. . . for the cats to play, KITTY KORNERED documents. Porky is outnumbered by his quartet of feline pets. Worse yet, when they roust him out of his house bearing four swords, the Pork Man does not have a gun to bring to this knife fight. The moral of this story seems to be that if you cannot shoot them, don't expect to join them!
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cricket306 August 2021
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sswren121 October 2023A rollicking good time. The exaggerated animation, the fishbowl scene "Henry, I think there's someone in the house!" The moose and the stirring speech by Sylvester to which the kitten replied, "I like cheese" and gets smacked, is priceless Warner's toons were funnier than Disney's. The team of directors made sure of that. Carl Stalling and Warners resident orchestra's accompanyment to literally every movement and sound effects make these timeless gems truly the benchmark in animation. There's nothing since that comes close to these too. Mel Blanc's stuttering pig is at the height of his game in this one. I would love to see footage of Mel at the mic.
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Porky Pig is trying to put out his four cats for the evening and one them is the cat we know as Sylvester, who became a lot more famous when he was paired with Tweetie, which began the year after this cartoon was released.
At 9 p.m., according to this story, all cats were thrown out of their houses for the night, even in the middle of winter. Where did that come from? Well, Porky has three big cats and one little guy. That's the one, the shrimp, with an attitude and there is no way he's going out in the snow. Pretty soon all four cats are inside and Porky is outside and f-f-f-freezing in his nightcap.
There are some funny visuals in here as the cats live it up for a short while, getting drunk on "Arsenic And Old Grape" wine, smoking cigars, binging on chocolates....until Porky gets back inside. Then, look out!
Great visuals and direction by Robert Clampett highlight this, although all the action and noise could give you a headache. This is one, wild cartoon with something loud happening every second. It has to be one of the wilder cartoons of the classic era.
I enjoyed how both sides tried tricks on each other, such as the "Lassie" and "War of the Worlds" imitations. -
Markc6517 September 2001Bob Clampett was at his creative height and his last year at Warners when he directed this cartoon. The plot involves Porky Pig trying to put his four cats out for the night (one of the cats is an early version of Slyvester). Several scenes parody Arsenic And Old Lace and the Orson Welles' radio play of War Of The Worlds. Everything gels together very nicely in this one; the jokes come fast and furious, the timing is razor sharp, and the art direction, use of color and camera compositions all greatly enhance the scenes. A special standout is the animation, though. It is suitably exaggerated and there are several great eye-popping "takes." The rest of the animators on Clampett's team had finally caught up to Rod Scribner's style of cartooning at this point. (Rod Scribner was one of Clampett's head animators and was instrumental in breaking the Warner cartoons away from the stultifying and literal "realistic" animation of the day to a looser and more expressive style.) A very funny and energetic cartoon that for some reason has hardly been shown on T.V. Highly recommended!
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movieman_kev30 October 2005Now THIS is more like it, after having to sit through the awful Tweety Bird cartoons. The next short is this classic, hilarious tale of Porky Pig trying to let his cats out for the night and their retaliation. Brilliant in it's execution, this Robert Clampett classic lampoons Arsenic and old lace as well as War of the Worlds. Every single gag hits the spot and it'll leave you laughing with it's hilarity. Just simply a great cartoon all around. This animated short can be seen on Disc 3 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 and also features an optional commentary by Michael Barrier.
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ja_kitty_7128 October 2007I absolutely love this cartoon! It is one of my favorites by the late Bob Clampett. It has scenes that will make you laugh your head off, and I love cats. Of Porky's four cats, I love the little bitty kitty the most. You might also notice that one of the cats is an early version of Sylvester; he's got a black nose, not a red one; I love that speech he made :
"Brother pussycats! We've been skidded out, scooted out, backed out, and booted out! But tonight, we was scared out! It's unhospitabitatble, and furthermore, it's un-cat-stitutional! "
Another scene I love is when Porky crashes into the china cabinet with a teapot on his head; through the spout he says, "I hate p-p-p-pussycats!" -
slymusic13 July 2009It's nighttime, time for everyone to put their cats outside. Porky Pig tries it and gets nothing but resistance from his four felines. This becomes the premise for "Kitty Kornered", a wonderful cartoon featuring some of the wildest, wackiest animation imaginable, thus making the characters flexible and rubbery. That can only mean this cartoon was directed by "Mr. Wacky" himself: Robert Clampett!
My favorite sequences from this cartoon include the following (DO NOT read any further if you have not yet seen it). A snooty butler rolls out a carpet & pillow and then relinquishes his elegance by giving his feline a mighty kick! Porky pulls one of his cats out of a mouse hole, and the cat in turn pulls a few yelping mice out of the hole; after the cat gives Porky a poke in the eyes (Bob Clampett must have been a fan of the Three Stooges), the cat & mice transform themselves into billiard balls. AND, in a couple of references from the 1944 Warner Bros. live-action feature film "Arsenic and Old Lace", all four of Porky's cats disguise themselves as Teddy Roosevelt and lead a charge up the staircase; and a very mean-looking Porky quickly draws open the curtains while his felines are drinking, smoking, and eating chocolates.
"Kitty Kornered" is a fine Porky Pig cartoon with a bit of a surprise - an early version of the ugly, slobbering cat Sylvester. All he needed was to be paired with a baby canary or a Mexican mouse and he was in business! -
phantom_tollbooth1 October 2008Bob Clampett's 'Kitty Kornered' is one of the most bizarre cartoons you'll ever see, even by Clampett's standards. Perhaps the main reason for this is that Clampett wrote the script himself, which explains the wildly fluctuating plot. It's filled with crazy animation, wild gags and nonsensical events. But for all its unselfconsciousness, I've never warmed to 'Kitty Kornered' particularly. It's just that little bit too odd and lacks the warped sense of logic that holds together most of the weirder Warner cartoons. It begins with a simple premise: Porky Pig attempts to put his four cats out for the night (including Sylvester in his third appearance and sporting a black nose instead of his usual red hooter) but is continually confounded by their superior wits. There's some good gags and the usual frenzied animation style that makes all Clampett's cartoons worth a look but the whole thing seems constantly on the brink of falling apart and finally does so as the cats decide to disguise themselves as aliens in a tacked-on satire of Orson Welles 'War of the Worlds' broadcast. It makes for a strange climax to a head-scratching cartoon. Despite my general dislike of 'Kitty Kornered' I'd encourage anyone to see it for its historical value as a Clampett-penned cartoon and to savour those brief moments of genuine brilliance such as the goldfish gag or the heart-stopping early moment when Porky bursts through the curtains to surprise the cats.
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TheLittleSongbird23 June 2016Many of Bob Clampett's cartoons are superbly made, inventive, extremely funny and his style always shines through. Porky is always watchable and Sylvester is one of the funniest and most interesting Looney Tunes character. So 'Kitty Kornered' has much going for it.
Clampett's style certainly shines through in 'Kitty Kornered', not just in the storytelling and gags but also the visual style. It is one of his wildest and wackiest, and also one of his most visually imaginative. The animation is really wonderful here, with several eye-popping and inventively exaggerated moments. It's also very colourful and beautifully detailed.
'Kitty Kornered' features yet another music score from Carl Stalling, which as always is fabulous and reinforces why he is my, and many others, personal favourite regular Looney Tunes composers. Stalling always made a great cartoon even better with his music scores, with its lush and lively orchestration, high energy and character and action-enhancing synchronisation.
The gags, which are many and come by thick and fast, also hit their mark, they are never less than very funny and a vast majority of the time are hilarious. The goldfish gag is a classic, and one will love the references to 'Arsenic and Old Lace', 'Lassie' and 'War of the Worlds' (this reviewer will respectfully disagree about it feeling tacked on). The dialogue has the usual razor sharp Looney Tunes wit, especially with Sylvester though Porky's dialogue is funnier than usual as well. The cartoon is frenetically paced, but never feels rushed or over-the-top.
Porky is always likable and watchable, he can be a little bland when a lead or pitched against characters with stronger personalities but he is far from that here. Even better is Sylvester (looking different than he would become later), who is often a riot and even when evolving his characteristic personality shines constantly. The other cats are fun too, especially Tiny, if not as memorable as Porky and Sylvester. Mel Blanc excels brilliantly as always in multiple roles.
All in all, wonderful cartoon and a Clampett classic. 10/10 Bethany Cox -
angelynx-28 June 2001That about says it - only Clampett would have booted-out house cats try to scare their way back into the nice warm house by convincing their master (in this case, a terrified Porky Pig) that the Earth is being overrun by Martians! One of the best double-takes ever.
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bob the moo20 September 2003It's evening and homes all over the US are putting out their cats for the night. However when Porky Pig attempts to put out his litter he finds that Sylvester is leading a revolution that tries to change the socially accepted order of things!
Starting out with Porky being thrown out into the snow by his cats, this cartoon is a battle of wills between Porky and his cats, led by the despicable Sylvester. The various rouses they all pull are all funny and the `alien invasion' broadcast is a nice throwaway reference to Orson Welles' reading of War of the Worlds! The gags all work well and things are lively.
The characters in the leads really drive the cartoon. Porky is very animated and funny, while Slyvester is the best of the cats who, aside from him, are merely sidekicks. Overall I enjoyed the short and it had plenty of gags and imagination Sylvester is in particularly good form. -
lee_eisenberg14 September 2006In "Kitty Kornered", Porky Pig has a really hard time getting his cats to go out for the night, as they always seem to be one step ahead of him. I assume that the whole part about the Martian invasion was probably a takeoff on Orson Welles's famous (or is that infamous?) radio broadcast. It's the sort of cartoon where they just keep a gag coming every second. But how could it not be, coming as it does from the crowd behind the Looney Tunes cartoons? So, it may not be the greatest cartoon ever created, but you're sure to have a good time watching it. And if you ever hear of a Martian invasion, you know just what to do.
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trimbolicelia4 November 2021Wildly funny (one could say insanely funny) Porky Pig and Sylvester romping cartoon. Every scene is a laugh riot. The best scenes are porky chasing the cats all over the house. The mice scene, the fish bowl scene, the moose head scene, the takes from the film Arsenic and Old Lace and the Martian invasion broadcast. My favorite cat was Tiny Kitty. As another reviewer commented, this little guy has attitude. Probably my favorite of the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The ones from the early to mid 1940s are the best.