Plane Dippy is just a chaotic, stuttering mess of a short

Is it worth your time?

If you're a fan of classic animation chaos, sure. If you hate repetitive gags and characters that stutter every other word, stay far away. It’s the kind of thing you watch for seven minutes and then immediately forget about.

The whole thing starts with Porky trying to join the Army Air Corps, and honestly, the way he just barely makes the height requirement is a bit sad. He’s got that wide-eyed look that screams 'I have no idea what I’m doing.' It reminds me a little bit of the desperate energy in Buster's Hunting Party, though with way more slapstick and fewer actual guns.

The janitor blues

Naturally, Porky gets stuck doing the grunt work. He’s scrubbing the floor of a plane that’s supposed to be high-tech, or at least it looks like it was drawn by someone who had never actually seen an airplane before. The way the paint seems to vibrate off the walls during the training sequences is… a choice.

Then there’s this kid. Just a random kid standing at a microphone. Why are children allowed near experimental military equipment? It makes zero sense, but then again, these shorts aren't trying to win an Oscar for screenplay of the year.

• Porky’s stuttering is actually pretty intense here, like he’s running out of breath.
• The dog in this is weirdly more capable than any of the human pilots.
• The sound effects are just pure ear-piercing cartoon violence.

The ending is just pure, unadulterated nonsense. The plane takes off, things explode, and Porky looks terrified. It’s not deep, it’s not clever, and it’s definitely not Asphalt in terms of quality. But it’s got that specific, frantic rhythm you only get from this era of cartoons. ✈️

I caught myself wondering if the animators were just bored by the end. The backgrounds get pretty sparse once the plane hits the sky. Sometimes you just have to accept that a gag is a gag, even if it’s a bit thin. It’s just a pig in a plane, folks. Don’t overthink it.