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Wagon Heels is a 1945 Merrie Melodies short directed by Bob Clampett.

Title[]

The title is a play on "wagon wheels," "heels" referring to someone who is untrustworthy and inconsiderate.

Plot[]

In 1849, a spurious map shows a sliver of land on the Eastern Seaboard labeled "USA", with all land to its west labeled "INJUN JOE'S TERRITORY". Porky Pig is leading a wagon train to California, and he must keep an eye out for the Herculean Native American "Super Chief", Injun Joe.

Porky and Injun Joe are repeatedly interrupted by a goofy bearded hillbilly named Sloppy Moe, who keeps repeating, "I know something I won't tell, I won't tell, I won't tell!" to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down. This goes on until Injun Joe corners Porky with tomahawk in hand, and Sloppy Moe sings his refrain once more. Injun Joe demands, "What you know, huh???", and Sloppy reveals his secret at last, "Injun... Joe... is... ticklish!", and proceeds to prove that by tickling the chief with his hands and beard lacking a moustache. The Native American goes into a raucous laughing fit. Distracted, he backs off a cliff and falls deep into the ground, pulling the surface down with him, and causing the map seen previously to stretch the "USA" sliver across to the west coast, so that it now reads "UNITED STATES of AMERICA" from west to east. Moe tickles the giggling Porky.

Availability[]

Differences from Injun Trouble[]

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Construction
  • The opening of the short features narration whereas the original short did not.
  • Injun Joe's design is vastly different.
  • The wagon train has human passengers instead of animals and has labels on different parts of the train.
  • Porky's outfit is different from the original short with him wearing gloves and not wearing pants and shoes.
  • The conductor now speaks in a voice akin to Yosemite Sam instead of a Southern accent.
  • The train conductor no longer spits during mid-sentence and talks normally.
  • The conductor refers to Injun Joe as "the super chief" instead of "that varmint".
  • The boundary sign adds the words "super chief".
  • Sloppy Moe and Injun Joe have different voice actors with Moe voiced by Bob Clampett instead of Mel Blanc and Joe voiced by Blanc instead of Billy Bletcher.
  • Porky encounters Sloppy Moe twice in the short instead of three times in the original short. Moe's second encounter is with Injun Joe instead of Porky.

Notes[]

  • This short is a color remake of the 1938 Looney Tunes black-and-white short "Injun Trouble", with several scenes altered or shortened for pacing.
  • The name "Super Chief" is a play on the famous Santa Fe train run of the same name (a frequent reference in WB cartoons), and reinforced by each character spouting smoke and crying "Woo-woo!" like a steam locomotive, each time they say Injun Joe's name.
  • In addition to the usual Native American stereotype music, Carl Stalling's underscore frequently plays segments of the American Civil War tune, "Kingdom Coming", even converting it to a minor key in one segment. "Oh! Susanna" is also heard repeatedly in the underscore.
  • Because of its wildly stereotypical depiction of the Native American, it is seldom shown on television nowadays, with the most recent television sighting being in 2001 in Season 2, Episode 19 of The Bob Clampett Show.
    • Like several pre-1948 Looney Tunes shorts controversial for racial stereotypes, "Wagon Heels" does have a 1995 dubbed version print, though it is rarely shown in the United States for this reason.
  • The Cartoon Festivals print is a damaged a.a.p. print where the a.a.p. logo plays first, then the 1947-49 Blue Ribbon Color Rings from "Inki and the Lion" open, also notice the light blue borders. The 1939-40 version of Merrily We Roll Along plays instead of the 1941-45 version. The print then changes to another print that says "Wagon Heels". This is a MGM/UA print and probably was hacked off by United Artists in the 1980s.
  • The scene of Injun Joe biting on a bear trap, causing it to yelp in pain and run off was not only reused animation from the original 1938 "Injun Trouble" cartoon, but also from the 1940 short "The Chewin' Bruin".
  • Caricatures of Warner Bros. staff members Ray Katz and John W. Burton can be seen in the wagon train.
  • Vitaphone release number: 1343[3]

Gallery[]

References[]

External Links[]


Porky Pig Cartoons
1935 I Haven't Got a HatGold Diggers of '49
1936 Plane DippyAlpine AnticsThe Phantom ShipBoom BoomThe Blow OutWestward WhoaFish TalesShanghaied ShipmatesPorky's PetPorky the Rain-MakerPorky's Poultry PlantPorky's Moving DayMilk and MoneyLittle Beau PorkyThe Village SmithyPorky in the North WoodsBoulevardier from the Bronx
1937 Porky the WrestlerPorky's Road RacePicador PorkyPorky's RomancePorky's Duck HuntPorky and GabbyPorky's BuildingPorky's Super ServicePorky's Badtime StoryPorky's RailroadGet Rich Quick PorkyPorky's GardenRover's RivalThe Case of the Stuttering PigPorky's Double TroublePorky's Hero Agency
1938 Porky's PoppaPorky at the CrocaderoWhat Price PorkyPorky's Phoney ExpressPorky's Five & TenPorky's Hare HuntInjun TroublePorky the FiremanPorky's PartyPorky's Spring PlantingPorky & DaffyWholly SmokePorky in WackylandPorky's Naughty NephewPorky in EgyptThe Daffy DocPorky the Gob
1939 The Lone Stranger and PorkyIt's an Ill WindPorky's Tire TroublePorky's Movie MysteryChicken JittersPorky and TeabiscuitKristopher Kolumbus Jr.Polar PalsScalp TroubleOld GloryPorky's PicnicWise QuacksPorky's HotelJeepers CreepersNaughty NeighborsPied Piper PorkyPorky the Giant KillerThe Film Fan
1940 Porky's Last StandAfrica SqueaksAli-Baba BoundPilgrim PorkySlap Happy PappyPorky's Poor FishYou Ought to Be in PicturesThe Chewin' BruinPorky's Baseball BroadcastPatient PorkyCalling Dr. PorkyPrehistoric PorkyThe Sour PussPorky's Hired HandThe Timid Toreador
1941 Porky's Snooze ReelPorky's Bear FactsPorky's PreviewPorky's AntA Coy DecoyPorky's Prize PonyMeet John DoughboyWe, the Animals - Squeak!The Henpecked DuckNotes to YouRobinson Crusoe Jr.Porky's Midnight MatineePorky's Pooch
1942 Porky's Pastry PiratesWho's Who in the ZooPorky's CafeAny Bonds Today?My Favorite Duck
1943 Confusions of a Nutzy SpyYankee Doodle DaffyPorky Pig's FeatA Corny Concerto
1944 Tom Turk and DaffyTick Tock TuckeredSwooner CroonerDuck Soup to NutsSlightly DaffyBrother Brat
1945 Trap Happy PorkyWagon Heels
1946 Baby BottleneckDaffy DoodlesKitty KorneredThe Great Piggy Bank RobberyMouse Menace
1947 One Meat BrawlLittle Orphan Airedale
1948 Daffy Duck Slept HereNothing but the ToothThe Pest That Came to DinnerRiff Raffy DaffyScaredy Cat
1949 Awful OrphanPorky ChopsPaying the PiperDaffy Duck HuntCurtain RazorOften an OrphanDough for the Do-DoBye, Bye Bluebeard
1950 Boobs in the WoodsThe Scarlet PumpernickelAn Egg ScrambleGolden YeggsThe DuckstersDog Collared
1951 The Wearing of the GrinDrip-Along DaffyThe Prize Pest
1952 Thumb FunCracked QuackFool Coverage
1953 Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century
1954 Claws for AlarmMy Little Duckaroo
1955 Jumpin' JupiterDime to Retire
1956 Rocket SquadDeduce, You Say
1957 Boston Quackie
1958 Robin Hood Daffy
1959 China Jones
1961 Daffy's Inn Trouble
1965 Corn on the Cop
1966 Mucho Locos
1980 Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century
1996 Superior Duck
2004 My Generation G...G... Gap
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