Porky goes in search of the elusive dodo bird in Friz Freleng's excellent remake of "Porky in Wackyland." Much of this is a scene-for-scene remake of the earlier cartoon, which was directed by Bob Clampett. This one's in color, though, which will make a world of difference for many viewers. Remakes are always controversial, even among classic animation fans, but I think there are merits to both versions. Liking the remake doesn't mean you disrespect the original. In this case, I prefer watching the remake because of the rich colors and the fluid animation. The Salvador Dali-inspired visuals are terrific and they really pop more in color than black & white. It's a very fun extension of Bob Clampett's wildly creative and unique classic.
16 Reviews
Spanish artist Salvador Dali's melted desert watches . . .
oscaralbert29 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
. . . meet the entire devilish menagerie of Dark Agese painter Hieronymus Bosch as Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes gets loonier than ever (check out the "Rubber Band") in DOUGH FOR THE DO-DO. Speaking of Moolah, the bounty on this particular not-so-unique title character bird is a moving target here, ranging from four trillion bucks to four sextillion (short-form) Smackeroos and then down to a comparatively puny six trillion singletons. Though a geezer named Emerson said once that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of short middle school math instructors, one cannot help musing what kind of buying power those amounts of dough would have nowadays, adjusted for inflation, of course. Could it equal the present value of all the world's zoo animals? Might there be enough cash left over to buy Saudi Arabia? Perhaps you could add in Texas as a side order. However, if you study the "P.S." sub-headline of the opening front page GLOBE story, the do-do's finder fee rises to four sextillion. That amount of loot would give the new STAR WARS flick a run for its money.
Remake of "Porky in Wackyland" - the remake is almost like re-watching the original in colour
Mightyzebra27 October 2008
Ways in that this is different to "Porky in Wackyland": It has a Salvador Dali style, which is a good touch, there is colour animation, Porky has a more modern animation style to him and some of the jokes are missed out/enhanced, which is both good and bad in different places.
Ways in that this is the same to "Porky in Wackyland": Many of the jokes are exactly the same - even animated in a way which is almost exactly the same.
Overall, this remake was entirely pointless - except there were some jokes that were better improved than in the last episode. Having said that, there are many very good jokes in "Porky in Wackyland" that were cut out completely here.
If you have not watched either "Dough for the Do-do" or "Porky in Wackyland", then I strongly recommend watching the original first, as it is slightly better than this episode. If you have already watched PIW, but not this, then expect a cartoon almost exactly the same but with colour. If you have watched this already, but not PIW, then expect PIW to be a much older cartoon with a different slant on humour.
Enjoy "Porky in Wackyland"! :-)
7 and a half out of ten.
Ways in that this is the same to "Porky in Wackyland": Many of the jokes are exactly the same - even animated in a way which is almost exactly the same.
Overall, this remake was entirely pointless - except there were some jokes that were better improved than in the last episode. Having said that, there are many very good jokes in "Porky in Wackyland" that were cut out completely here.
If you have not watched either "Dough for the Do-do" or "Porky in Wackyland", then I strongly recommend watching the original first, as it is slightly better than this episode. If you have already watched PIW, but not this, then expect a cartoon almost exactly the same but with colour. If you have watched this already, but not PIW, then expect PIW to be a much older cartoon with a different slant on humour.
Enjoy "Porky in Wackyland"! :-)
7 and a half out of ten.
Remake of "Porky in Wackyland"
tony_ginorio16 November 2003
Years before Gus Van Sant's scene-by-scene remake of "Psycho", Friz Freleng made a color remake of Bob Clampett's b/w classic "Porky in Wackyland". For the most part, Freleng took the original soundtrack and animation and added color, thus retaining the looney charm of the original. He did make several changes, cutting some scenes and adding a couple of new ones, including an alternate ending. The best addition is the background styling, a clever pastiche of Salvador Dali paintings. (The original backgrounds were inspired by 1930s comics, particularly Smokey Stover.)As remakes go, it's better than most. Best to see the original, but if you can't, "Dough" will do-do just fine.
'Wacky' Is Right....And Very Clever
ccthemovieman-121 February 2007
The headline reads, "Porky Hunts Rare Do-Do Bird Worth $4,000,000,000,000. The subhead reads: p.s.-000,000,000.
He flies his plane into "darkest Africa" and lands in "Wackyland." Wacky is right: wild characters that look like something out of Star Wars movies and a background that is strictly Salvador Dali-esquire. One of the "monsters" is a three-headed guy with Curly, Larry and Moe's head and they take turns slapping each other. That's just one of hundreds of bizarre sights in this strange cartoon.
The quick-as-lightning and magical green do-do bird is no exception....but is he really the last do-do?
This is one of those cartoons you'd have to watch many times to catch all the crazy and clever visuals.
He flies his plane into "darkest Africa" and lands in "Wackyland." Wacky is right: wild characters that look like something out of Star Wars movies and a background that is strictly Salvador Dali-esquire. One of the "monsters" is a three-headed guy with Curly, Larry and Moe's head and they take turns slapping each other. That's just one of hundreds of bizarre sights in this strange cartoon.
The quick-as-lightning and magical green do-do bird is no exception....but is he really the last do-do?
This is one of those cartoons you'd have to watch many times to catch all the crazy and clever visuals.
Wonderfully wacky
TheLittleSongbird7 September 2016
It has been remarked upon in previous reviews that 'Dough for the Do-Do' is a remake of the classic 'Porky in Wackyland', or at least shares many similarities. This comparison is very much warranted, and somewhat inevitable too.
'Porky in Wackyland' is the superior cartoon, incredibly imaginative and a true original in every sense. Being a remake, but with differences, 'Dough for the Do-Do' does lack this originality. And it is understandable for anybody to think that Bob Clampett is more suited to the wacky, insane material and style than Fritz Freleng, something that Clampett is a master in and Freleng is comparatively more subdued visually, though with plenty of great use of expression and colour in his cartoons, but also rapid-fire, razor-sharp and hilariously witty at his best.
On the other hand, 'Dough for the Do-Do' is still so wonderfully weird and wacky that it doesn't feel pointless at all and at no point shows disrespect to the cartoon it takes inspiration from. It is also constantly hilarious, especially the brilliantly characterised dodo bird and the kooky and richly imaginative supporting characters, especially the three-headed monster. Porky is also very fun and likable, and it is true that he has more meat to him than usual. While the other characters are slightly more memorable and funnier, Porky is no less inferior.
The animation is superb, especially in the Dali-inspired stylised backgrounds that are rich in detail and never once look cheap. The rich colours and fluid movement also impress hugely. The music score matches the wild tone of the cartoon with boundless energy and character, while also being lushly and cleverly orchestrated. The impact of the gags are even elevated by the music.
Ever the enormously talented voice actor, with an unparalleled and envious ability to bring individual personalities and completely varied but distinctive voices to multiple characters, Mel Blanc constantly delights.
In conclusion, wonderfully wacky and a fine cartoon even if the cartoon it takes inspiration from is better. 9/10 Bethany Cox
'Porky in Wackyland' is the superior cartoon, incredibly imaginative and a true original in every sense. Being a remake, but with differences, 'Dough for the Do-Do' does lack this originality. And it is understandable for anybody to think that Bob Clampett is more suited to the wacky, insane material and style than Fritz Freleng, something that Clampett is a master in and Freleng is comparatively more subdued visually, though with plenty of great use of expression and colour in his cartoons, but also rapid-fire, razor-sharp and hilariously witty at his best.
On the other hand, 'Dough for the Do-Do' is still so wonderfully weird and wacky that it doesn't feel pointless at all and at no point shows disrespect to the cartoon it takes inspiration from. It is also constantly hilarious, especially the brilliantly characterised dodo bird and the kooky and richly imaginative supporting characters, especially the three-headed monster. Porky is also very fun and likable, and it is true that he has more meat to him than usual. While the other characters are slightly more memorable and funnier, Porky is no less inferior.
The animation is superb, especially in the Dali-inspired stylised backgrounds that are rich in detail and never once look cheap. The rich colours and fluid movement also impress hugely. The music score matches the wild tone of the cartoon with boundless energy and character, while also being lushly and cleverly orchestrated. The impact of the gags are even elevated by the music.
Ever the enormously talented voice actor, with an unparalleled and envious ability to bring individual personalities and completely varied but distinctive voices to multiple characters, Mel Blanc constantly delights.
In conclusion, wonderfully wacky and a fine cartoon even if the cartoon it takes inspiration from is better. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Fun, surreal cartoon
rickter24 October 1998
This cartoon is a lot of fun. It's a color remake of the virtually identical B&W "Porky in Wackyland". The Do-do plays a Daffy Duck-type role, but this one is definitely different with a great collection of bizarre creatures who inhabit Wackyland ("It Can Happen Here!").
Might there be more dodo birds in Madagascar?
lee_eisenberg16 August 2006
I stopped short of giving "Dough for the Do-Do" 10/10 just because the whole idea of Darkest Africa doesn't exactly sound PC in this day and age. But other than that, it's a hoot, with Porky searching for the last do-do bird, worth four trillion dollars. He has to enter Wackyland, and as the Wackyland sign affirms: "It can happen here." Sure enough, anything can happen. But the do-do himself is something else, and as elusive as can be.
All in all, it's a cartoon that you're sure to like. And I know that the dodo is extinct, but I can't help but wonder whether or not there might be more in Madagascar.
All in all, it's a cartoon that you're sure to like. And I know that the dodo is extinct, but I can't help but wonder whether or not there might be more in Madagascar.
Dough for the Do-Do is basically Porky in Wackyland filmed in color this time
tavm5 January 2008
Dough for the Do-Do is basically a color version of Bob Clampett's original black-and-white Porky in Wackyland with some changes done by Friz Freling. I actually haven't seen the first film version in its entirety yet so I wrote the previous sentence based on other comments I've read here. It certainly has many of the touches one usually associates with Clampett like the "rubber band" sequence (with Mel Blanc's hilarious "music notes" that he would also use for Marvin Martian's trumpet). There's also a guy saying, "Let me out!" constantly while holding just a jail cell window and a duck who looks like Daffy frequently saying, "Mammy!" Porky is perfectly perplexed throughout the whole short as he tries to get the "last of the Do-Dos". Loved the bird's constant "Do-do" sounds. Well worth seeing.
A pointless remake of a classic
phantom_tollbooth18 August 2008
As I write this review in 2008, we are mired in a remake culture. Movie studios seem determined to ruin as many classic films as they can with thoroughly pointless updates including 'King Kong, 'The Wicker Man' and practically every film that ever starred Michael Caine. This lazy remake mentality is not a new phenomenon, however, as 'Dough for the Do-Do' proves. An entirely pointless colorized version of Bob Clampett's surreal masterpiece 'Porky in Wackyland', 'Dough for the Do-Do' sucks the life out of the original by splashing colour all over Clampett's original footage and adding some lame new footage overseen by Friz Freleng. Freleng was an entirely unsuitable director to be tampering with Clampett's source material, although in truth no director could hope to come close to Clampett's inspired insanity. Inevitably, then, 'Dough for the Do-Do' is nothing more than the raping of a classic with an appalling new title attached. For cartoon fans like myself, its equivalent to a colorization of 'Casablanca'.
Totally insane - totally hilarious
bob the moo19 March 2004
In his search for the priceless Do-Do bird, Porky Pig flies over Africa, into deepest Africa and further into Even Darker Africa. There he finds some strange and crazy things - but nothing prepares him for his meeting with the insane Do-Do bird itself.
The set up for this film is very basic and it doesn't really do anything other than the basic plot summary says; however - it is very, very funny. Set in a world that is half Warner Brothers and half Salvador Dali, the action basically revolves around the fact that everything in this world is totally, totally insane! All sorts of mad characters exist in this world - I really wondered how on earth they managed to think them all up!
Porky is really good here and has more meat (in terms of character) on him than he has had in other films, however, despite his top billing, he is not the star of this film. No - that honour belongs to the wonderfully insane Do-Do bird himself. He is manic and crazy to the point that he out-Daffy's Daffy himself! The film builds to him and I was amazed just how funny and imaginative the character was - especially coming after such a host of crazy characters.
Overall, if you are a fan of Daffy Duck when he was in his crazy period then you will simply love this cartoon. Visually it is impressive and imaginative but it is the Do-Do bird that makes it all work. Join me! Do-do-do-do-do-do-do!
The set up for this film is very basic and it doesn't really do anything other than the basic plot summary says; however - it is very, very funny. Set in a world that is half Warner Brothers and half Salvador Dali, the action basically revolves around the fact that everything in this world is totally, totally insane! All sorts of mad characters exist in this world - I really wondered how on earth they managed to think them all up!
Porky is really good here and has more meat (in terms of character) on him than he has had in other films, however, despite his top billing, he is not the star of this film. No - that honour belongs to the wonderfully insane Do-Do bird himself. He is manic and crazy to the point that he out-Daffy's Daffy himself! The film builds to him and I was amazed just how funny and imaginative the character was - especially coming after such a host of crazy characters.
Overall, if you are a fan of Daffy Duck when he was in his crazy period then you will simply love this cartoon. Visually it is impressive and imaginative but it is the Do-Do bird that makes it all work. Join me! Do-do-do-do-do-do-do!
"It Can Happen Here"
slymusic10 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
"Dough for the Do-Do" is a Porky Pig cartoon that is a Technicolor remake of a black-and-white cartoon titled "Porky in Wackyland" (1938), directed by Bob Clampett. Friz Freleng took the helm of this remake without credit, presumably because Clampett's directorial style was just a bit too wacky for Freleng's taste. In the original, Porky flies through Darkest Africa to the Salvador Dali-type landscape of Wackyland in search of a rare bird called the Do-Do, reportedly worth octillions of dollars. Upon his arrival, Porky discovers that Wackyland lives up to its name; before he finds his prized bird, he encounters dozens of the most indescribably oddball characters ever seen in a cartoon. In the remake, Friz Freleng decided to maintain the story and, with few exceptions, reprise a majority of the characters & situations.
My favorite gags in "Dough for the Do-Do" include the following (don't read any further if you haven't yet seen this short). Amidst all the fantastically kooky characters that Porky meets, there exist a wide-mouthed duck resembling Daffy & imitating Al Jolson; a smiling light-blue figure banging away at a drumset, tooting a clarinet, and tinkering on a miniature piano; a hilarious "Rubber Band"; and a silly three-headed monster of the Three Stooges. (Friz Freleng loved the Stooges, as I do, although for some reason he decided to have Moe's hair painted white.) Aided by a Warner Bros. logo that zooms in and out of frame, the Do-Do applies a slingshot to Porky's head. And Porky is quite funny as he sings & dances in his Do-Do disguise.
In conclusion, "Dough for the Do-Do" is a very looney remake of an equally looney original. Bob Clampett was the source of the looniness, and Friz Freleng carried on that tradition (perhaps somewhat warily) in this colorful cartoon.
My favorite gags in "Dough for the Do-Do" include the following (don't read any further if you haven't yet seen this short). Amidst all the fantastically kooky characters that Porky meets, there exist a wide-mouthed duck resembling Daffy & imitating Al Jolson; a smiling light-blue figure banging away at a drumset, tooting a clarinet, and tinkering on a miniature piano; a hilarious "Rubber Band"; and a silly three-headed monster of the Three Stooges. (Friz Freleng loved the Stooges, as I do, although for some reason he decided to have Moe's hair painted white.) Aided by a Warner Bros. logo that zooms in and out of frame, the Do-Do applies a slingshot to Porky's head. And Porky is quite funny as he sings & dances in his Do-Do disguise.
In conclusion, "Dough for the Do-Do" is a very looney remake of an equally looney original. Bob Clampett was the source of the looniness, and Friz Freleng carried on that tradition (perhaps somewhat warily) in this colorful cartoon.
Weird does not automatically equal funny
movieman_kev23 November 2004
Porky Pig goes to darkest Africa to catch the supposedly last remaining Dodo bird. This short is weird with a capital W. The problem is that simply very weird doesn't translate to simply hilarious in and of itself. The second strike against this, is the fact that it's pretty much a re-make of an earlier Porky Pig Looney Tunes short and I don't really like re-makes as most times it's just sheer laziness on the remakers part. Still there are a few laughs to be had in this cartoon, albeit small as they may be. And perhaps I'm in the minority here, but if that's the case so be it.This cartoon is on Disk 2 of the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1"
My Grade: C-
My Grade: C-
Salvador Dali
ion3 August 1998
Porky
Michael_Elliott12 April 2009
Dough for the Do-Do (1949)
*** (out of 4)
Porky Pig travels to "Darkest Africa" where he plans on capturing the elusive Do-Do bird, which is worth $400,000,000,000 (ps 000,000,000). Once he lands his plane Porky is thrown into Wackyland where nothing seems real. This is certainly one of the strangest and most surreal Merrie Melodies shorts but that doesn't mean it's one of the funniest. I really enjoy the visual styles of this film but I'll be honest and say that none of it makes me laugh. I respect this film a lot more than I enjoy it but even though I don't consider it a classic I think it still manages to be entertaining. The animation is top-notch from start to finish and the amount of imagination going on is certainly something to look up to. Apparently this is a remake of PORKY IN WACKYLAND but I've yet to see that one.
*** (out of 4)
Porky Pig travels to "Darkest Africa" where he plans on capturing the elusive Do-Do bird, which is worth $400,000,000,000 (ps 000,000,000). Once he lands his plane Porky is thrown into Wackyland where nothing seems real. This is certainly one of the strangest and most surreal Merrie Melodies shorts but that doesn't mean it's one of the funniest. I really enjoy the visual styles of this film but I'll be honest and say that none of it makes me laugh. I respect this film a lot more than I enjoy it but even though I don't consider it a classic I think it still manages to be entertaining. The animation is top-notch from start to finish and the amount of imagination going on is certainly something to look up to. Apparently this is a remake of PORKY IN WACKYLAND but I've yet to see that one.
What's the difference between this and the 1938 Clampett version?
dizozza20 January 2001
I want to see the original. Are the two versions different? The dodo looks a little chunky in this one. A general comment now has become the awareness that all the voices are from one man. Yes, I'm actually suggesting that other people could have participated in the dubbing. How did he get such a monopoly on the job? Was he always there or were there times when other people's voices were used? This is a Mel Blanc comment. MR. Barney Flintstone!
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