Chuck Jones's 'Old Glory' is an totally serious Warner Bros. cartoon which typifies Jones's early attempts to emulate Disney in its cutesy approach. Longer than the average Warner cartoon, 'Old Glory' is also notable for its complete lack of gags. A patriotic message cartoon, it features an apple-cheeked Porky Pig as a schoolboy who is bored by his attempts to learn the pledge of allegiance until the ghost of Uncle Sam explains why it is so important. Cue lots of rotoscoped animation of American history. Hardly the recipe for a laugh riot, 'Old Glory' doesn't even try to tickle our funny bone, aiming instead for a rousing effect. Being neither American or particularly patriotic, 'Old Glory' was never going to have much of an effect on me and, while I do recognise it as a handsome piece of animation, it's a misfire in the entertainment stakes. Jones would later make some far stronger patriotic propaganda films that managed to be both informative and entertaining (the wonderful 'So Much for So Little' for example) but 'Old Glory' always leaves me yelling "For the love of god, somebody drop an anvil"!
Review of Old Glory
