Release Date:

February 28, 1948

Main Character(s):

Three Bears

Summary:

The Three Bears hibernate for the winter, but numerous disturbances keep Pa awake.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1035 and was released as a Looney Tune.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. “A Solid Citizen of the Solid South” played under the opening credits:

Story: Tedd Pierce and Michael Maltese

Animation: Phil Monroe, Ken Harris, Lloyd Vaughan, and Ben Washam

Layouts: Robert Gribbroek

Backgrounds: Peter Alvarado

Effects Animation: AC Gamer

Musical Direction: Carl Stalling

Directed by Charles M. Jones

This is the second appearance of the Three Bears, following “Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears”. This is also the first cartoon where Pa is voiced by Billy Bletcher and Junyer is voiced by Stan Freberg.

The cartoon uses the same plot of the first cartoon in MGM’s “Barney Bear” series, “The Bear That Couldn’t Sleep” (1939).

Even though Junyer is a giant child and is taller than both of his parents, he still sleeps in a cradle.

This is the first usage of the “character believes tiny umbrella will protect him” gag.

This is the only cartoon where Pa gets a happy ending.

What I Like About This One:

Pa and Ma are playing gin rummy with Junyer sitting in the middle of them reading a comic book. Pa is about to draw a card but Junyer shakes his head at it. When Pa considers a different card, Junyer looks at Ma’s card and gleefully nods his head. Believing this will be a good move, Pa lets this card- a five of diamonds- float down but Ma picks it up and calls “Gin”. Proving to be a sore loser, Pa drops his cards in bewilderment before kicking them across the table and shouting “No!” four times. He briefly poofs into a cloud in anger before casting an angry eye at Junyer and punching him for making him lose (animated by Phil Monroe).

Since it’s already half past November, Pa decides they should start hibernating. After they all briefly say their prayers, Pa’s troubles start immediately when Junyer’s cradle squeaks as he rocks back and forth and Ma’s snoring is very loud. Junyer then starts to have a bad dream that is unexplained, to which Pa puts his head in his pillow to avoid hearing Junyer make frightened noises. Junyer ends up breaking his cradle when he jumps in fright, the noise of which causes Pa to poke his head through his pillow in anger (animated by Ken Harris).

Junyer starts crying that he has no place to sleep so Pa hits him again before putting him in bed with him. Pa immediately regrets this when Junyer keeps rolling over on him and flattening him. He attempts to prevent this at one point by holding up a nail, but Junyer’s size only causes the nail to become severely bent. Finally, Pa nails some wooden supports under him (animated by Lloyd Vaughan).

Feeling some drops of water next to him, Pa initially assumes that Junyer wet the bed before he feels the drips on his head and looks up to see this is actually a leak in the ceiling. Pa moves his bed far away, but the drips still get to him via falling on a pipe, through a clock and off its pendulum to where it gets flinged on to a shelf, then travels off a sword, through a rifle, then through a moose call, and finally out a face-shaped pipe where the drip exits through the mouth and gets Pa in the face. Irritated, Pa moves the bed back to where the leak is and tells Junyer to plug it up. When Junyer does so with his finger, water gushes out of his ears. Pa plugs them, but water comes out of his own ears (animated by Vaughan).

Pa stuffs a pair of longjohns in the leak, but they only collect a large amount of water (animated by Vaughan). The large drips from the longjohns cause Pa to wake up in horror, as he pulls out a tiny umbrella, believing it will protect him, but the longjohns’ bottom flap opens and lets out a large shower of water atop him (animated by Monroe).

Later, the open window causes the wind to lift Pa’s blanket so he races to shut it. Ma keeps opening it. Pa nails it shut, but Ma opens it from the top. Pa then cements it with bricks but Ma still opens it. Snow comes in and completely covers Pa, making him look like a snowman. Junyer thinks he is one and gives him the appropriate broom and top hat. Pa angrily shakes it off and whacks Junyer with the broom (animated by Ben Washam).

A snoring Junyer unknowingly blows a feather in Pa’s face which causes him to sneeze so hard that he jumps up high and hits the moose head, which falls on top of him. Junyer mistakes him for a moose and chases him with a mallet. Pa clings to Ma in fear, but she also mistakes him for a moose and chases him with the rifle (animated by Washam). The chase ends with Junyer clobbering Pa with the mallet, destroying the moose head and revealing a very peeved Pa. Knowing what he’s in for, Junyer gives Pa a hairbrush and bends over in a being spanked position. Pa hits him on the head with the mallet instead. Seeing that Ma just fired at him (thinking he still had the moose head on), Pa also sees her sheepishly hide it behind her back. Pa gives her a “come here” gesture and the scene fades to black (animated by Monroe).

The next scene irises in on Ma being tied down to her bed and with her mouth tied so she can’t snore, while Junyer is also tied down to his fixed cradle. The leak in the roof is also boarded up, the window has several boards nailed over it, the clock with the pendulum is destroyed, and the alarm clock is muffled. Just as Pa can finally get a peaceful winter slumber, spring arrives and the noises of the season become very loud. With bloodshot eyes, Pa opens the window and yells at the top of his voice, “QUIET!” Springtime retracts, and winter returns. Now free of disturbances, Pa contently shuts the window to return to his long-awaited sleep as the cartoon ends (animated by Harris).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½