Release Date:

March 12, 1938

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A chick (who has brown feathers instead of yellow like his siblings) gets a cold from pursuing a worm in a rainstorm. While his mother goes to get a doctor, a weasel poses as the doctor in order to eat him. But the chick’s sneezing blows the weasel’s disguise off, exposing him. The chick’s siblings gang up against the weasel.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. An unknown original tune by Carl Stalling played over the opening credits:

Supervision: Fred Avery

Story: Cal Howard

Animation: Sid Sutherland

Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling

Avery himself voiced the weasel. In fact, this is the first time he voices a character in his own cartoon. Avery often would have characters he voiced an obnoxious laugh; others include a hippo who annoys everybody in “Hamateur Night” (1939), Papa Bear in “The Bear’s Tale” (1940), and the fat ghost in Chuck Jones’ “Ghost Wanted” (1940).

What I Like About This One:

The rooster sleeping on a pillow on a fence post. He also only wakes up to crow at the sun rising then goes back to sleep.

A lightning bolt turning into the word, “SCRAM”.

The weasel boasting to the audience, “I’m the villain in this picture”.

The weasel pulling down the curtain to make a “quick change” into his doctor disguise (animated by Irven Spence).

The brown chick sneezing the weasel’s disguise off and his siblings whistling at the impostor. (animated by Spence).

The chicks using bottle caps as helmets.

The brown chick using the weasel’s balloon-like nose as a punching bag.

“Now I got ya behind the 8 ball!” and an 8 ball literally appears (animated by Spence).

The weasel becoming the “sneezing weasel” when the brown chick sneezes in his face (animated by Spence).

The brown chick reviving the weasel with smelling salts just so he can clobber him again.

When the mother comes back with the real doctor, all the chicks hide in the closet and fool them by putting the weasel in the bed and covering him up with the sheets. When the weasel sees the doctor pouring castor oil into a spoon, he runs out of the house terrified. The chicks run out of the closet laughing at this, but the brown chick ends up getting fed castor oil anyway. As he runs off, the weasel comes back to laugh at this, but the brown chick pops out of the cuckoo clock and crowns him with a mallet.

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕