Release Date:

March 29, 1941

Main Character(s):

Porky Pig

Summary:

While Porky Pig works hard to prepare for the winter, his lazy bear neighbor just sits on his porch singing “Working Can Wait”. As a result, the bear ends up paying the price for his laziness when winter arrives.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon’s plot is similar to the Grasshopper and the Ants. In addition, this is the second cartoon to have a plot similar to that tale, with the first being “Now That Summer is Gone”.

This is the first cartoon to use the 1941-1945 Looney Tunes opening theme and the first cartoon to use the 1941-1946 Looney Tunes ending theme (the latter would also be the last fanfare for Porky’s drum ending before the drum ending was retired in 1946).

Porky once again is given very little to do.

What I Like About This One:

Porky’s rendition of “As You Sew, So Shall Ye Reap” as he does his work such as plowing the field with his horse (animated by Manuel Perez) and stocking his shelves in the basement with cans (animated by Herman Cohen).

Porky’s dog putting his bone in a jar and then burying it (animated by Cohen).

At the bear’s run down house, a mouse is shown reading “Of Mice and Men”, the bear’s dog is too lazy to chase a cat and only gives him two tired barks, the chickens play Scrabble, and the cow reads “Ferdinand the Bull”. (Cohen animated all of these scenes).

When January arrives, the bear is very cold and finds a note in his empty cupboard: “Now you know how I felt- Mother Hubbard” The bear then yells in frustration, “WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYY!?” (animated by Cal Dalton).

The bear and the dog end up finding a can that has only one bean in it but as they say grace, the mouse steals it (animated by Dalton).

Now having no food, the bear then starts laughing deliriously and then crying over his predicament (animated by Cohen).

The dog commenting on the bear’s frustration: “Say, the guy’s out of his head. You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to eat ME”. He immediately regrets saying that last line as the bear now hungrily stalks him while clutching a fork and knife (animated by Gil Turner).

Just as Porky is about to have dinner, the bear and the dog walk past the window and see this as an opportunity for food (animated by Gerry Chiniquy).

Although Porky at first refuses to let the bear and his dog come in, he changes his mind after spotting a “Love Thy Neighbor” sign. As soon as Porky asks the bear and the dog if they can join, they immediately zip to the table and eat before Porky finishes talking (animated by Richard Bickenbach).

A little while later, the well-fed bear vows to have learned his lesson, but upon realizing it’s now spring (animated by Bickenbach), goes back to his porch to sing “Working Can Wait” (animated by Cohen).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕 ½