Johnny Learns His Manners (1946)

★★★★ · Piggy · Wilford B. Wolf · 2005-07-28

Hugh Harmon is one of the pioneers of American animation. Along with Rudolph Isling, he helped start 3 of the major animation studios. He started out working for Disney during the silent era. In 1929, he helped start the Warner Brothers animation unit, working on "Bosko, The Talk Ink Kid" and "Foxy And Roxy" series through the early 1930s. In the mid-1930s, he went over to work for MGM's new animation unit, mainly working on Disney-esque one off shorts. At all three, they helped foster a number of other important animators, including Friz Frieling and Hanna-Barberra. This long background…

★★★★ · Intended Audience · Bob's Babe · 2007-06-13

I don't know what the critics of this piece find so sub-standard. I just viewed it with my threee little boys, ages 5 through 10, and they all watched with rapt attention from beginning to end. That is NOT because they are quiet, reserved, perfectly obedient boys; it is because they LIKED it! It may not be your idea of a brilliant cinematic masterpiece, but it accomplished its intended purpose: to hold the attention of wiggleworms who need to learn, and be motivated to practice, good manners. I withhold a 5-star rating only because there is no way I can know yet whether it will actually get…

★★★★ · pioneer · cashel · 2003-09-12

the maker of this film,hugh harman was one of thepioneers of film animation. He worked on walt disneys first film in 1922

★★★ · Hog Wild! · Spuzz · 2003-09-12

An interesting, if slightly overdone and overly long cartoon about a little boy who won't clean up after himself and is generally rude. Why? His bad self (that of course would be the tiny devil character) told him that doing that sort of stuff is for sissies. His good self (the angel) disagrees, but Johnny won't listen. Soon, Johnny starts LITERALLY turning into a little pig, with hooves, a snout and a tail. He comes crying home to mother, who isn't surprised at all with her son transforming into a boar. (MY mother would be showing some concern!) Mom turns on her convenient movie projector…

★★★ · Someone's budget ran out... · Bunko · 2003-12-11

I think "Johnny learns His Manners" would have been something of a classic if it had been produced as planned. This is nothing more than an animatic of the (very promising) storyboard with budget-minded narration added. My guess is that whomever commissioned Hugh Harman Productions to make this film couldn't pay to have it produced with full animation and a soundtrack as originally intended. Instead, this was thrown together as a contractual obligation. It's overlong but it clearly would have run much shorter as a real cartoon. "Johnny Learns His Manners" was remade in 1968 by Milton Salzberg…

Keeping the myth alive · beaelliott · 2011-06-08

This was a good effort with a bad plot... Turning this little boy into any "nonhuman" was absolutely pointless. Especially a "pig". Pigs are actually very clean critters. They will go through great efforts to not soil in the areas that they live. They roll in the mud as cooling mechanisms because they can't sweat. Pigs are also not "dumb" beings either. They are smarter than dogs and smarter than most 3 year old kids. Reinforcing this myth of "dirty" pigs is not only inaccurate but it allows humans to do all sorts of horrible things to this very "low" animal. Given the way we breed, house…