The Lone Stranger and Porky is a 1939 Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Bob Clampett and (partially) starring Porky Pig.
The cartoons plot is a parody of typical western movies of the time, such as those of The Lone Ranger. The cartoon establishes the setting of 1865, and the Lone Stranger and Silver the horse ride off into the mountains, eating dinner and sleeping at their hideout. But trouble brews when a dime a dozen bandit ambushes a travelling Porky Pig. Fortunately, Stranger's sidekick Tonto contacts him via his Magic Mirror with a TV broadcaster (just roll with it) and awakens Stranger, who heads off to save Porky.
Tropes:
- Affectionate Parody: Of western films, particularly those starring The Lone Ranger.
- Animate Inanimate Object: When you see the Lone Stranger's house is wearing a mask, it isn't just for show—it snores along with its owner when they're sleeping.
- Anachronism Stew: Even though the cartoon is set in 1865, the Lone Stranger owns electric spotlights for his house, and the villain uses an electric traffic light to stop Porky and his horses. Tonto also uses a television broadcaster to contact The Lone Stranger.
- Babies Ever After: Stranger's horse, Silver, and the villain's horse fall in love and have several little colts.
- Bottomless Magazines: When the villain tries to shoot Stranger, he shoots a lot more ammo than his six shooters could have possibly held.
- Bound and Gagged: Porky after being robbed.
- Bowdlerization:
- The Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon version cut the part where the villain fires his gun at the Lone Stranger and misses, followed by the narrator getting shot after calling the villain a "plug shot".
- The FOX Merrie Melodies Show version deleted the scene of The Lone Stranger talking to his Indian companion, Pronto, in the mirror.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall:
- When the villain and his horse show up on the screen, the narrator tells the audience not to hiss the villain. They do it anyway.
- When riding to Porky's rescue, Stranger randomly quips "Movies are your best entertainment!"
- When the Lone Stranger is falling to his death, the film asks the audience if the Lone Stranger will be smashed on the rocks below with "What about it audience?" The reply is a resounding "NO!" from the audience, and Stranger manages to stop his fall in time.
- Captain Ersatz: You get one guess who The Lone Stranger is based on. He even owns a horse named Silver and has an Indian sidekick named Tonto.
- Creator Cameo: Bob Clampett makes a cameo appearance on a wanted poster as "Cob Blampett". Looney Tunes business manager Ray Katz also makes a cameo on a nearby poster.
- Digital Destruction: The print of the cartoon included on the Porky Pig 101 DVD set used the wrong opening music cue, which was taken from Porky's Tire Trouble.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: When the narrator mocks the villain for completely missing Stranger, he responds by shooting directly at the screen, hitting the (offscreen) narrator.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Despite having a clear shot at him and lots of ammo, the villain manages to completely decimate a large chunk of the desert environment around Stranger, yet Stranger himself is completely unharmed and is merely left standing on a pinnacle.
- Lemony Narrator: A very silly one comments on the Lone Stranger and Silver's antics throughout the cartoon.
- Magic Mirror: The Lone Stranger talks to Tonto this way (who, mind you, is using a TV broadcaster to talk through it).
- Neon Sign Hideout: The Lone Stranger's hideout, which has a sign bigger than the actual house saying that it's his hideout, has spotlights and an arrow sign pointing to it, and the house itself has a mask tied over its windows.
- No Name Given: The villain of the cartoon isn't given a name.
- Out of Focus: It's technically a Porky Pig cartoon, but he doesn't get that much screentime in it. He doesn't even show up until well over 2 minutes into the cartoon, nor does he have any lines.
- Put on a Prison Bus: Stranger defeats the bandit with a good punch that causes him to fly into a giant boulder. After the bandit collides with said boulder, it converts into a jailhouse, where he is last seen bursting into tears.
- Shout-Out:
- While Stranger and Silver are eating dinner, the narrator remarks that "Gold is where you find it," a reference to the 1938 Warner Bros. film of the same name.
- When Tonto contacts Stranger via a Magic Mirror, he walks up to it and asks "Magic mirror on the wall, who needs my help the most of all?"
- Standard Snippet: Predictably, The William Tell Overture serves as the Lone Strangers theme.
- Stock Footage:
- The scene of Porky's horses and stage coach piling up on each other is reused from My Little Buckaroo (1938).
- The scene of Stranger and Silver running out of their house so fast that it turns inside out is repurposed animation from Porky's Badtime Story.
- Tonto Talk: Averted. Tonto talks like a parody of gossiper Walter Winchell when he contacts Stranger.
