Touches You

Simply A Masterpiece

Powerful

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

. . . (without being part of an attacking Yankee military unit) is totally nuts, Warner Bros. warns us with THE WEARING OF THE GRIN, just one in a continuing series of world travel alerts Warner produced in the form of animated shorts. GRIN does for Ireland what MY BUNNY LIES OVER THE SEA did for Scotland. Porky Pig has thrown caution to the wind, and has reached suburban Dublin as GRIN opens. Expecting to enjoy the hospitality of a nearby castle as the Emerald Isle's notoriously rugged weather sets in, the trusting porker is struck down in a booby-trapped fortress entry way. Stunted bearded bozos then try to drown this stunned American tourist. Failing at that, the loony locals terrorize poor Porky out of his wits. (Water boarding may sound a tad harsh, but it pales in comparison to the Horrors of Involuntary Tap Dancing!) If director Eli Roth's GREEN INFERNO and HOSTEL flicks haven't been enough to make your impressionable youngsters swear off "study abroad" programs and other forms of foreign travel forever, show them Warner's THE WEARING OF THE GRIN and the many related Looney Tunes. (And if they're STILL hankering for dangerous adventures, you can suggest that they try to jog through the streets of North Charleston, SC, to find out if they'll be stoned, as I recently was there.)

Porky Pig takes shelter from the rain inside an old Irish castle, despite a sign outside that warns "Beware of Leprechauns." Sure enough, there are leprechauns inside the castle. Two of them, to be exact. Believing Porky to be after their pot of gold, they make him wear a pair of magic green shoes that force the tired pig to keep dancing an Irish jig. It's a beautifully animated cartoon with lovely colors. Nice voicework and music. It's not hilarious but it is amusing and fun to watch. The visuals are amazing for such a slight cartoon, particularly after Porky puts on the shoes and has his freak-out. By the way, some remarks here about stereotyping with the leprechauns? Really, people? Has it really come to that?

Wearing of the Grin, The (1951) ** 1/2 (out of 4) It's a dark and stormy night so Porky Pig tries to get shelter inside a dark castle but he turns into a couple leprechauns who think he's there to steal their gold. This has never been one of my favorites and this latest viewing just affirmed that for me. The thought of Porky going up against a couple leprechauns should have made for some great entertainment but that's not the case here as we only get a couple small laughs. The whole gimmick of the two leprechauns coming together as one was an interesting idea but not enough is done with it. The same could be said about the joke dealing with the dancing shoes. Even Porky himself doesn't have too much to do. Considering it only runs 7-minutes you're going to stay entertained but there's so much better out there.

Porky Pig looking to get out of the rain while in Ireland, stops in an old castle inhabited by the wee' people, don't ya know? They think he's after their pot o' gold, and so sentence him to were the Green shoes, it's at this point that the film takes a surreal tone. Does this film stereotype the Irish? Yup, but who cares, I'm Irish and it didn't bother me (when I first signed onto IMDb, I typoed my last name, but trust me I'm Irish with a capital O'). It was funny and when it comes down to it, that's all that matters. This cartoon is on Disk 2 of the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1" It also has an optional commentary as well as a small featurette.My Grade: B+