Release Date:

March 16, 1940

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

Spot gags in the western United States.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. When it was restored for HBO Max in 2020 (though the cartoon’s restored print actually premiered on MeTV in 2021), the original titles were put back in. This same restored print with the original titles would later be seen on the Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Volume 2 Blu-ray set in 2023.

The reissue had cut a line of dialogue said during the credits, so it abruptly started with “animal life and scenic wonders of our country”. Fortunately, with the original titles now permanently put back into the cartoon, the complete opening line is now intact: “We will now take you on a nature tour and will attempt to show you interesting animal life and scenic wonders of our country”.

This was the penultimate cartoon in the 1939-1940 season to use the sky background. One more cartoon, “Tom Thumb in Trouble”, (which was released three months later) would use the sky background while the rest of the cartoons would use a black background in the red, white, and blue opening rings of the release season.

A few of the gags in this cartoon were animated using the guide of rotoscoping (the process of tracing animation over live-action footage). Avery himself acted out the scene with the bobcat sobbing hysterically when he can’t bring himself to pounce on a baby quail as well as the scene of a tourist attempting to hear his echo in the Grand Canyon, while a Los Angeles nightclub stripper named Marcia Eloise (known at the time as Teala Loring) was used as reference for the scene of the lizard doing a strip-tease.

The strip-teasing lizard foreshadows Avery’s later MGM cartoons with Red Hot Riding Hood as they both use erotic humor. In fact, Avery might have influenced the scene in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989) where Clark Griswold imagines an attractive woman he met at the department store skinny-dipping in a swimming pool.

This is one of the longest Warner cartoons as it nearly clocks in at 10 minutes.

What I Like About This One:

A tourist attempting to feed a bear despite a warning sign saying not to do so. The bear is a stickler for the rules and yells, “LISTEN, STUPID! CAN’T YA READ!?”

A shy deer imitating Mae West.

A scoutmaster asking a gas station attendant if he and his scouts can use his washroom. When the attendant gives him permission, a lot of boy scouts run in, including a small one who tries to keep up with them.

A ranger finding a discarded cigar and picking it up- only to smoke it himself!

Bryce Canyon having a literal bridge of teeth including a gold one (Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony also plays in this scene).

In Alaska (which wasn’t admitted as a state yet), the narrator talks about how polar bears have layer upon layer of thick fur to prevent them from freezing. The polar bear talks back and retorts, “I don’t care what you say. I’m cold.”

A bobcat being unable to bring himself to pounce on a helpless baby quail and hysterically sobbing, “I can’t do it! I can’t! I can’t go through with it! I can’t! I can’t!”

A frog “croaking” by committing suicide. An announcement then appears on the screen, “Patrons Notice: We are not responsible in any way for the puns used in this cartoon. The Management”

The aforementioned scene of the lizard shedding her skin as a strip-tease before a censored bar appears before her breasts can be shown (animated by Robert McKimson). Those who think cartoons are for kids should definitely view this scene.

To further prove that cartoons are for grown-ups as well as kids, the screen is split in two halves: one side for grown-ups showing a hideous Gila monster while the other side for kids showing a little girl reciting “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. After she finishes, she scares the Gila monster away by roaring at it (animated by Rod Scribner).

A tourist attempting to hear his echo in the Grand Canyon by saying “Hello”. After being ignored two times, he yells “HELLO!” at the top of his voice. He instead gets an operator saying, “I’m sorry. They do not answer”.

Beavers building a large dam made of concrete.

A running gag involving a sled dog running all the way from Alaska to California just to find the Redwood Forest. When he finally gets there, he is hysterically happy: “Trees! Thousands and thousands of trees! And they’re mine! All mine!”

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕