Naughty Neighbors

Plot synopsis:
In this Romeo and Juliet meets the Hatfields and McCoys short, the film is set in the "quiet hills of old Kaintucky" (Kentucky), where according to the introduction "the hill folk live in peace and harmony". This description is immediately contradicted by a brief view of a chaotic battle. The short properly opens by featuring the front page of a newspaper, the "Ozark bazooka", which reports that the leaders of the two rival clans have signed a non-aggression pact. The geographic references to Kentucky and the Ozarks are mutually contradictory. The following scene introduces the two leads, who start singing an idealistic song about how "the fighting ends" and about their new friendship. Or as Porky puts it: "Now we're pally-wallies". The clan members seem to belong to multiple species, many of their members being including chickens, ducks, and geese. Curiously Porky and Petunia are apparently the only pigs of either family.
As the song continues, side-scenes reveal that the two leaders are being overly optimistic. Their fondness for each other is genuine, but this is far from true for the other clan members. A black duck from the McCoy clan calmly observes to a white duck from the Martin clan, that it is unbelievable that after all these years of shooting at each other, their clans would end up friends. They both scream their conclusion that "It'll never work". Elsewhere, two ducks from the rival clans are dancing a graceful minuet, but interrupt their dance to physically fight each other. Progressively, people pretending to be friends are seen attempting to kill each other.
Before long, covert aggression between the two clans gives way to renewed hostilities. The entire countryside area is mobilized for war. Porky reacts by utilizing his secret weapon, a "Feud Pacifier". The device resembles hand grenade but is decorated with heart symbols pierced by arrows. He throws this "Pacifier" into the battlefield, and somehow several of the combatants change to maypole dancers. Others are playing marbles or are embracing each other. The finale scenes resemble a pastoral romance.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
Light on plot but very cute. For as long as I can remember I have loved Looney Tunes. Naughty Neighbors is not one of my favourites but part of me does still like it, though I can see why some may not. It is light on plot, and isn't what we come to expect from Looney Tunes in terms of expectations. Instead of the crisp pacing and razor-sharp wit that we see a lot, it is slower moving and apart from a few deft touches like the two ducks fighting then humming and dancing is not as witty. Much of the dialogue is in song as well. I don't see these as real problems though, I'm just saying that people may see that they are. The animation is wonderful, gorgeously coloured and with luscious pastoral-like backgrounds. The music fits this just as well, this is a more whimsical approach to the energetic one usually heard, but it is very fitting. The title song is very catchy and is something that you can't get out of your head. Decide for yourself whether that is a good thing or not. Porky and Petunia are very likable characters and are adorable together. Mel Blanc does a superb job in one of his earliest endeavours with providing the voices of so many memorable characters. If it is Bernice Hanson voicing Petunia(Youtube had a dispute on whether it was her indeed or not), she is equally effective. In conclusion, very cute if somewhat different to what you'd expect. 8/10 Bethany Cox. The Ancient Persians and/or Romans . . .. . . . used to have Witch Doctors which would murder innocent "scapegoats" and scoop out their "entrails" (or guts) in a ludicrous attempt to decipher future outcomes of importance to them (their inhuman leaders--NOT the goats!), such as the outcome of an anticipated battle. I've been noticing lately that more and more "User Reviews" here are sort of doing the same thing with film studio offerings from the Yesteryears beginning with "19," so I'll open another line of crimson feeling in this vein by taking a whack at NAUGHTY NEIGHBORS. At the end of this brief Warner Bros. Looney Tune, Porky Pig uses an over-sized hand grenade from a box labeled "Feud Pacifier" to end the long-running tiff between the "Martins" (whatever happened to the Hatfields?) and McCoys. If NAUGHTY NEIGHBORS is predicting ANYTHING happening in Today's World, surely this is a forecast for Leader Trump to use MOAB (aka, the "Mother Of All Bombs") against America's foes, as he did recently once already. I think the maypole that immediately pops up after Porky deploys MOAB probably references the sort of Mushroom Cloud one sees after nukes are dropped, indicating that NAUGHTY NEIGHBORS may portend that America's aging nuclear arsenal will soon be raining down upon North Korea (as well as China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Mexico, Japan, and Canada for good measure) enabling Leader Trump to use all the savings from the on-going elimination of ObamaCare, Medicaid, Planned Parenthood, Medicare, Social Security, Environmental Protection, the State Department and the United Nations to restock America's Safety Net with a newer, bigger, better generation of nukes.