"The Wearing of the Grin" is a Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese.
One night, Porky Pig is driving his car through rural Ireland in the rain when he comes across an old castle on top of a hill, where he decides to spend the night. He sees a sign telling him to beware of Leprechauns, which he dismisses as nonsense.
He goes inside where he's met by Seamus O'Toole, the castle caretaker, who agrees to set him up for the night. Once inside, Porky is knocked out cold, where he soon learns that the leprechauns are much more real than he thought.
Notable for being the last theatrical cartoon with Porky as the star; all his subsequent appearances would be supporting Daffy Duck.
The cartoon was released on July 14th, 1951.
"The Wearing of the Grin" provides examples of:
- Cranial Eruption: Porky gets a few lumps on his head courtesy of O'Mike's shillelagh.
- Disney Acid Sequence: The scene after Porky puts on the green shoes features him lost in a Daliesque landscape full of Irish iconography.
- Double Take: Porky sees "Seamus"' upper half asking if Porky's seen his lower half, to which "Seamus" thanks him. Porky simply walks toward the bed, commenting on people not keeping track of their bodies, and then it clicks in his head what he saw, causing him to look back and see "Seamus" standing next to his "lower half".
- Entertainingly Wrong: O’Pat and O’Mike both assume that Porky is out to steal their pot of gold. In fact, Porky doesn’t even believe that the leprechauns exist and even if he did, he’s more interested in getting a good night’s sleep.
- Idiot Ball: While on the run from the Green Shoes and winded from being knocked to the ground, Porky sees a harp in front of him and starts yanking at the strings. It proceeds to shrink around his wrists, making impromptu handcuffs so he can't take off the Green Shoes the second time. Why he couldn't go around it is anyone's guess.
- Involuntary Dance: The leprechauns sentence Porky to the wearing of the Green Shoes. Porky is dismissive at first, as the shoes actually look nice on him, but then the shoes start moving by themselves and force him to dance an Irish jig.
- Iris Out: A shamrock-shaped one at the end.
- Jerkass Ball: Porky is a little more entitled in this short than usual, calling Seamus an ignorant peasant for believing in leprechauns when the latter warns him the castle is empty. The viewer is meant to not feel too sorry for him in the Kangaroo Court.
- Kangaroo Court: Porky is put on trial for trying to steal the leprechauns' pot of gold, and immediately found guilty despite not even being aware that it existed.
- Leprechaun: O'Pat and O'Mike are two leprechauns posing as a human.
- Living Clothes: Porky manages to take off the Green Shoes, but they chase after him until they're back on.
- Nice to the Waiter: Unusually for Porky Pig, he's not nice to Seamus when asking for a place to sleep for the night. While he offers to pay and speak with the manager, he shouts at him that leprechauns aren't real and bangs the door.
- Not So Harmless Punishment: Porky at first thanks the leprechauns for sentencing him to the Green Shoes. He sincerely starts to say they're the nicest shoes he's ever worn. Then they start making him dance, and hunt him down after he takes them off.
- Or Was It a Dream?: Porky is woken up by Seamus O'Toole, who convinces him that the whole business with leprechauns and green shoes was All Just a Dream. As Porky flees the castle, we see O'Pat and O'Mike shaking hands from underneath their costume.
- Redhead In Green: O'Pat the leprechaun. Averted with O'Mike, who has black hair.
- Totem Pole Trench: Seamus O'Toole is actually O'Pat and O'Mike doing this to pass themselves off as a human.
