Release Date:

May 22, 1948

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

An archaeology professor is annoyed with his small dog, Shep, for burying dinosaur bones meant for his exhibit in a museum. When the professor can’t find a specific bone, he assumes that Shep took this, only for them to both discover that a huge bulldog has dug it up and stolen it. Shep goes to get the bone, just as the professor realizes that he had the bone he was looking for in his pocket this whole time! Unaware he’s after the wrong bone, Shep makes a series of attempts to retrieve it from the bulldog.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1082 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. In 1993, the original titles were used when the cartoon was made available on The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 4 laserdisc box set. In a rare flip-flop move, the Blue Ribbon titles were used when the cartoon was restored for HBO Max in 2020 (and will also very likely be the case when Warner Archive puts this one out on one of their future Looney Tunes Blu-ray sets). The reason why the Blue Ribbon titles were used is because only 35mm prints are allowed to be restored and the original titles came from a 16mm print (which is also why several cartoons have been restored with their Blue Ribbon titles, despite having had their original titles found).

The cartoon was produced in Cinecolor, resulting in it being finished early. It also uses the 1948-1949 green rings with the red background.

The name “Shep” is reused from “Fresh Airedale”. The Shep in this cartoon is a completely different character, however.

The title is a pun for “home sweet home”.

The professor resembles Elmer with a beard and glasses.

Before I took healthcare classes my senior year in high school, it was thanks to this cartoon that I already knew the words “lumbar” and “sacroiliac”.

What I Like About This One:

While putting together a dinosaur skeleton, the professor sees Shep walk past with one of the bones, much to his annoyance. “Shep! Put that down! I’ve told you a thousand times to let these bones alone!” He takes it back and connects the lumbar to the sacroiliac, but is horrified when he can’t find the “dinosaur vertebrae”. Believing he was responsible, Shep tiptoes in a timid manner, before the professor asks if he took it (animated by Basil Davidovich).

Shep and the professor go outside to where Shep apparently buried the bone, but find out it’s been dug up and stolen by the bulldog, who is walking away with it. The professor tells him, “There it is! That other dog has it! Go get that bone!” before giving him a warning (very likely just to scare him into getting it back), “And if you don’t bring it back, I’ll have an extra specimen in the canine case”. Dreading the thought of his bones being on display, Shep nervously bites his nails. The professor notices Shep’s expression and asks, “You wouldn’t like that, eh?” Shep kisses the professor’s feet before the professor continues, “Then bring back that bone!” After Shep leaves, the professor laments this inconvenience: “20 years to find that bone, and that stupid dog he-” but feels something in his pocket. It’s the very bone he was looking for and he had it all the time! He attempts to call Shep back, but since the latter is out of earshot, the professor decides, “Oh well. The exercise will do him good” (animated by Don Williams).

As the bulldog is asleep while holding the bone, Shep sneaks in very quietly but upon seeing the creaking gate will make a loud noise upon shutting, races to plug cottonballs in the dog’s ears, so it doesn’t wake him up. Shep taking the bone nearly wakes the dog up, but Shep removes the cottonballs and scats the Brahms Lullaby in his ears to lull him back to sleep (animated by Emery Hawkins). As he attempts to make his way out the gate, however, the bulldog immediately zooms up and stops him. He compresses Shep into a football (animated by Bill Melendez) and while the bulldog is in a football outfit, punts him out of the yard (animated by Davidovich).

Shep’s next attempt involves digging underground while wearing a miner’s helmet. Carrying the bulldog off with him, Shep removes the bone from the sleeping bulldog’s mouth and pushes it back in like a cash register. This wakes the bulldog up and once he realizes what Shep is up to, he digs a large hole and grabs the bone when Shep unknowingly enters the hole. He is then stopped by a shovel that the bulldog puts in front of him. The bulldog pitches Shep like a baseball before dressing up like a baseball player and batting him out through the fence (animated by Hawkins).

Shep then attempts to tightrope walk across a telephone wire with an umbrella, but upon jumping off, the umbrella opens the wrong way (animated by Williams), causing him to land right on top of the bulldog’s house (animated by Davidovich). Now dressed as a basketball player, the bulldog dribbles Shep out of the yard and has him land in a cement mixer at a construction site in the next yard (animated by Hawkins).

Slightly dazed from the previous attempt, Shep creates a much larger bone filled with dynamite that is hidden by several layers of plaster. The bulldog briefly morphs into a large pig upon seeing the giant bone Shep has and trades him with the original bone. He discovers too late that this is a booby trap upon seeing the fuse after licking the dynamite-filled bone (animated by Hawkins).

After Shep makes off with the bone and exits the gate, he sees (animated by Williams) the furious bulldog racing out of his doghouse so he quickly nails some boards over the opening of the fence and covers his ears in fright. But the bulldog opens it up like a door, so Shep races to the other side of the fence and boards the opening there too. Figuring that he’ll get the same result, the bulldog shrugs before backing up for a good run. He ends up crashing into a brick wall that has suddenly appeared in this opening. After Shep slams him into the wall like a door, the bulldog collapses, and Shep puts a flower in the unconscious bulldog’s hands (animated by Melendez).

Finally making it back, Shep reveals the bone to the professor, who has apparently forgotten about what Shep was doing: “Oh, there you are. What happened to you? And what are you doing with that old bone?” Shep reminds him by recounting everything in pantomime (animated by Williams). The professor reveals the truth by telling him, “Oh, no. I found that bone in my pocket right after you left. What you’ve got there is just an old soup bone” (animated by Davidovich). Realizing that what he just went through was all for nothing, Shep gets in his only line of dialogue, “If you think for a moment this little incident is going to upset me- you’re absolutely right” and goes into a series of wacky poses as the cartoon ends (animated by Williams).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕