Porky's Hero Agency

Porky's Hero Agency is a 1937 cartoon directed by Robert Clampett, and starring Porky Pig.

Plot
Porky is reading the story of the gorgon. A Greek myth about a woman who turned everyone she looked at into stone. His mother tells him it's time to go to bed. While he's asleep he dreams of being a Greek hero known as Porkykarkus. In this version the Gorgon runs a photo studio, and Porky is able to save by sneaking in and grabbing her life-restoring needle, just before he wakes up.

Trivia

 * The name "Porkykarkus" is a clear parody of Parkyakarkus, a Greek stereotype who was the stage personna of comedian Harry Einstein.
 * The Emperor's "fireside chat" is a nod to Franklin D. Roosevelt's weekly radio addresses.
 * The "bring-em-back-alive" needle is a pun on hunter Frank Buck's best-selling novel Bring 'Em Back Alive.
 * Bob Clampett and members of his animation unit (Chuck Jones, Lu Guarnier, Robert Cannon, John Carey and Ernest Gee), appear as statues placed togather to form a human picket fence.
 * The Gorgon is a parody of Lizzie Tish, a character played by comedian Bill Comstock on Al Pearce's radio show.
 * The Three Stooges make a cameo. When turned to stone, they resemble the famous "three wise monkeys" sculpture.
 * Porky gives the broken Venus de Milo statue a set of Popeye arms. The first few bars of Popeye's theme song are heard on the soundtrack.
 * Porky brings to life a Greek temple labeled "Shirley", a reference to Shirley Temple.

Links

 * Porky's Hero Agency at the Big Cartoon DataBase