Mother Was a Rooster
Encyclopedia
Mother was a Rooster is a "Merrie Melodies
" cartoon animated short starring Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg
. Released October 20, 1962, the cartoon is directed by Robert McKimson
. The voices were 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.
Late one night, Barnyard Dawg breaks into an ostrich
hatchery to steal an egg, the intent being to place it under Foghorn Leghorn and then get him (Foghorn) to believe that he laid the egg
as a prank. Barnyard Dawg justifies this by explaining, "It's been kind of dull round the farm lately," referring to his four-year peace between him and Foghorn between "Weasel While You Work" and this short.
Foghorn awakens and taking the bait, discovers the egg underneath him. When the egg doesn't immediately hatch, Barnyard Dawg decides to speed up the process by whacking Foggy over the head with a mallet. The egg hatches an ostrich chick, to which Foggy immediately warms up to as his own son. Foggy proudly shows off his "son" to the Barnyard Dawg as a gesture of goodwill, but the Barnyard Dawg insults the ostrich, making fun of his appearance and voice. The ostrich buries his head in the ground in shame.
After an attempt to get back at Barnyard Dawg fails (a booby-trapped bone), the plot shifts to Foggy's attempts to bond with his son, showing him how to play various sporting activities such as baseball and football. Despite these efforts to build the bird's self-esteem and forget Barnyard Dawg's maliciousness, the dog continually and unmercifully mocks the ostrich. The ostrich buries his head with each insult, agitating Foggy even more. Eventually, Foggy has enough of the bullying and decides to defend his son's honor in a boxing match.
The bout takes place in a makeshift ring, contained beneath the farm's wooden water tower
. When Barnyard Dawg decides to cheat, Foggy decides to forget the rules and — using a loose floor plank as a catapult — hurls his canine foe into the bottom of the water tank. Barnyard Dawg returns the favor, and the process repeats several times until the tank becomes dislodged and crashes on top of the ring ... leaving both Foggy and Barnyard Dawg with their heads buried in the ground. The ostrich, who had been watching the match, remarks, "They've left me all alone. Where did everybody go?"
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
" cartoon animated short starring Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg
Barnyard Dawg
Barnyard Dawg is a Looney Tunes character. An adult anthropomorphic basset hound, he is the archenemy of Foghorn Leghorn. He was created by Robert McKimson, who also created Foghorn and was voiced by Mel Blanc...
. Released October 20, 1962, the cartoon is directed by Robert McKimson
Robert McKimson
Robert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
. It is the last-released cartoon scored by Milt Franklyn
Milt Franklyn
Milton J. Franklyn was a musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes animated cartoons....
; Bill Lava would take over as composer for Looney Tunes cartoons starting with Good Noose until the cartoon department's closure in 1969.
Plot
Unlike most cartoons casting the Barnyard Dawg as Foghorn Leghorn's co-star, the canine is cast in a very negative light. Instead of being the hapless target of Foggy's antics, Barnyard Dawg is depicted as a malevolent character who delights in bullying someone smaller, weaker and different than he is, all for self-amusement and — in part — to attempt to gain one-upmanship against his long-standing nemesis.Late one night, Barnyard Dawg breaks into an ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
hatchery to steal an egg, the intent being to place it under Foghorn Leghorn and then get him (Foghorn) to believe that he laid the egg
Male pregnancy
Male pregnancy refers to the incubation of one or more embryos or fetuses by male members of any species. In nearly all heterogamous animal species, offspring are ordinarily carried by the female until birth, but in fish of the Syngnathidae family , males perform this function...
as a prank. Barnyard Dawg justifies this by explaining, "It's been kind of dull round the farm lately," referring to his four-year peace between him and Foghorn between "Weasel While You Work" and this short.
Foghorn awakens and taking the bait, discovers the egg underneath him. When the egg doesn't immediately hatch, Barnyard Dawg decides to speed up the process by whacking Foggy over the head with a mallet. The egg hatches an ostrich chick, to which Foggy immediately warms up to as his own son. Foggy proudly shows off his "son" to the Barnyard Dawg as a gesture of goodwill, but the Barnyard Dawg insults the ostrich, making fun of his appearance and voice. The ostrich buries his head in the ground in shame.
After an attempt to get back at Barnyard Dawg fails (a booby-trapped bone), the plot shifts to Foggy's attempts to bond with his son, showing him how to play various sporting activities such as baseball and football. Despite these efforts to build the bird's self-esteem and forget Barnyard Dawg's maliciousness, the dog continually and unmercifully mocks the ostrich. The ostrich buries his head with each insult, agitating Foggy even more. Eventually, Foggy has enough of the bullying and decides to defend his son's honor in a boxing match.
The bout takes place in a makeshift ring, contained beneath the farm's wooden water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
. When Barnyard Dawg decides to cheat, Foggy decides to forget the rules and — using a loose floor plank as a catapult — hurls his canine foe into the bottom of the water tank. Barnyard Dawg returns the favor, and the process repeats several times until the tank becomes dislodged and crashes on top of the ring ... leaving both Foggy and Barnyard Dawg with their heads buried in the ground. The ostrich, who had been watching the match, remarks, "They've left me all alone. Where did everybody go?"
Censorship
- On CBS, the part where Barnyard Dawg sucker punches Foghorn Leghorn as he says, "Okay, son, ring the (pow) bell (punch drunked)" during the first part of the boxing match, was cut.http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/ltcutsm.html