Release Date:

January 29, 1955

Main Character(s):

Goofy Gophers, Elmer Fudd

Summary:

The Goofy Gophers have taken up residence in a chest of drawers at an antique store to stash their nuts. Elmer Fudd buys this chest of drawers and discovers the Gophers’ presence when they begin sending nuts down into the chest before chasing them.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1302 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. In late 2021, a photo of the original opening rings was found. From this point onward, very few cartoons would receive reissues.

This is the first time the Gophers go up against a continuing character and the only time they have a human antagonist. They would also be pitted against Barnyard Dawg in 1958’s “Gopher Broke” (where Dawg is actually unaware of their presence) and Daffy in 1965’s “Tease for Two”.

Not counting “By Word of Mouse”, “My Little Duckaroo”, and “Baby Buggy Bunny”, this is the first cartoon to use the 1955 red-purple rings with the blue background.

Oddly in this and their next appearance, “Lumber Jerks”- released five months later-, the Gophers behave like squirrels in that they gather nuts and live in trees. In both cartoons, they still have the same character designs they’ve always had, and their personalities are still intact.

The title of the cartoon actually makes a good tongue-twister.

This is the final Warner cartoon to feature animation by Ken Champin.

I love the renditions of “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” used in this cartoon, particularly the ones over the opening credits, when the Gophers first talk at the start of the cartoon, and especially the dramatic-sounding rendition when Elmer chases the Gophers before they go into the fireplace and up the chimney.

Favorite Scene:

Elmer traps the Gophers under a box only to hear numerous car sound effects and then a crash underneath (a tour-de-force for Treg Brown here). When he lifts the box up, he only finds the Gophers just standing there.

What Happens in This One:

After the opening shot of “Roadside and Antique Shoppe”, and a camera pan towards the forest, the second Gopher is shown moving around on all four’s. Finding the first Gopher gathering some nuts, he pants, “Oh! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you to tell you something!” The first Gopher drops his nuts excited, “Oh, do tell! Please, do tell!” The second Gopher explains, “Well, I’ve found the perfect place to store our nuts”. First Gopher: “Marvelous! Yes, indeed! Simply marvelous!” As they run off on all four’s to what the second Gopher found, he says to the first Gopher, “I hope you’ll like it”. First Gopher: “Oh, I will! I know I will! You have impeccable taste!” Second Gopher: “Oh, thank you!” (animated by Virgil Ross)

It turns out the second Gopher was talking about a chest of drawers at the antique shop. The first Gopher does indeed like it, “Oh, this is simply ideal!” Second Gopher: “I’m so glad you approve”. The first Gopher replies, “Oh, I do! I do indeed! Just think. No more climbing up and down trees”. The second Gopher admits, “Of course, it’s not exactly orthodox. But who cares?”, as they climb in to the bottom drawer. Upon hearing a salesman at the shop ask, “How’s this, Mr. Fudd?”, the second Gopher realizes, “Oh, goodness. We’ll have to hush. Someone’s coming”. The first Gopher agrees, “Oh, yes indeed. By all means. Let’s hush”, to which they both duck down into the drawer and hide by shutting it. The salesman turns the corner of the shop with Elmer who tells him, “I’m weawwy wooking for a chest with short wegs and (chuckles) dwawers”. From inside, the Gophers listen to Elmer and the salesman coming up to the chest, “How’s this, Mr. Fudd?”; “Why, that’s exactwy what I’m wooking for!”; “Shall we deliver it?”; “No, I’ll take it with me”. Elmer then drives away with the back window of his vehicle having been opened to allow the chest to sit in there. On the way back to his house, the Gophers open the top middle drawer in confusion (animated by Ross).

Having set up the chest against a wall in the kitchen near the window, Elmer decides, “That’s just what that spot needed. I should have been an intewior decowator. (laughs)”. The Gophers come out from the bottom drawer as the second Gopher decides, “You know, this is even better than we planned”, to which the first Gopher agrees, “And besides, we’re protected from the elements”. When the second Gopher asks, “Don’t you think we should start storing our nuts?”, the first Gopher confirms, “Oh, indubitably. Indubitably. Wonderful suggestion. Winter will be on us before we know it” (animated by Manuel Perez).

From down below next to a tree on the patio, the second Gopher calls up, “All ready!”, to which the first Gopher picks a nut from the tree’s branch and drops it on the roof so that it slides down into the gutter, then the drainpipe, and then out through an extension pipe the Gophers attached to the drainpipe, so that the nut lands in the chest, unaware that Elmer has listened to the noise of the acorn rolling through everything. The first Gopher then shakes the branch so that several nuts fall on to the roof and go through the contraption into the chest all at once. Listening to this noise as well (animated by Perez), Elmer goes into the kitchen and slips on the nuts all over the floor, sending him sliding into the basement and crashing back-first onto the floor. After a nut rolls down the stairs and hits him on the head, Elmer gets up and glares at the kitchen doorway (animated by Arthur Davis).

With both Gophers looking at the nuts on the floor from the windowsill, the second Gopher realizes, “Oh, I do believe we’re overstuffed”, to which the first Gopher agrees, “Oh, my, my, my, my, my. (tsks) We’ll have to find other places for our surplus”. As they get down, the second Gopher states, “No time like the present”, and the first Gopher replies, “You’re so right!” Picking up two nuts to take into a wardrobe, the second Gopher begins singing to the tune of “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”, “Here we go gathering nuts in May!”, which the first Gopher gets amusement out of and laughs, “Oh, you’re so witty! So very witty!” Second Gopher: “Eh, thank you”. First Gopher: “Don’t mention it”. At this moment, Elmer comes back up the stairs and upon spotting the Gophers realizes, “Oh ho! So THERE’S the wascals that are wesponsible! I’ll fix their wittle wed wagon!” He begins to tiptoe across the floor to avoid slipping on more nuts and goes to the chest. “I’ll get my twusty wepeating wifle and bwast ‘em!” He opens the bottom drawer, only to find it filled to the brim with nuts. Digging through them to get his rifle, he remarks, “Ooh! Dwat those pests!” (animated by Ken Champin)

Elmer confronts the Gophers, carrying some more nuts, with his gun, “Okay, dwop it!” which they do (animated by Perez). “Say your pwayers! I’m gonna bwast you!” (animated by Champin) He only succeeds in firing more nuts into the Gophers’ arms. “Oh, isn’t this nice of the gentleman?”, the second Gopher asks. The first Gopher answers, “We really should thank him for his kindness”. They both tell him in unison, “Thank you, sir” before leaving with their nuts as the second Gopher decides, “We must do something nice for HIM someday” (animated by Perez), to which the first Gopher agrees, “Oh, yes. We must. We certainly must”. After one more nut falls out of his rifle barrel, Elmer gives chase, “Come here, you wascals!” (animated by Davis)

The Gophers go into the fireplace and run up the chimney where they stop on a small ledge in said chimney. Second Gopher: “My! He isn’t really nice at all, is he?” First Gopher: “Indeed not. Not at all. I think he means to do us bodily harm!” (animated by Davis) Elmer shakes his fist up at them, “You pests haven’t escaped me yet!” He then sends up a dynamite stick tied to a balloon towards them while saying to himself, “Any time those two wittle nutcwackers think they can outsmart Elmer Fudd, they got another think coming! (laughs evilly)” When the balloon with the dynamite stops in front of them, the second Gopher asks, “Would you happen to have a pin on your person?” The first Gopher replies while searching for it, “By chance, I might. I just might”. After pulling it out, he asks, “Would this fulfill your requirement?” Second Gopher: “Are you sure you won’t need it?” First Gopher: “No, no. You’re quite welcome to it”. Second Gopher: “Well, uh, thank you very much”. First Gopher: “Don’t mention it”. The second Gopher pops the balloon, causing the dynamite stick to fall in front of Elmer and explode on him (animated by Perez).

After a charred Elmer collapses front-first from the explosion, the Gophers run out of the fireplace as Elmer continues chasing them (animated by Perez). They then go into the kitchen as Elmer again slips on the nuts all over the floor, this time taking a water cooler with him down into the basement. He comes back up with the water cooler on his head, which is submerged under the water, and with his ranting only coming out as gargling (animated by Davis).

Elmer sets up a box trap with a nut as bait and hides behind a sofa to spring the trap. The Gophers walk under it as the second Gopher comments, “My goodness. I can’t imagine anyone using such a primitive trap to catch us. Can you?” Elmer then shuts the box atop them and sits on it to make sure they don’t escape. Suddenly, several car noises are heard underneath the box, complete with honking and then a crash. Shocked, Elmer lifts the box up, only to find the Gophers just standing there (animated by Champin).

Chasing them outside onto the patio, Elmer corners the Gophers in the tree, “Come back here, you fur-beawing wodents!” He gets an ax and begins chopping the tree down, which causes hundreds of nuts to fall from the tree, onto the roof and through the Gophers’ contraption, flooding Elmer’s house with nuts. Elmer turns around to see this and stops chopping. When opening his front door, he is pushed out by a flood of nuts. Coming out from under it, he cries in frustration, “Aw, NUTS!” and slaps a few away in anger (animated by Davis).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½