Punch Trunk

A tiny 5-inch elephant emerges from a banana boat called SS Michael Maltese and wanders about town, causing an uproar among the populace. Sightings are attributed variously to mass hysteria, insanity, and dipsomania.

The elephant washes itself in a birdbath, where it angers the birds and causes the homeowner to report the elephant to the authorities, only for the latter to be sent to a mental hospital instead. The elephant heads to a woman's clothesline and hands clothespins to the woman, but she gets scared and hides in the washer. Heading to near the optometrist, a customer socks the optical doctor for the "hallucinating" effect of seeing the small elephant.

The elephant wanders into another person's house and into a little girl's dollhouse. The little girl names the elephant Teeny and feeds it cake, while her mother tries to send her to bed before being scared from the elephant. A drunk bar patron spots the elephant, but just tells the elephant that he's late and used to be pink.

Wanting to blend in with several elephants, Teeny joins the circus. When one of the larger elephants find the Teeny, they run up to a tightrope. Meanwhile, a cat tries to catch a mouse near the circus tent, but catches Teeny instead and snaps into acting like a monkey once the elephant roars. The elephant continues to wreak havoc around the city, causing a psychiatrist to snap and switch positions with his client and scaring a group watching a flagpole cleaner into running up the flagpole. The hysteria spreads to the news, leading to a group of scientists to air a television newscast to prove the tiny elephant doesn't exist. However, the group all faints upon sight of Teeny, while the elephant trumpets.

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Goofs[]

There is an abrupt fade-out effect when the narrator states "...out of a stock of bananas..." in the original 2020 restored print. After fading to black, it cuts to the scene where Teeny is first seen. This error is only present on the restored print on HBO Max/Max in Latin America/Brazil and on the version that airs on MeTV; it was fixed on the Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 3 print.

Notes[]

Most of this cartoon was used in the movie Daffy Duck's Quackbusters.
The names Marsha and John are a reference to the 1951 Stan Freberg song "John and Marsha". "Wild Wife", "The Unexpected Pest", and "Unnatural History" also reference this record.
The moderator, Mr. Pratt, is partly named after Hawley Pratt, a Warner Bros. layout artist and director.
A crowd gathered at a storefront window watches a TV as the moderator introduces the scientist. Above the TV is a banner for "Foster Television", a reference to Warren Foster, a writer in Friz Freleng's unit.
The scientist is named Dr. Robert Bruce Cameron. Robert C. Bruce, middle name Cameron, was a voice actor in many Warner Bros. cartoons.
The name of the boat the elephant stowed away in is SS Michael Maltese, named after the writer of this cartoon.
Despite the cartoon being in the 1953–54 season, the ending card is the one from the 1952–53 season. It is the last cartoon to use the 1952-53 color rings.
This was the last cartoon that was shipped to theaters only available as an Academy ratio print; later cartoons would also be available as a widescreen print for theaters to use.^[2] As a result, this is the final Warner Bros. cartoon to use the older-style opening title sequences, although cartoons bearing the orange rings released in 1954 had the old-style closing. Starting with "Dog Pounded", the opening rings were adjusted to have smaller rings and a smaller central circle.
The working title was "Little Doubt".
MeTV aired a previously unreleased restored print of the cartoon on Toon In With Me.

Gallery[]

References[]

↑ (3 October 2022) Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2 (in en). BearManor Media, page 167.
↑ http://www.dohtem.com/bugs/wide/

[1] (3 October 2022) Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2 (in en). BearManor Media, page 167.

[2] ttp://www.dohtem.com/bugs/wide/

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Punch Trunk

Contents

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