Little Orphan Airedale is a 1947 Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones.
Title[]
The title is a play on Harold Grey's comic strip Little Orphan Annie, which in turn was inspired from the poem Little Orphant Annie by James Whitcomb Riley, which has been adapted several times on radio, television, stage plays, Broadway musicals and feature films.
Plot[]
A dog named Rags McMutt escapes from a dog pound and accidentally meets Charlie Dog, an old friend of his, in a car he used as a hiding place. Charlie tells that Rags should go find a new master so he doesn't have to risk being sent to the pound, and tells a story about his attempts to find an owner.
Charlie tries to imitate several people walking by as he is waiting aside on a bright day, and thinking he found a sucker, follows Porky Pig to his room. Charlie says that since Porky has no pet and Charlie has no owner, Porky should adopt him. However, Porky refuses, despite Charlie attempts to impress Porky such as failing to catch a cat and doing a few tricks. Charlie decides to leave to his nonexistent mother when Porky yells at him, but he only just stays at the door. As Porky tries to push Charlie out, the dog states that he shouldn't be roughhoused, and thinking he is pregnant, Porky tries to let him stay at his place, but when the dog states his name is Charlie, Porky kicks him out again. Finally, when Charlie uses fake snow to make it look like he is freezing outside, Porky lets him inside a "doghouse" crate in order to attempt to ship Charlie away, however, he only returns to Porky's house after being shipped to various countries.
As Charlie ends the tale, the car happens to be one Porky is in, and he throws both dogs out of his car as he tells them he doesn't want a dog. When Rags sees how Charlie begs Porky to keep him as a pet, especially after Charlie continues to chase Porky's car, he decides to go back to the pound and yells to let him back inside even though the pound is closed for the night.
Availability[]
Cartoon Moviestars: Porky!
Cartoon Moviestars: Daffy! and Porky!
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 1, Side 8: 1940s Zanies
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 8: 1940s Zanies
Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 14: Cartoon Superstars (1995 Turner dubbed version)
Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 (restored)
Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volumes 1-4
Streaming[]
Notes[]
- This is the debut of Charlie Dog.
- It is essentially a color remake of Bob Clampett's 1941 short "Porky's Pooch".
- While looking for prospective masters, Charlie imitates several passersby by mimicking their faces and mannerisms. The second one, a man with sleepy eyes and big lips, is a caricature of voice actor Mel Blanc.
- This is the only Charlie Dog cartoon to have its copyrights sold to Associated Artists Productions. The rest are in the post-1948 WB package.
- It is also the only Charlie Dog cartoon to not survive with its original technical credits, and the last cartoon in the AAP package to be reissued.
- The short's lobby card shows a different character design for Charlie.
- The European Turner 1995 "dubbed" version uses the 1941-55 rendition of Merrily We Roll Along instead of the original ending music. As the restored print uses the European Turner print's soundtrack, the error persists in that version.
_-_Crying.jpg "Little Orphan Airedale (1947) - Crying.jpg (348 KB)")
