Paying the Piper (1949) User Reviews

'Ah, Your Sister Drives A Pickle Wagon'

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 5 November 2007]

The sign at the outskirts of the old German town reads: "Ye Town Of Hamlin: population 852, rat population 300,000,000."

However, the headline in the following day's newspaper claims "The Pied Piper" has rid of the city of all its rats. People are celebrating in the streets.....all, that is, but the cats, who are upset at this news. They go to "the Supreem (their spelling) Cat" for help. "The Supreem Cat" looks and sounds a bit like Sylvester with a stronger New York City accent. He has a plan to get the rats back in the city. It's up to the Pied Piper a.k.a. Porky Pig to make sure that doesn't happen (and that he gets paid)..

I enjoyed some of the cat's insults here to Porky, such as, "Ah, your sister smokes corn silk!" and "Ah, your brother eats jelly beans." (Porky scratches his head and says, "Gee, I wonder how he knows so much about my family.")

Porky gets the last laugh, however, over the smug cat with the line you see on the subject head on the review here. Overall, a decent Porky Pig cartoon, made better by the beautiful restoration job someone did for this Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 DVD package.

Porky Pig undertakes to rid Hamelin of . . .

[oscaralbert · 8/10 · 25 March 2016]

. . . drunks, in Warner Bros.' animated short, PAYING THE PIPER. Porky performs a single song on his swinging clarinet, "Little Brown Jug." As this Retold Tale begins, Porky already has ridden Hamelin of its 300 billion rat population, according to the city limits sign and a "Hamelin Blab" headline. (At half a pound a rat, that's 150 billion pounds of rats, which translates to around 75 million tons of rodents, which could make up a convoy of 52.3-foot dump trucks 750,000 miles long bumper-to-bumper, circling the globe about 30 times at the Equator--but I'm not sure where you could dump so many rats: Texas, perhaps? They'd be barely noticed there.) Hamelin's "Supreme Cat" appears to be an alcoholic, since he staggers after Porky whenever that latter plays his drinking song, like a zombie following a Candied Brains Truck. While Porky may be as Good Natured as the Good Humor Man, he's not about to let the Supreme Cat filch his hard-earned fee for dumping so many loads of rats in Texas. Porky gets the last laugh here, informing the Supreme Cat that his "sister drives a pickle wagon!"

What is corn silk anyway?

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 22 December 2007]

Some of the coolest Warner Bros. cartoons were their riffs on children's stories. One example is Robert McKimson's "Paying the Piper", in which pied piper Porky Pig rids Hamelin of the rats. While the citizens rejoice, it disturbs the cats that they won't have any food. So, their New Jersey-accented "Supreem Cat" dresses as a rat, hoping to make it look as though Porky hasn't fulfilled his duty and therefore won't get his reward. Are cartoon cats just the biggest tricksters of all?! While the cartoon may sound like a one-joke premise, they have some great gags to move it along, such as Supreem's insults to Porky. I'd never even heard of corn silk before watching this cartoon. Is there even such a thing as corn silk, does anyone know? But also, I liked how Porky and Supreem trick each other throughout the cartoon. Maybe not the greatest short to come from the Termite Terrace crowd, but entertaining enough for the few minutes that it runs. Just became available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 Disc 2.

I might have expected Bugs Bunny in that scene; after all, it's the sort of thing that he would do.

'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' through the eyes of Porky Pig

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 7 October 2016]

Porky Pig is a very likable and amusing character, if at times overshadowed by characters with stronger and more interesting personalities. Have also thoroughly enjoyed a lot of Robert McKimson's stuff.

While 'Paying the Piper' is not one of the best cartoons of either, it is still great fun and an interesting original animated take on the famous story 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin'. The animation is terrific, the colours are vibrant, the backgrounds very meticulous in detail and the drawing fluid and very smooth.

Carl Stalling never disappoints and one of my favourite composers in cartoon history, 'Paying the Piper' does nothing to change that perception. Anybody expecting luscious orchestration, characterful rhythms, clever use of instrumentation and sounds and the ability to elevate gags to a greater level rather than just adding to it will find all of those aplenty.

Regarding the writing, it is fresh and witty with Supreme Cat getting the best lines. Porky by all means is no less funny in the humour department, and interacts very well with Supreme Cat. The gags are also well-timed and clever, and Supreme Cat is a very strong foil.

Voice acting is terrific from the incomparable Mel Blanc, no complaints there. Robert McKimson does a fine job directing. The story is somewhat routine, but is very well paced and with not a misfire in the humour department that it feels trivial.

In conclusion, great fun. 9/10 Bethany Cox

"MISTER Pied Piper, not a penny do you get until you get rid of ALL the r-r-r-r-rats!"

[slymusic · 30 March 2009]

"Paying the Piper" is an enjoyable Porky Pig cartoon written by Warren Foster and directed by Robert McKimson. The Pied Piper of Hamelin is actually Porky, who has just rid the town of all its rats. With no rats for the felines to eat, the "Supreem" Cat takes his stand, with the help of a giant rat suit.

My favorite moments from "Paying the Piper": Porky demonstrates his musical prowess to the mayor by playing some hot jazz clarinet and joyfully skipping around the mayor's office. On two occasions, the "giant rat" whips Porky with his tail, thus emitting a hilarious "YEEEOWWW!"

Porky and I have the same kind of job: playing jazz! But in MY case, the purpose is NOT to rid the town of all the rats. Badda boom!