Release Date:

October 21, 1939

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A hen who is depressed at having no children stumbles upon an abandoned turtle egg and adopts it. It hatches into a baby turtle, whom the other chicks pick on and won’t let him join in their game of pirates. Their views on him change when the chicks’ paper boat falls apart and they begin to drown. Only the turtle can save them.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. While the original title cards are still lost, the music that played over the opening credits still exists thanks to most of the cartoon’s soundtrack being released as part of the Carl Stalling Project Volume 1 CD. The credits were:

Supervision: Charles Jones

Story: Dave Monahan

Animation: Ken Harris

Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling

This is one of the ultimate examples of Jones’ early cartoons: cartoons that were more cute than funny (which makes it all the more ironic that “Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur” and “Snowman’s Land” were both released before this one).

The cartoon’s plot is similar to the 1936 Disney Silly Symphony, “Elmer Elephant”, where the main character is an outcast and is picked on by the other animals until said main character proves to be the only one capable of saving the day when danger occurs.

This is the first Jones cartoon to use ACME products (in this case, ACME Toasters).

This is also the first of three early Jones cartoons where a character is saved from drowning. The other two are “Elmer’s Candid Camera” and “Tom Thumb in Trouble” (both released in 1940). This is also the only one of the three where the main character is the rescuer instead of the one being rescued.

This cartoon always immediately comes into my mind whenever I think of the town of Good Hope, Georgia in Walton County (and vice-versa). The reason why is because they both have the word “good” in them.

What I Like About This One:

The pleasant rendition of “Start the Day Right” playing at the beginning of the cartoon.

One of the hens putting her eggs in an ACME toaster to get her offspring to hatch ( presumably animated by Rudy Larriva).

When the childless hen sadly walks out of the henhouse, she discovers a random chick and affectionately says “kitchy-kitchy” to him, only for her to discover this chick already has a mother. This really makes you feel sorry for the hen.

The hen posting a “Goodbye Cruel World” sign on her nest along with a picket labeled “Space to Let”.

Before the hen can drown herself in the river, her attempt is luckily foiled when she trips over the turtle egg. Seeing that the egg is abandoned, she decides to take it back as her own.

In the next scene, the hen’s mood changes to happy as she clucks “Umbrella Man” and posts a sign outside the henhouse: “What Local Hen is Expecting a Blessed Event?”

When the baby turtle hatches, the hen opens his shell to put his diaper on.

The rendition of Schubert’s “Military March” when the chicks are first seen marching dressed up as pirates before the turtle trips and slides into them, knocking them all over and arousing their curiosity when his shell comes to a stop.

When one of the chicks asks the turtle who he is, the turtle replies that he’s a chicken.

Although the chicks belittled him, the turtle does not hesitate to rescue them when he realizes they’re at the risk of drowning when their boat falls apart. He uses his shell like a submarine to go underwater before coming back up and carrying them all home.

In the end, it’s shown that the turtle has been accepted into the barnyard and is now part of the chicks’ pirate game as a lifeguard.

Where Can I Watch It?

On discord! (due to this being the restored print as the version on Archive is the old laserdisc print).

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½