. . . blasting a larger than ordinary chicken toward the stars in Outer Space. At the time WEASEL WHILE YOU WORK was released, America was thinking about entering the "Space Race." White rooster Foghorn's aptly named home studio seems to be warning the USA about the dangers of space junk with the climax of this brief cartoon. Obviously, such a caution fell upon deaf ears and America's Space Force has as its primary mission the task of tracking an estimated 8 billion items of orbiting debris ranging in size from a tadpole to the Star Ship Enterprise. Despite this expensive diligence, anyone alive Today is subject to waking up dead like DONNIE DARKO with a Sputnik crammed down their throats.
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oscaralbert11 October 2015. . . but chickens got talent, too, Warner Bros. contends in its animated "Merrie Melodies" short, WEASEL WHILE YOU WORK. I had a dog that knew how to shake paws, but that "trick" pales in comparison to the Winter Sports prowess giant rooster Foghorn Leghorn demonstrates here. When he's not sledding or figure skating, Mr. Leghorn proves to be a pretty fair ski jumper. Foghorn is a FREE RANGE chicken--NOT one of those I-can't-even-stand-up-or-turn-around-in-my-cage varieties McDonalds says they'll stop grinding up into McNuggets 5 or 10 years from now. The title weasel character here tries munching a little dog meat himself, later implying that it tastes just like chicken (without specifying whether the Colonel's or Mickey D's). Perhaps Warner is suggesting that hush puppies should replace McNuggets as a Happy Meal choice. Or maybe their implication is that McChicken is just as gross as McBeagle sounds. Very few people likely would want to chow down on Snoopy, much less their neighbor's chow. But to that minority, Bon Appetit!
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. . . barnyard. It reminds me of a bizarre comic I read this morning in the funny papers. Two snowmen are casing a stranger's backyard for burglary. While one of the frozen water guys is rooting around in the garbage can, the other lifts up a sack of charcoal from a frosted-over grill and warns "We better high tail it out of here, Clyde--I just found a bag of eyes and mouths!"
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Chip_douglas19 February 2004Foghorn Leghorn may be accused of many things, but he certainly knows how to enjoy life to the fullest. In the summer he loves to sunbathe, go fish and hit the Barnyard Dog with a stick. Come wintertime he enjoys ice skating, sledding and turning the dog into a snowman. Setting the cartoon during winter leads to more original gags than usual, and to top it off we have the return of one of Foghorns funniest guest stars.
The hyperactive, slobbering Weasel, who seems to be the inspiration for the Scrat' character in "Ice Age" (2002), makes his third appearance on the rooster/dog battleground (and brings along his own chefs hat). In no time Foghorn has duped the little fellow into chasing venison (i.e. the Barnyard Dog) and even sends him on a politically incorrect seal hunt (again, the seal in question turns out to be the Barnyard Dog). No wonder Barnyard spells the word chicken "R.A.T.".
Still, not even the weasel seems to be able to take the place of Henery Hawk, who's main function was to come out the victor at the end. Without him, the Foghorn cartoons often fail to come up with a satisfying ending, as it somehow feels wrong for Foghorn or Barnyard to be victorious. After all, we would not want to see the Roadrunner or Tweety actually being caught and consumed, now would we?
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utgard1410 September 2015It's wintertime on the farm where Foghorn Leghorn lives. When a hungry weasel shows up and tries to eat Foghorn's leg, the rooster points him in the direction of Barnyard Dog, telling him the dog is venison. Barnyard Dog returns the favor by sending the weasel back to Foghorn. They go back and forth like this with amusing results. The animation is beautiful with rich colors and well-drawn characters. There's something about snowy backgrounds that allows everything else to stand out more than normal. The music is playful and fun. The incomparable Mel Blanc does flawless voice work as usual. The gags mostly work and Foghorn has many funny lines. It's a good Foghorn short.
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TheLittleSongbird11 February 2013Looney Tunes have been responsible for some of my all time favourites. Foghorn Leghorn is not my favourite Looney Tunes character, but he is a very interesting and distinctive character that I appreciate even more as an adult(a similar reaction I have to Pepe LePew actually). Weasel While You Work is one of his funniest cartoons in my opinion. It is not the most original of stories, but what it does have is everything that you associate with a Foghorn Leghorn cartoon. If you like them- I do on the most part- you will like Weasel While You Work. The animation is one of the more vibrant and fluid Foghorn cartoons and all the characters are drawn very nicely. The music has been more inspired before, probably due to the apparent musician strike happening around this time, but it is still beautiful in orchestration and the Camptown Races theme is irresistibly catchy, no matter how many times you see it. The dialogue is hilarious, few Foghorn cartoons have lines as consistently funny and quotable as this one(I honestly cannot think of a favourite) and again few are an instance when Foghorn and Barnyard Dog are equally funny, usually Foghorn is the funnier of the two. The gags are imaginative and very effective, true most revolve around Foghorn and Barnyard Dog trying to trick the weasel into eating the other but they are fun to watch. The one where Foghorn tricks the weasel into thinking that Barnyard Dog is a seal is absolutely ridiculous but at the same that's why it was as funny as it was. All three characters are on top form, and Mel Blanc is as awesome as ever. Overall, although it was not so highly rated I do think Weasel While You Work is one of Foghorn's funniest. 9/10 Bethany Cox
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Hitchcoc6 September 2019I like Foghorn Leghorn cartoons, but there was something lacking in this one. It was too slick. The dog was his equal and that weasel wasn't all that funny. There were a handful of sight gags but I miss Henery.