Wise Quacks

Beany and Cecil first appeared as a hand puppet TV show in the late 40's created by Bob Clampett. It later became an animated cartoon series under the Warner Brothers aegis. The puppet show, entitled Time for Beany, originally aired in 1949, with the animated series first appearing in Matty's Funday Funnies in 1959, later renamed Matty's Funnies with Beany and Cecil and finally Beany and Cecil in the USA. Another season was produced in 1988. In its original form of hand puppets, the show conveyed a greater sense of personal communication than did the animated series which followed. The hand puppets were extensively marketed and did well as a merchandising function.

Daffy Duck convinces Porky Pig to quit the cartoon biz and try his luck in the features. Porky's adventures begin when he tries to enter the movie studio.

Porky runs a farm; we see him plowing the fields. But it's primarily a poultry farm; as the sign says, "For sale: Miracle eggs if it's a good egg, it's a miracle." A rabbit, doing a Jack Benny impression (Jack Bunny), paints and inspects eggs. He starts to smash and reject a black egg, but it hatches into a black baby bird doing a Rochester impression. We next visit the Eddie Cackler family, (Eddie Cantor) who have been trying without success to have a son; the next five eggs hatch, and they are again all girls. A Bing Crosby lookalike comes by with a stroller full of sons, and Eddie asks for his secret; he demonstrates by crooning to a chick, who lays dozens of eggs with boys names on them. Eddie croons to his wife, but in a higher pitch, then dances out singing the theme song to other caricatures. The egg hatches, but in answer to Eddie's question, is it really a boy? "Mmmm... could be."

Sammy Seagull and Cecil Crow have stowed away on the same ship. Cecil, from Iowa, wants to see a hula dancer; fortunately, they've just come within flying distance of a tropical island with a lovely dancer. They take turns trying to impress her, with such stunts as skywriting hearts (Cecil almost drowns) and fancy dives (Cecil almost crashes, then gets into a fight with a shark, a turtle, and a starfish).

Porky is reading the Greek myth of the gorgon, who turned everyone she looked at into stone. Mother tells him it's bedtime; he dreams of being Porkykarkus, the hero that saves Greece.

The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil was a revival of Bob Clampett's Beany and Cecil. It was produced in 1988 by DIC Entertainment. Only eight episodes were produced, five which aired during its original run. This incarnation of the show was produced and directed by John Kricfalusi, who would later create The Ren & Stimpy Show.

As the baby boom commences, and with the delivery service overworked, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck are placed in charge of a baby preparation factory, where they help the stork keep up.

Porky leads a wagon train into "Injun Joe Territory," and finally comes up against the fearsome Superchief. But Sloppy Moe, a survivor of a previous Injun Joe attack, knows something about him he won't tell... until the very end.

Two polite twin gophers raid a vegetable patch guarded by a rather smug dog, whose various unsuccessful schemes to nullify the crafty and modest gophers involve a female gopher disguise, a hand grenade, and a carrot stuffed with TNT.

A bear hunter tells Porky the tale of a hunt 30 years ago: a bear got a taste of his chewing tobacco and chased him down to get it; the hunter took the bear on with his bare hands rather than lose the tobacco. Or at least, that's the way he told the story.

Caveman Porky awakens and plays with his pet Rover, a massive dinosaur. After Rover's playfulness causes a disruption to the prehistoric peace and quiet, Porky's copy of "Expire" magazine arrives in the mail, filled with ads for fashionable new bearskins. Porky decides to go out and get himself a new suit, and sets off with his trusty club.

Porky Pig is on his way to the store to pick up some groceries for his mother when he walks by a sign saying that the local movie theater is having a "kids admitted free" day. The excited Porky rushes in and views a series of spoofs of newsreels, movie trailers, feature films, and even the Lone Ranger!

Porky and two pals stumble onto a Mexican town on the day of the town's annual bullfight. When they learn the contest winner gets $1,000...

Porky Pig is Daffy Duck's fight manager who gets Daffy a fight with "The Champion", but things get looney.

Horton the elephant agrees to watch over lazy Maisie bird's egg while she vacations. Much later, after...

The Pilgrims, led by captain Porky Pig, set sail from Plymouth for America. We get a series of ocean sailing blackout gags, including a running bit between our narrator and the cook, looking for a fish suitable for dinner, a singing trio interrupted by seasickness, flying fish (in airplanes). Then, The Rains Came. A collision with an iceberg is narrowly averted. Land is sighted. The pilgrims are welcomed by Chief Sitting Bull.