Often an Orphan

Often an Orphan is a 1949 Merrie Melodies short directed by Charles M. Jones.
== Plot ==
A car drives up near a farm for a picnic, and a man comes out, with Charlie the dog coming out shortly after him. The man throws a stick, and when Charlie is off getting it, the man packs up and leaves in his car, deliberately leaving the dog behind. After Charlie is dumped, he tries various tricks to attract new owners from the people driving along the road. After three failures in various ways, he hears Porky Pig singing and decides to go talk to him. He annoys Porky though, as he says he is fifty percent various dogs but is mostly a Labrador Retriever. He eventually drives Porky crazy and is kicked off his property. A series of gags then ensues with Charlie trying to become Porky's dog, with them all failing until Porky is about to kick Charlie out but is stopped by a nearby humane society worker, who is spying on Porky. Not wanting to get in trouble with the law, Porky then sings "Rock-a-bye Baby" as he carries Charlie back to the house. After the Humane Society worker leaves, a livid Porky demands that Charlie leave, but Charlie breaks down in tears, begging that he always wanted to live in the country, as he frantically describes his traumatic city experience.
Porky finally feels sorry for Charlie and then seemingly accepts him as a pet. However, it's revealed to be a trick, as he puts the dog in a "sleeping bag" (which is actually a golf bag) which he promptly shuts and, cackling evilly, sends Charlie off to Scotland in it. However, when Porky returns, Charlie is there in Scottish attire complete with a bagpipe and he eventually drives Porky into accepting him as a pet with the bagpipe's annoying music. Porky promptly suggests a picnic afterwards and he decides to head to the middle of a desert to do it. As Porky unpacks the food and calls Charlie out to catch the stick he has, Charlie comes running out. Porky proceeds to throw the stick. Charlie, having learned from the time his previous owner pulled the same trick on him, runs to the car instead of going after the stick and drives off, deliberately leaving Porky behind. Porky then becomes furious and starts going crazy, acting like a dog and is picked up by the county dog catcher, who picks him up and puts him in the back with the other dogs where he barks with them.
== Availability ==
Lt ppsc.jpg|(1985) VHS Porky Pig's Screwball Comedies
Lt ppsc beta.jpg|(1985) Beta Porky Pig's Screwball Comedies
Gdsfhfdasghgfasgdhbbcxv.jpg|(1993) LaserDisc Ham on Wry: The Porky Pig Laser Collection
Lt collection porky pig.jpg|(1996) VHS Looney Tunes Collection - Porky Pig
LTCE VOL 2 RUNNING AMUCK.jpg|(1999) VHS Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 2: Running Amuck
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6.jpg|(2008) DVD Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6, Disc One
Lt spotlight 6.jpg|(2008) DVD Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 6, Disc 1
Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960s Volume 1.jpg|(2009) DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s Volume 1, Disc 1 (as a part of The Porky Pig Show, without the opening and the closing titles)
Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection- Looney Tunes.jpg|(2013) DVD Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection: Looney Tunes
=== Streaming ===
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2023)
lt max.jpg|Max (2023 - )
== Television ==
* This was the first cartoon shown on The Porky Pig Show, shown alongside "Mice Follies" and "The Super Snooper". This installment of The Porky Pig Show premiered on September 20, 1964.
== Notes ==
* While Porky is setting the table, a pin-up wall calendar seems to be an advertisement for “Grib’s Garage”, a reference to layout artist Robert Gribbroek.
* The cartoon was reissued in the 1959–60 season, evident from WARNER BROS without a dot on the BR opening. The opening and ending are replaced, as typical for cartoons reissued in the 1959–64 season.
** The opening was originally special, but the cartoon's original title had been replaced when it was reissued in the 1959–64 season.
* This is the third and final time Charlie Dog and Porky Pig are paired together; Charlie's two final shorts have him pursue others to be his master.
== Gallery ==
OftenAnOrphanCredits1.png
OftenAnOrphanCredits2.png
OftenAnOrphanProductionBackgroundSc-54-1096.jpg|Production background
File:Often an Orphan (1949) - Credits.jpg
OftenaOrphanCharlieDogsMaster.jpg
Vlcsnap-2021-07-10-10h14m12s419.png|"Look, it's the towers! THEY'RE FALLING!"
File:Often an Orphan (1949) - Scotland.jpg
== References ==
Category:Porky Pig Cartoons
Category:1949
Category:Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones
Category:Charlie Dog Cartoons
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist
Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Robert Gribbroek
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Peter Alvarado
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn