Sooky is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Norman Z. Mcleod and Sam Mintz. A sequel to the 1931 film Skippy, the film stars Jackie Cooper and Robert Coogan. It was released by Paramount on December 26, 1931.
Skippy (Cooper), the precocious son of wealthy Dr. Herbert Skinner, is best friends with Sooky Wayne (Coogan), a poor boy who lives in the shantytown across the tracks. Sooky's mother has a liver disease, and she and her son have been living off of cat food. Skippy is trying to keep Sooky from being taken away by the State, and defends him against the snotty Sidney Saunders (Jackie Searl). After Sidney taunts Sooky for being too poor to join his exclusive boys' club, the Boone Boys, he and Skippy start their own club, the Beagle Boys.
One day, Skippy gets in trouble from his father for charging a large amount of groceries to him, which he bought for Sooky and his mother. Since Sooky's mom made him take them back, he doesn't want to tell his father that Sooky has no groceries at home.
Skippy and Sooky run away, and attempt to sleep in the woods. They get separated after being scared by an owl, and Skippy goes back to Sooky's house to try and find him. When he gets there, Sooky's mother is dying. She asks Skippy to take care of Sooky, and Skippy runs home and hysterically tells his father what happened. The Skinners decide to adopt Sooky, and they all live (relatively) happily ever after.
Tropes:
- Adorably Precocious Child: Skippy.
- Aesop Amnesia: Skippy's dad seems to have forgotten everything he learned in the first film. Only this time, instead of knocking down the Shantytown, it's sending the poor to the poor house that Skippy must teach his dad is wrong.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Sidney Saunders, Skippy's snotty bully of a neighbour.
- Cry into Chest: Skippy cries into his dad's chest.
- Cheerful Child: Sooky.
- Children Raise You: Skippy once again teaches his father to have more empathy for the poor.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: The dogs Skippy and his dad give Sooky at the end of the first film are nowhere to be seen. Considering the dog was such a big plot point in the first movie, you'd think it would at least get a mention.
- Sidney's sister, Eloise, is also gone.
- Dog Food Diet: Sooky can only afford cat food at the grocery store. Skippy tells him he better find a cat so that the inspector won't find out he's been eating it himself.
- Dog Got Sent to a Farm: The Skinner's decide not to tell Sooky that his mom died. They just tell him she went away somewhere.
- Disappeared Dad: Sooky has no father. it's explained in the first film that he died some time ago.
- Innocently Insensitive: Skippy cheerfully asks one of his dad's patients how her gallstones are.
- Look Behind You: Skippy tricks Sidney into ordering the Boone Boys to turn around, so he can sock Sidney without the others coming after him.
- The Movie: This film is based on the 1929 book Dear Sooky by Percy Crosby, who based it on the characters from his popular Newspaper Comic strip Skippy.
- Mood Whiplash: Towards the end there is a scene where Skippy is crying to his mother in his room, traumatized over Seeing Sooky's mother die. At the same time, Sooky expresses bewilderment at the hot water in the bathroom, and tries to understand the concept of a bath robe. The jokes about him experiencing these mundane luxuries for the first time as Skippy bawls his eyes out is jarring to say the least.
- Oblivious Adoption: Sooky thinks he's just staying with Skippy until his mom comes back.
- Parental Obliviousness: Skippy's parents can't figure out his perceived misdeeds were all attempts to help Sooky.
- Produce Pelting: Skippy throws an egg at Sidney when he starts teasing Sooky for eating cat food.
- Skippy and Sooky also throw tomatoes at railway workers so that the workers will throw coal at them, which they give to people in Shantytown.
- Rags to Riches: Sooky, by the end of the film.
- Rich Sibling, Poor Sibling: Mrs. Wayne has a couple of wealthy sisters who want Sooky to live with them. Sooky of course, wants to stay with his mom.
- Struggling Single Mother: Mrs. Wayne.
- Spoiled Sweet: Skippy. Despite being from a wealthy family, he never asks for anything and spends all his time trying to help Sooky and other people in the Shantytown. Getting them coal, food, and medicine.
- Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome: In the first film, Sidney was just kind of a sissy with a bit of a snide attitude. He is a full on antagonist in this one, and seems focused on making Skippy and Sooky's lives miserable.
- Take Care of the Kids: Mrs. Wayne asks Skippy to take care of Sooky as she dies.
- Talking to the Dead: Skippy keeps talking to Sooky's mom until he's told she can't hear him anymore.
- Trauma Conga Line: Skippy suffers even more than in the first film. From all the relentless bullying, to accidentally humiliating his dad, being forced to stay away from Sooky, and then witnessing Sooky's mother die.
- Too Happy to Live: Most of the film is so light-hearted and childish, the death of Sooky's mother hits like a ton of bricks.
- Wrong Side of the Tracks: The Shantytown is literally located on the other side of the tracks.
