“I’ll show that big stiff!”
Supervision by Jack King; Animation by Riley Thompson and Jack Carr; Music by Norman Spencer. Released in 1936.
Tomorrow is my sixth anniversary of starting this blog! And that means another update that any competent blogger would have started doing on day one! I think from next time onward, I’ll start listing whether or not the short discussed was a “Looney Tune” or “Merrie Melody”. That’ll make people want to visit!
Our short begins with a shot of many characters having winter fun. (If they’re having any fun outside at all, they’re not doing it right.) Skiers ski on the horizon, and some snowmen sing to us. Unfortunately for them, they dance in front of a campfire and melt to death. (Dying snowmen always make me feel warm inside.) One guy takes some boiling water and pours it in a hole in a lake to make his own hot tub. He freezes solid.
Beans the cat is having a good time with his girlfriend, Kitty. He sees a sign telling of a downhill skiing race with $100,000 in cash prizes. Or a cool $2.00. (It was the depression.) But a big bully with a Billy Bletcher laugh. (Hereafter known as Bully Bletcher) breaks Bean’s skis so there will be one less competitor. But little did he know that Beans is the kind of guy who would dismantle his girlfriend’s sled to get more skis. (In his defense, she seems okay with it.)
They take their places at the starting line. Bully is not happy to see Beans again and attaches a firecracker to the cat’s skis. Lighting it, causes Beans to fly backwards and give everyone else a head start. The other competitors are: Porky on a rocking horse, a guy whose skis are pedal powered, (cheater) someone who has a sail and bellows, and a duck on a dachshund. Bully takes the lead and holds out a trip wire. This gets rid of nearly everyone. (Don’t worry Porky, you’re a winner to me.) When Beans crosses it, he doesn’t trip, but instead the wire wraps around Bully. This doesn’t hold him for long though. He continues on with the Double D team, (the dog and duck, remember?) behind him.
Beans jumps a gap, but doesn’t quite make it, getting himself stuck in the cliff side. Bully makes it, no problem. The other two go down the slope and back up, knocking Beans loose and getting him back in the race and bumping themselves to second. They soon go on to take first, but don’t look where they’re going and crash. This just leaves the two B’s. (Bully and Beans remember?) It looks like Bully is going to win, but he crashes into the ground and ends up underwater. (The finish line is on a frozen lake then?) This gives Beans the advantage and he wins! Before he can celebrate too much though, Bully pokes his head through the ice, tripping Beans, and causing him to fall into the drink too.
Personal Rating: 2
I love this! Thanks for your great posts!