Release Date:

August 1, 1942

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

Similar to “A Gander at Mother Goose”, this is a spot gag cartoon poking fun at fairy tales.

That’s Not All, Folks:

In the “Jack and the Beanstalk” gag, Jack is chased by a two-headed giant who says a variant of the line “Well, I’ve been sick!” as one of the heads gets tired very easily from chasing Jack while the more serious one unhappily tells the narrator “He’s been sick!”

The goose who used to lay golden eggs but now lays aluminum ones for the war effort speaks in Daffy’s voice. Incidentally, Freleng directed a cartoon called “Golden Yeggs” eight years later where the goose who laid a golden egg knows what happens in the story and gives Daffy the credit for it. Daffy enjoys his fame at first, but this becomes a nightmare when some gangsters (led by Rocky of Rocky and Mugsy) want him to lay a golden egg for them.

The cartoon is in the public domain.

The grasshopper in the Grasshopper and Ant scene resembles Hopalong Casserole from “Hop Skip and a Chump”.

The “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” gag foreshadows a Freleng cartoon released two months later called “The Sheepish Wolf” where a Shakesperian wolf disguises himself as a sheep to steal sheep from under the watchful eye of a dopey sheepdog.

What I Like About This One:

Instead of waking Sleeping Beauty up with a kiss, Prince Charming shakes her and yells “Wake up, ya lazy good for nothin’!”

Tom Thumb is now a goony giant due to drinking Vitamin B1.

The ant scolds the grasshopper for not working but the grasshopper reveals that he bought war bonds, so he doesn't have anything to worry about (animated by Richard Bickenbach).

Jack is chased by a two-headed giant who has to stop and rest because one of the heads has “been sick”.

The wolf in sheep’s clothing encounters another wolf disguised as a sheep who tells him to beat it.

Aladdin’s genie is shown to be on strike (animated by Gerry Chiniquy).

The goose (who speaks like Daffy) no longer lays golden eggs, but aluminum ones for the war effort (animated by Gil Turner).

Old Mother Hubbard’s dog exposes her as a food hoarder (animated by Phil Monroe).

A running gag involves a wise guy Boy Who Cried Wolf yelling “Wolf” to make a nearby lumberjack look like an idiot. In the end, the shouts of “Wolf! Wolf!” are heard once more, only for the lumberjack to discover the boy’s chortles to come from a well-fed wolf seen picking his teeth, implying that he consumed the boy! (Manuel Perez animated these scenes)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½