Gabby Goat

Gabby Goat is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series of cartoons.

History

Bob Clampett created Gabby to be a sidekick for Porky Pig in the 1937 short Porky and Gabby, directed by Ub Iwerks, who briefly subcontracted to Leon Schlesinger Productions, producers of the Looney Tunes shorts. The cartoon focuses on the title characters' camping trip, which is foiled by car trouble. Storyboard artist Cal Howard supplies Gabby's voice.

Gabby looks like Porky with a beard, horns, and scowl. The goat's chief characteristics are his irritability and short temper, traits that make him a natural foil for the shy, easy-going Porky. The concept didn't play out as well as the animators would have liked, however; audiences felt that the goat's behavior was too offensive to be funny. Gabby only appeared in two more cartoons. The first was Porky's Badtime Story (Clampett's first cartoon as director), where roommates Porky and Gabby are almost fired from their jobs for sleeping in and showing up late. They vow to get to sleep early that night, but various problems keep them awake all night. The cartoon was later remade in 1944 as Tick Tock Tuckered, featuring Daffy Duck in Gabby's role as Porky's co-star.

The third and final appearance of the character was in Get Rich Quick Porky, where Porky and Gabby dig for oil. Both Porky's Badtime Story and Get Rich Quick Porky were produced in 1937.

Recently, uncovered storyboards show that Gabby Goat was originally planned to appear in the 1938 short Porky's Party. That role, however, was later filled by a penguin character with a similar personality.

References

• Barrier, Michael (1999). Hollywood Cartoons. New York: Oxford University Press. Pg. 343-346. ISBN 0-19-516729-5.