn tricking him. ("What you want is a chicken! R-A-T. Chicken."). Later, the skiing Foghorn hits a tall pole and slides into a cooking pot, where the weasel is hungrily waiting. Foghorn bolts, but Dawg hands a club to the weasel, who chases Foghorn until he is distracted by a huge Foghorn ice statue, which he proceeds to gnaw on.
The real Foghorn, watching from behind a tree, thinks his troubles are over until at least the Fourth of July. In the final setpiece, Foghorn pulls on what he thinks is Barnyard Dawg's tail from his doghouse, but it's revealed to be a lit rocket that shoots Foghorn into the sky. As the cartoon ends, Dawg remarks: "The Fourth of July came a little oily this year! Heh heh heh...".
This is one of six cartoons scored by using stock music by John Seely of Capitol Records from the Hi-Q library because of a musicians' strike in 1958. The others are A Bird in a Bonnet , Hook, Line and Stinker , Pre-Hysterical Hare , Gopher Broke , and Hip Hip-Hurry! .
Mel Blanc supplied the voices of Foghorn Leghorn, Barnyard Dawg, and the weasel. [3]
In 2016, Cartoon Network USA accidentally used the Russian dubbed version of the short instead of the English version and ran it several times. The regional incident was a mistake to Cartoon Network.[ citation needed ]
According to Michael Samerdyke, Weasel While You Work is "a very strong late Foghorn Leghorn cartoon .... The only jarring note, as several writers have noted, is the music by John Seely", which Samerdyke says is ill-suited to the Warner Bros. style. [4]
The short was reviewed in Hollywood Classics, volume 23. [5]
Henery Hawk is an American cartoon character who appears in twelve comedy film shorts produced in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. His first appearance is in the 1942 theatrical release The Squawkin' Hawk, which was directed by Chuck Jones and produced by Leon Schlesinger. Henery's second screen appearance, one directed by Robert McKimson, is in Walky Talky Hawky (1946), which also features the characters Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg in their first cartoon roles. The last Warner Brothers theatrical short to showcase the little chickenhawk is the 1961 release Strangled Eggs in which he co-stars again with Foghorn Leghorn as well as with another popular character of that period, Miss Prissy. Following that production, Henery continued to be seen periodically in other animated presentations such as The Looney Tunes Show and Looney Tunes Cartoons.
Walky Talky Hawky is a 1946 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies theatrical short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on August 31, 1946, and features Henery Hawk and Foghorn Leghorn. This is the first appearance of both Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg.
The Foghorn Leghorn is a 1948 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on October 9, 1948, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.
Foghorn Leghorn is a cartoon rooster who appears in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and films from Warner Bros. Animation. He was created by Robert McKimson, and starred in 29 cartoons from 1946 to 1964 in the golden age of American animation. All 29 of these cartoons were directed by McKimson.
Crowing Pains is a 1947 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on July 12, 1947, and stars Henery Hawk, Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg. This is McKimson's first short to feature Sylvester.
Barnyard Dawg is a Looney Tunes character. A feisty anthropomorphic basset hound, he is a friend and the archenemy of Foghorn Leghorn. He was created by Robert McKimson, who also created Foghorn, and was voiced by Mel Blanc. Dawg also feuds with other enemies as well like Henery Hawk, Daffy Duck and Sylvester. He appeared in 23 Golden Age–era Warner Bros. shorts.
Mother Was a Rooster is a 1962 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on October 20, 1962, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg. The voices are performed by Mel Blanc. It is the last-released cartoon scored by Milt Franklyn; Bill Lava would take over as composer for Looney Tunes cartoons starting with Good Noose until the cartoon department's closure in 1969.
Banty Raids is a 1963 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on June 29, 1963, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc.
Sock-A-Doodle-Do is a 1952 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on May 10, 1952, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg. The voices are performed by Mel Blanc, though Banty was voiced by an uncredited Sheldon Leonard.
The High and the Flighty is a 1956 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on February 18, 1956, and stars Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg.
Feather Bluster is a 1958 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on May 10, 1958, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg.
The Leghorn Blows at Midnight is a 1950 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on May 6, 1950, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.
Henhouse Henery is a 1949 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on July 2, 1949, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.
Leghorn Swoggled is a 1951 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. It is story by Warren Foster. The cartoon was released on July 28, 1951, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg. The cartoon's plot is similar to Henhouse Henery (1949) and The Leghorn Blows at Midnight (1950).
Lovelorn Leghorn is a 1951 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on September 8, 1951, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Miss Prissy and the Barnyard Dawg.
The EGGcited Rooster is a 1952 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on October 4, 1952, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.
Plop Goes the Weasel! is a 1953 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson and produced by Edward Selzer. The cartoon was released on August 22, 1953, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg.
All Fowled Up is a 1955 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short film directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on February 19, 1955, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.
Weasel Stop is a 1956 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short film directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on February 11, 1956, and features Foghorn Leghorn.
Fox-Terror is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on May 11, 1957, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg. The title is a play on the dog breed name "Fox Terrier."