A Star Is Hatched

A Star Is Hatched is a 1938 Merrie Melodies short directed by I. Freleng.
== Title ==
The title is a play on the 1937 film A Star Is Born. 
== Plot ==
Clem meets Emily the Chicken and gives her flowers, but Emily wants to be alone continuing to read the movie magazine. Emily then sees a "Megaphone" and runs out leaving Clem heartbroken. The man tells her to go to Hollywood if she wants to be in pictures. She then walks two thousand miles to Hollywood. On the way, are many caricatures of Hollywood stars for a minute and a half before reverting to Emily. Emily walks into a building but not too long before getting kicked out because the sign says, "DO NOT ENTER WHEN THE RED LIGHT IS ON!" There are acting rehearsals taking place for about two minutes before reverting to Emily who has found the "Megaphone" man. She tries to get his attention but sadly the door is slammed on her. Emily starts to cry and decides to go back to Hickville. Eventually, she marries Clem and they have kids. Several years later, one of the chicks reads the magazine Emily read earlier in the cartoon, but Emily slaps her when the chick says she wants to be an actress too.
== Caricatures ==
* Katharine Hepburn
* Al Pearce's character Elmer Blurt
* Greta Garbo
* Edward G. Robinson
* Joan Blondell
* Dick Powell
* John Barrymore
* Freddie Bartholomew
* Clark Gable
* W.C. Fields
* Johnny Weissmuller
* Charlie McCarthy
* Mae West
* Charlie Chaplin
* Tony Labriola - "Oh, yeah"
== Availability ==
Golden-Age-of-Looney-Tunes-5-F.jpg|(1997) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 5, Side 7, Animal Antics (USA 1995 Turner print)
lt bringing up baby.jpg|(2005) DVD Bringing Up Baby (USA 1995 Turner print)
ltastarisborn.jpg|(2022) Blu-ray A Star is Born (1937) (restored)
=== Streaming ===
Lt warner bros discovery ride.png|Warner Bros. Discovery RIDE (2021 - 2023) (restored)
== Notes ==
* This was Freleng's final cartoon in the 1930s for Warner Bros. because of his decision to work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's new series for a higher salary, The Captain and the Kids. His unit would be temporarily taken over by Ben Hardaway, Cal Dalton, and Cal Howard until the aforementioned series was cancelled and Freleng returned to Warner Bros.
* While this cartoon aired on the Turner networks in the 1990s as an AAP print, the American dubbed version was released in 1997 on the fifth volume of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, with the 1938-41 rendition of "Merrily We Roll Along" in place of the original. The European dubbed version, however, does not have this edit and keeps the original ending rendition. The restored print uses the soundtrack from the European Turner dubbed print.
* The restored print's opening titles have the rings extended to the end of the corners of the screen. The ending titles, however, do not.
* The Hollywood night lights title were reused by Avery in "Daffy Duck in Hollywood" for the opening title.
* Reused animation from "Streamlined Greta Green" appears.
* This was the final appearance of Emily. In the 1950s, Robert McKimson created a new character based on Emily, a widowed old hen named Miss Prissy. In fact, McKimson worked on animation for this short.
* Emily's hick rooster boyfriend Clem from her debut cartoon "Let It Be Me" returns in this short, but with a drastically different appearance; as opposed to having black feathers as in his previous appearance, he has red feathers in this cartoon, as well as a more yokel-like appearance.
* J. Megga Phone's three pairs of glasses are colored red, green, and blue, a reference to the three-strip Technicolor process used in this short.
* This cartoon was shown in theaters with Over the Wall during its original release.
* This film was copyrighted on 28 November 1937.Catalog of Copyright Entries
== Gallery ==
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Screenshot 2021-04-20 at 12.54.26.png|Lobby card
Recreated-cropped-screenshot-A-Star-Is-Hatched.jpeg|Recreated cropped screenshot of 2021 restoration
File:A Star Is Hatched (1938) - Photos.jpg
File:A Star Is Hatched (1938) - Tarzan.jpg
File:A Star Is Hatched (1938) - Gate.jpg
File:A Star Is Hatched (1938) - Directors.jpg
ASiHCel.png
ASiHPA.jpg
== References ==
 
Category:Shorts
Category:1938
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Hollywood in Cartoons
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Tedd Pierce
Category:Caricatures of real people
Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Berneice Hansell
Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package