Category: Final Appearances

Cartoons that were the finale for recurring characters. I.E., those that appeared at least twice.

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Dog Tired

“He’s killing me!”

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x396qek

Supervision by Charles M. Jones; Animation by Phil Monroe; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Merrie Melody released on April 25, 1942.

I’ll only say this one more time: The brown dog is going to be named “Charles” and the white one will be “Joe.” Next time, I’ll just drop the names I’ve given without any reminder. Remember this well!

The last short of their careers and where are the curious puppies two? Digging a hole of course. All of a sudden, a motorcycle appears out of nowhere and scares them away from their work. I can relate. Motorcycles are on my list of things I can’t stand, but for some reason, I seem to be the only person who does. (If you’re really curious, here’s an abridged version of that list: youtubers bringing their boyfriends/girlfriends into their videos, youtubers letting their cats in their videos, and Squirrel Girl.)

They flee into the nearest place: the local zoo. A strange zoo, where only half the animals are in any sort of enclosure. Sure, it sounds like half the animals have it good, but it’s just going to spell trouble for everyone, guests and exhibits alike. Charles enters by leaping the wall, and lands in a kangaroo’s pouch. Mr. Jones does what might be his first joke with fake Latin and labels the marsupial as “Leapadopterus Rex” (Which almost translates to butterfly/moth king, but not quite.)

Joe, meanwhile got in by squeezing under the front gate. The first animals he comes across are a pair of lovebirds. They begin to get on my nerves, with the male endlessly babbling on about how much he loves his mate. It makes one want to vomit out your duodenum while simultaneously rolling your eyes. But then, the male turns it all around by insulting the dog, and demanding the two get some privacy. (Finally! Someone who recognizes that certain things should only happen between only two! Birds are smarter than humans, confirmed.) Joe meekly leaves, in the process, he trips up a stork who is trying to balance on one leg. (That will be one of our running gags for the evening.)

Charles, meanwhile, is going for a rather bumpy ride. When the kangaroo stops for a flower break, he makes a break of his own. Unfortunately for him, he continues to hop, right into a pipe, doling out some rather amusing pain. Oh, I don’t mean I find dog abuse funny! But the local hyena does. (He laughs to hide his insecurities.) Back to Joe. He sees a bone that is just to his liking. It’s in a lion’s cage, but his moment comes when Charles comes into the big cat’s view. It roars and sends the canine straight up a tree, much to the hyena’s continued delight.

Charles barks at the giggling feliform, but this alerts him to the tree’s other occupant: a monkey. He just stares. That’s all he does. The situation is awkward enough, that Charles tries to leave of his own accord. He lands on the back of a passing porcupine, and slides right back up. The monkey continues to stare. (I always wondered what my spirit monkey looked like. A lifetime quest: completed.) Joe, meanwhile has indeed gotten the lion’s bone and heads off to bury his ill gotten gains. He buries it atop of the creature who was already using the hole: an… ostrich…

Okay. Tirade time. Let’s get this said: OSTRICHES! DON’T! DO THIS! You might be saying, “Of course they don’t. It’s animation.” Yes, but the fact that it is depicted at all means people believe there’s some modicum of truth there! It’s insulting to these majestic birds! Sure, they aren’t the smartest animals on the planet, but no creature is dumb enough to think that hiding your head is enough to keep you safe. Ostriches are fast, powerful, and possess excellent eyesight! If there’s a blackface of the animal kingdom, then this is it. I’m sorry I had to be the one to label it as such.

The ostrich runs off with the bone, but trips and it lands on a turtle’s back. Joe leaps upon the reptile and the resulting wrestling match has the dog with the shell, and the turtle with the bone. (Naturally, the hyena is beside himself with laughter.) As Charles is still up the tree, the monkey finally gets rid of him by shouting. (A howler monkey is my spirit monkey? The quest shall continue, methinks. That doesn’t correlate to me at all.) Charles dives back into the kangaroo’s pouch. Now, BACK to Joe, (I’m starting to get dizzy) he tackles the turtle, causing the bone to end up in the hippopotamus’s enclosure. (What luck. It’s asleep.)

Joe rushes in, but accidentally ends up going through the hippo’s yawning mouth. Judging by all the splashes, it sounds very wet inside the big animal. (As it should be. If humans are 60% water, I don’t see why a much larger animal would be any less if not equal.) Joe escapes, and likewise, Charles once more exits the marsupial. His leap has him landing in a pelican’s bill. (That hyena can’t recall a time he’s had more fun.) I think it’s time to tie everything all up.

Joe builds up some speed, and runs back to the bone. The hippo yawns again, and the little dog ends up launching off the inclined mouth and crashing past other animals he’s inconvenienced today, like the aforementioned lion and stork. (And you wonder why zoo animals dislike pets so much) His rolling continues and he ends up dislodging his companion from the pelican, and I guess they continue to roll all around the zoo’s perimeter, as they end up back in the kangaroo pouch. Somehow, the hyena is in there as well, still laughing away.

Favorite Part: That monkey. His silent, unwavering stare. It’s so awkward, you can’t help but laugh. (Unless you’re the hyena. For some reason, the monkey’s subtle humor just doesn’t reach that guy.)

Personal Rating: 3

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Porky’s Hotel

“Hello.Where’dyagetthefunnylookin’foot?Gee,that’sthefunniestlookin’footinthewholeworld. I beeet’cha.”

Supervision by Robert Clampett; Animation by Norm McCabe and John Carey; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Looney Tune released on September 2, 1939.

If you’ve ever driven through the scenic two-toned gray lands of America’s navel, you might have seen a bumper sticker for Donut Center. It’s not important enough to be listed on any maps, and most people who have heard of it, tend to erase it from their memory as soon as something slightly more exciting occurs. It gets to a point where a good number of people start to wonder if it wasn’t just some mass hallucinogenic…hallucination. It’s out there, though. You just need to keep your eyes open at all times. No blinking.

Apologies to Alex Hirsch. It’s hard not to be inspired by his world.

Donut Center is a quaint little town. It’s only got one hotel, but the guy running the place is Porky. No rebuttal. Porky is already a great guy, he naturally has a great hotel. (And it’s small enough for him to run it all himself. No employees.) During his mid-morning sweep, he sees a fancy type car approaching, and it looks like it’s making a beeline for his establishment. Of course it is! No questions. The car’s occupant is a goat. He has gout. Good thing his name is already Gouty, or I’d be calling him that myself. (No guilt.)

Old Gouty wants a rest. Porky’s hotel is the best. It’s logical that he would come to this hotel above all others for his need of a calm getaway. While Porky attends to the goat’s luggage, Gouty makes himself comfortable. All too soon, conflict rears its infuriating head. (No peace.) Enter Gabby the goose. (I think. He’s at least some member of the anatidae family.) If you are one of the highest types of cool, and watch every Warner Bros. cartoon in chronological order, you’ll be aware of this kid. He’s made a couple of appearances before this, his…swan song. (No laughs.)

Gabby is suitably named. (Though if his dialogue is any indication, it’s not his birth name.) The kid does not shut up. (No shortage of breath.) He talks and gabs and yaks and blabs until you are all for Gouty trying to scare the little turd off. It fails. The only way one is going to get rid of Gabby is if something else catches his attention. Thank goodness for bees. The kid grabs a hammer and tries to end the threat to his status as “Alpha Vex.” (No mercy.) I wonder what comedic escapades this might lead to?

Lunch time! Porky’s hotel may not have the five stars it deserves, but the food doesn’t lie! Mouth watering options like lamb, turkey, and coconut custard are but a sampling of the journey’s your taste buds can expect to endure. Can’t decide? Porky recommends the blue plate. Even Gouty is interested, and requests some for his midday meal. Oh wait. He’s a Toon goat. He’s just going to eat the plate, isn’t he? (No calories.) Oh well, if there’s one guy I trust to make ceramics delectable, it’s Porky. (Gouty loses half of his mouth when he chews Old age can be such a b*tch.)

BANG! Of course! You knew it would happen! Gabby, in his bee is for blood lust, has just brought the hammer down on Gouty’s poor foot. He’s been pleasant for far too long. The kid must die. No objections here. The chase begins, but things start to get out of control, as Gouty, Gabby, and a door I’ll name Gertie, all end up on a collision course with the wall up ahead. Even knocking Porky into the bill of the pelican he is escorting. (The poor bird has been to Katz Hotel? I wonder if they ever got that spider problem fixed.) The crash ends with the two rivals’ heads caught in a painting. Fittingly, Gouty’s head plays the part of executioner, while Gabby plays executionee. (No greater joy.)

Favorite Part: During Gabby’s bee chase, he gets a door slammed on him by an oblivious Porky. If only I could do the same to the gabbys in my life.

Personal Rating: 3 (I don’t really have a problem with this Gabby, despite what I may type.)

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Plane Dippy

“Get a load of this!”

Supervision by Fred Avery; Animation by Sid Sutherland and Virgil Ross; Musical Score by Bernard Brown. A Looney Tune released on April 30, 1936.

As my tribute to dads everywhere and my love of over complicating things, I choose this picture as today’s subject, because many people consider pigs as food, I.E., fodder. (And I’ll submit to that mentality when said food flys.)

Well, what’s Porky up to this time? Enlisting in the armed forces? A noble pursuit. What sounds like a good fit for my man? Infantry? Nah, too much walking. Navy? That’s for ducks. How about the air corp? That’s the ticket! Porky heads right on in, eager to join. Too bad this is back in the Dougherty days, so I hope you had nothing planned for the rest of your life. That’s about how long one conversation with the pig will last. (Don’t try and cheat by giving him some writing utensils. His stutter affects handwriting too)

Still, everyone deserves a fair shot at things, and Porky is given a uniform and tests. Beans makes a (last appearance) cameo to help set up a dizziness test. (I’m sure that’s the correct term too.) Porky spins all over the room, and when he is tested on firing a gun, he takes out the whole building before even scratching the plane. Looks like he’s ready to me! I don’t care if I’m looking at him through a fanboy’s eyes. If I could swap someone else’s eyes with mine, I would. And I’d still think how I do. Eyes aren’t brains. The guy in charge must want my fist in his gut, as he just gives Porky a feather duster. (Prick.)

Porky’s orders have him assisting a scientist by the name of Professor Blotz. He’s got something in the works that will revolutionize the airplane: a voice controlled robot plane! It’s very easy to operate. Just speak into the microphone, and tell the plane what you want it to do. No training required. (OH! So that’s why Porky was sent here! Now he can fight! It’s no different than my dream of having a self driving car in the Indy 500.) Porky even gets to give it a try. (If Mel was here, the plane wouldn’t be shaking so much. Must we really wait another ten months for his otherworldly skills?)

Porky sets to work cleaning off the plane, but Blotz doesn’t properly secure his command console, and just leaves it on the windowsill. Coincidentally, Kitty (also in her final appearance) has just noticed a dog belonging to that weird looking dog child I made fun of so many years ago. Wait… Kitty made at least five appearances, didn’t she? *sigh* Here we go again…

Kitty

Another character who was often used as a love interest. (Although, she sometimes was just a friend.) She was voiced by Bernice Hanson.

I don’t look forward to the day when I have to do that with Cookie…

Being the only anthropomorphic dog in the relationship, the bigger one gets to force the smaller one into doing various tricks for his amusement. Even worse, since the voice command module is still on, it picks up the children’s voices and transmits them to the plane. Poor Porky. He picked the wrong time to be cleaning the inside of it. He gets taken along for the ride, doing hundreds if not thousands of dollars in property damages to the rest of the countryside. Demolishing buildings, destroying shipments of hay, and even sending the clouds into a panic. (And even then the children aren’t innocent! The bigger dog actually sics his smaller counterpart on some non-anthropomorphic cat. Kitty is oddly okay with this.)

Things get worse before getting better, as the amusing pup attracts a whole throng of children. All of them act as inconsiderate as children usually are, and all yell out countless tricks for the innocent animal to do. Poor thing! (Never give most children a pet. They’ll abuse it.) At least large dog (who I should’ve just called Rover this whole time) decides the exhausted creature has had enough and tells him that they are going home. Luckily for Porky, the plane follows suit. (And it still looks like mint condition! Blotz, you ARE impressive.) Still, this whole experience has been quite harrowing, so Porky immediately calls it quits and reconsiders joining the infantry. (Being able to admit you can’t do something. Another very adult mindset! I’m prouder still!)

Favorite Part: We get to learn Porky’s full name in this picture! Bet you didn’t know it was “Porky Cornelius Washington Otis Lincoln Abner Eleanor Aloysius Casper Jefferson Filbert Horatius Narcissus Pig” *Sniff* So… beautiful.

Personal Rating: 3

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Greetings Bait

“Don’t be so reluctant, Dragon!”

Supervision by I. Freleng; Story by Tedd Pierce; Animation by Manuel Perez; Musical Direction by Carl Stalling. A Merrie Melody released on May 15, 1943.

Fishing. A nice way to sleep and use the lack of fish biting as an excuse. Unless of course, you’re one of a rare few who actually LIKES wrenching a cold, slippery, wide-eyed, innocent animal from its natural habitat and either eating it, or mounting it on a wall. (Or the even rarer one’s who catch and release. They’re my favorite.) Our mystery fisherman of the picture is probably the “eating” type, as he sends his line down with a serving platter.

He has some bait as well. Believe it or else, this worm has a bit of a history. This short actually marks his second appearance! (Out of two.) He previously debuted two years earlier in “The Wacky Worm.” Which is why we’re going to call him “Wack” from now on. It makes me wonder why Freleng didn’t try to develop any more pictures with this worm, seeing as how this one here is an Oscar nominee.

Wack has a mustache, so in Warner Bros. fashion, he talks like Jerry Colona. Upon reaching the bottom of the water, he makes himself a sandwich. By which I mean, he makes “himself” a sandwich. He’s one of those animals who’s happy to be a part of a fishing team. Like these two were:

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Wack is suicidal. As soon as a fish tries to partake of his wacky flesh, the worm darts away, and gives the line a tug to reel in the goods. Switching out the small (but not literally) fry for a bigger catch on the way up. One fish, is that enough? Not for out mystery, fish-tory, man. Down Wack goes for part two. Fish is fish, so he has no qualms about trying to lure in one of the “lesser” varieties. This guy clearly has more mercury inside of him than a shark; if his mannerisms are any indication. He’s not even smart enough to try and take the bait. He’s gotta be fooled into thinking taking the hook is a circus act. (Seriously. Don’t put that guy in your mouth.)

As is befitting his “Wacky” name, out worm is willing to dress as a mermaid to get the fish’s attention. It works, but it isn’t his boss pulling the line up, but a crab instead. Wack almost loses the latest catch in the crab’s digestive tract, before correcting himself. The crustacean isn’t too pleased to be cheated out of a free meal, and chases the little guy. (I figured this was all taking place in freshwater, but the appearance of seahorses says otherwise. I can admit I made a mistake.)

Wack accuses the crab of only being tough due to it’s exoskeleton. (It does make up for his lack of a spine.) Good thing, that as an arthropod, he can shed it to prove the mouthy annelid wrong. Wack turns to us and admits that the following fight isn’t going to be pretty. In fact, the camera is going to return to the surface while he takes on his clawed foe. (Not cool. I had bets to pool!) After our thrashing  subsides, the loser is reeled in. Seems pride really does come before a fall, as Wack is the loser. (And our fisherman is revealed at last! Who else would make use of Colona-worm, than the human Jerry, himself?)

Favorite part: Probably what got this short it’s chance at Oscar-dom. (Oh well. Donald earned it this year) When Wack is being chased, each of the crab’s eye-stalks view him around different corners of a chest. We actually get to see what each eye sees! Wack running away from one, and closer to the other! It’s art!

Personal Rating: 3, as a whole, but the eye segment earns a four on its own.

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Mice Follies

“Morton, you are a mental case!”

Directed by Robert McKimson; Story by Tedd Pierce; Animation by George Granpre, Ted Bonnicksen, Warren Batchelder, and Tom Ray; Layouts by Robert Gribbroek; Backgrounds by Bob Singer; Film Editor: Treg Brown; Musical Direction by Milt Franklyn. A Looney Tune released on August 20, 1960.

Happy national Pig day! As per tradition, we here at Wackyland2.com want to offer you a free update to all future posts to give you a reason to keep coming back. That means, from now on, each short will have a rating to help you understand how much you should be viewing art of this caliber. This will apply to all previous posts as well. (At least eventually.) Sad to say though, this will probably be the last yearly update. Unless someone can suggest any good ideas. I’ll be putting the rating rules in the “Welcome page.”

Here’s another short focused on America’s favorite animated family!

No, no. Before that.

No! Before that!

There you go!

They may have only had a total of three cartoons, but their must have been at least one person counting the days between shorts, right? (Regardless, this was their last appearance.)

It’s late. Much too late for anybody’s husbands to be out. Whoops. Seems like the Ralph Kramden mouse, Ralph Crumden, has been out at his lodge meeting for three hours more than he promised his wife. The Ed Norton mouse, Ned Morton is in the same boat. To add to their problems, they are being followed home by a cat that Ned provoked. Seems like their dead meat either way. I might have never been married, but I know that the wrath of a woman is just as dangerous (if not more so) than an attack by a dangerous animal.

Once home, the cat beats them inside and disguises itself as their apartment. The two don’t notice right away. Good thing Ned had a match on him, so they could get a look around. After the cat spits them out, the two make head to their real home. Slipping in through the grate, the cat beats them to the punch. Ralph goes in first to confront his angry spouse, but gets irate himself at the fur coat “she” appears to have purchased. (It really is a waste of money. Why buy what you were already born with?) He tears it off her, and angrily shows his pal. “She” pummels him. (Actually, I don’t know if the quotes are necessary. Maybe the cat IS female.)

Well, maybe Ned can reason with his wife. Nope. The fury is too much for him to handle as well. I guess the women folk are just not going to listen to their spouse’s side of the story so late at night. The males decide to go sleep in the park tonight, and let the two calm down. (I like how the cat’s cries sound like “Rrrralph.” Not only because it makes it understandable for him to confuse it with his wife, but that’s also what I want to do when I hear a cat’s cries.) Wait a minute! Here I am going off on another anti-cat tirade when there’s a genuine problem here! Didn’t those two just leave a predator alone in their domicile with their wives?

Nope. Crisis averted. Alice and Trixie were also out of the house. They went to the movies. They also are worried about their spouses are going to react, but reason that since they got to go to their activity, the girls should get a pass. (I’ve mentioned before how attractive Alice is, and it seems Trixie is no different. If you gals can’t patch things out with the men, I’d be happy to console you. Don’t let my being a good 3,000 times your size deter you in any way.)

Well, the girls manage to avoid death, but they too mistake the cat for angry spouses. Was domestic abuse not such a problem in the sixties? Because the women also decide to just leave the “men” to their fuming and go sleep in the park. They find a bench. (Which is mouse sized. That’s so cute!) Unbeknownst to the two, their husbands are sleeping on the opposite side. (Meanwhile, the human occupants of their house heard a scratching noise from a trapped animal in the walls. Not bothering to investigate, they just pumped it full of gas.)

Favorite part: Just the fact that Morton bothers the cat in the first place. As far as I can tell, he’s not even drunk. He just did it for fun! (A real mouse after my heart.)

Personal Rating: 3

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False Hare

“Is he for real?”

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ayu7w

Directed by Robert McKimson; Story by John Dunn; Animation by Warren Batchelder, George Grandpre, and Ted Bonnicksen; Layouts by Bob Givens; Backgrounds by Robert Gribbroeck; Film Editor: Treg Brown; Voice Characterization by Mel Blanc; Musical Direction by Bill Lava. A Looney Tune released on July 16, 1964.

This here is the final Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Okay, fine. Released during the Golden age. *sigh* I feel I shouldn’t have to mention that, but if I don’t, I’ll either have some smart@$$ correcting me or a dumb@$$ asking why he still sees Bugs on the occasion. It’s exhausting being an expert.

His adversaries in this final short are a couple of wolves. They actually, are making their last appearance too, as they previously appeared six years earlier in 1958’s “Now Hare This.” The bigger one of the two is called Uncle Big Bad by the smaller one who doesn’t get a name. (Logically, he would be Nephew Short Annoying) They’re just your typical big predator who thinks he is smarter than he is, and the other one who has more common sense, but never gets much of a chance to prove it.

I’ve heard people say this cartoon sucks, but aside from the nephew laughing at things that aren’t funny every other minute, I don’t have any problems. It may not be much of a grand finale, but knowing Bugs, he’d prefer things be low key.

The elder wolf (who despite his name, isn’t actually THE Big Bad wolf. That guy has no tail.) has just hung a sign that advertises a club for rabbits. Deliberately getting Bugs’ attention, the two don some rabbit disguises and hype up the club. (I like the name. Even if it is the most basic it could be. The Spanish makes it sound just a smidge better.) Bugs isn’t fooled, but he’s bored. Why not see the attempts being made? He heads to the wolf’s place.

Bugs pretends to be interested in joining, and a series of “initiations” take place. First, ring the bell to summon someone who will show you to the initiation room. He… really didn’t do a good job of disguising his trap. The razor sticking out of the bell could be seen by anyone with a complex eye. (Scratch that. Even if you only had eye-spots, you could see it.) Seems once you push down on the button, the highly obvious razor will cut a rope, and a safe will crush your head. Bugs isn’t so easily fooled, and purposely rings the bell as many wrong ways as he can. Naturally, the wolf tries to show him how it’s done and the outcome is obvious as the razor. (Still amusing)

Okay. What new members need now is a photo. You pose in front of an open iron maiden. (It makes you look like a bad@$$) As long as no one comes out of the door behind it, you won’t get impaled. So, B.B. gets his nephew to hide behind the door, and wait to hear “Now!” That will be the cue to open the door, and close the maiden. Bugs pretends to play along, but does goofy poses. For the sake of the joke, I get why the wolf doesn’t get him killed, but wouldn’t it still work? (For that matter, the wolf clearly says “Now” but the nephew doesn’t respond. Not until Bugs says it. That’s gotta hurt.)

Well, initiation time. It’s rather dumb, but it gets the job done. Just climb in the hole. (It’s a cannon) Soon as the wolf is out of sight, Bugs paints another one. Asking which hole he’s supposed to enter, he has the brilliant idea of each party taking a hole. The wolf is cannoned out of the house. Bugs flips the cardboard, and gets the wolf to do it again. (See? We’ve got some decent jokes in this picture. Some people are just cartoon snobs.) The wolf finally tells Bugs to wait in a tree. In turn, he fills it with dynamite, unaware that Bugs has left the tree. One explosion later, and the wolf is out a house. Licked, he wonders if there’d be anyone interested in joining a chicken club. Cue the Foghorn cameo! No, really. Foghorn makes a cameo. Making this cartoon HIS final appearance as well.

*sigh* For the golden era.

Favorite Part: I like this quote from Bugs. “I don’t see why anybody thinks these club initiations are dangerous. Nothing has happened to me yet.”

Personal Rating: 3

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The Mouse-merized Cat

“Sleep! Sleep!”

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3dbeom

Directed by Robert McKimson; Story by Warren Foster; Animation by Arthur Davis, Don Williams, Richard Bickenbach, and Cal Dalton; Layouts and Background by Richard H. Thomas and Cornett Wood; Effects Animation by A.C. Gamer; Voice Characterization: Mel Blanc; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Merrie Melody released on October 19, 1946.

Remember Babbit and Catstello? Even if Tweety managed to get their fame, the two still managed a couple more pictures as mice. (Thus making them the only Warner Bros. characters to change species.) It’s clearly them and not just some lookalikes, the names are the same, the appearance is familiar, and they are still voiced by Pierce and Blanc, respectively. Still, for whatever reason, they only got two shorts as rodents, with this being the last of them.

Catstello, (which is a rather odd name for a mouse, but not THE worst. That distinction goes to Mortimer.) is excited to see us, the audience, but Babbit has more important matters to attend to. He’s reading a book about hypnotism, and he plans to entrance the chubby mouse, so said mouse will forget any fear of a cat, and get food from the deli in which they reside.

Naturally, the loss of free will is not something that Catstello wants any part in, and refuses to participate. Starting out by simply pretending it worked. He gives himself away when he refuses to mallet his own hand. Babbit refuses to accept that either hypnosis doesn’t work that way, or that his little pal could just be immune. (And why should he accept either one in a cartoon?) Still, Catstello tries to avoid the powers, protecting his eyes, and ducking. It’s no use though, Babbit finally gets him and now its time to test these powers.

It wouldn’t be a Warner Bros. Picture if they didn’t caricature some of the most popular people of the day, so Babbit starts by making his pal be Crosby, Sinatra, Durante, and Rochester. But any Warner character could do those, so the real test is to become a chicken. Sure enough, not only does Catstello cluck, but he even somehow lays and egg. (Or he just took it off a shelf. They are in a deli.)

Okay, how about we see this cat that’s in the title? Catstello is commanded to be a dog, and sent out to get the cat. His barking sends the cat into hiding, but upon seeing its just a mouse, the feline loses any and all fear. He even snaps Catstello out of the trance. The mouse flees in fear back to the hole, but Babbit rehypnotizes him out. In turn, the cat studies some hypnotism of his own and tries sending him back again. (He doesn’t just eat him because fat mice are high in cholesterol)

This goes on, but somehow in between the dueling hypnotists, Catstello is able to get his own will back and holds two mirrors out. Now they’ll see how funny hypnosis can be! With them caught in their own trances, Catstello can get them to do anything. He decides on the cat being a horse, and Babbit being a cowboy. With that done, he sends them out to hunt some varmint, and he is finally rid of them. With the whole place to himself, he does what anyone would do with an empty deli: eat.

Favorite Part: One of the ways Catstello resists the hypnosis. He reads a book entitled: “How to resist hypnotism.”

Personal Rating: 3

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Weasel While you Work

“That boy’s as strong as an ox. And just about as smart.”

Directed by Robert McKimson; Story by Michael Maltese; Animation by Warren Batchelder, Tom Ray, George Grandpre, and Ted Bonnicksen; Layouts and Backgrounds by Robert Gribbroek; Film Editor: Treg Brown; Voice Characterization by Mel Blanc; Musical Direction by John Seely. A Merrie Melody released on August 6, 1958.

Ah, Winter. A beau… actually, it’s rather ugly. Everything is cold, wet and damp. A peace… actually, the stillness is so pronounced that it could lead to a nervous breakdown. A fu… ACTUALLY, it isn’t fun either! It just makes one tired, listless, and irritable. So why would Foghorn enjoy such a miserable season? Well, it does give him the opportunity to try out some different tricks on old Barnyard Dawg. (Rolling him up into a snowman to be precise.)

Their usual rivalry is cut short by a third party: a weasel. This guy has actually appeared in a  few of Foghorn’s shorts, with this one being his final appearance. He’s pretty much just Taz. Doesn’t say much, salivates at every moment, and desperate for food. Also, he’s tiny! Maybe it’s just how he looks when compared to the giant rooster that is Foghorn, but he looks severely malnourished. Which could also explain his never-ending hunger. (Makes him look less like a mustelid, and more like a shrew.)

Teeny weeny weasel begins gnawing on Foghorn’s leg, but he offers up something even better: venison! (But there’s no deer around. Just the dog… Ohhhhhhh.) Placing a small pair of antlers on the dog is enough to fool the creature, and he tries to feast once more. Dawg automatically knows who is to blame for this, and gets the weasel to change his mind on some chicken for dinner. The dog freezes Foggy in a block of ice and leaves him in the company of the weasel and his axe.

Foghorn escapes that somehow. (I guess it was too boring to waste time animating.) For his next move, he dresses up his adversary as a seal and has the weasel carry him off. (All this talk of gourmet meat is driving my stomach crazy! But with 200 lbs. and counting, I don’t think a snack is such a good idea.) When the dog breaks free, I guess that’s the deciding point, as once the weasel has Foghorn in a pot, he won’t be swayed by any more suggestions. Good thing Foghorn has a giant ice sculpture of himself on standby. (When did he carve that? I’m sure I know why.) Weasel takes the bait and starts eating. (Don’t worry, it’s low calorie.) Foghorn tries to pull one more over on the dog, but the hound foresaw this, and tied a fake tail to a firecracker. So it seems that chickens DO fly when it snows in July!

Favorite part: B.D.’s spelling lesson. R-A-T spells chicken.

Personal Rating: 3

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Wild Wife

“A giant chocolate malt, please.”

Directed by Robert McKimson; Story by Tedd Pierce; Animation by Rod Scribner, Phil DeLara, Charles McKimson, and Herman Cohen; Layouts by Robert Givens; Backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas; Voice Characterization by Mel Blanc; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling.  A Merrie Melody released on February 20, 1954.

Our week long commercial is finally over, now back to “Amazing animals, exciting encounters, interesting ideas, obscure oddities and unique uh…ther things!” With your host, Gabby Yacksby.

Welcome back to our show. Today, we have been fortunate enough to obtain a transcript sent in by my creator, Dr. Foolio. In it, he recounts an encounter he had studying wild Homo sapiens in their natural habitat. His words, are as follows:

In a lovely house, the matriarch of the group has just collapsed from a very stressful day. (I won’t lie. She is hot! She definitely matches my description of a MILF. That means, a “mother I’d like a sandwich from”, right?) Having had followed her through out it, I can confirm. Her mate arrives shortly afterwards, and they exchange pleasantries. In this species, all members of the family have certain jobs to do. While the adult male goes out into the world to secure the means necessary for food and shelter, and the children prepare their minds for their own futures, the adult female is left in charge of many much smaller, but no less important tasks. Seems she forgot to do one: mowing the lawn. Upon hearing this, her mate flies into a rage and accuses her of never contributing to the upkeep. Standing her ground, she regales him with what transpired earlier in the day.

6:00 A.M.: After a night of trying to sleep through her mate’s constant snoring, the adult female awakes to prepare breakfast for the family. It is also her responsibility to wake all the members of the family up. Her offspring do not thank her for the sustenance, and her mate hardly looks her in the eye. He must leave to fulfill his role in society. He leaves while kissing his offspring, mate, and dog. (And the mailman.)

7:00 A.M.:  A clean habitat is a healthy one, so the female gets out a vacuum that was a gift from the male. It looks too complicated for me, what with all the attachments. She manages to get it running, but neglected to attach a bag, and now must sweep up all that she sucked up.

9:00 A.M.: She leaves the house and heads to a bank. She is to deposit some checks for her mate. Upon arriving, she finds a massive line leading up to the teller. To her luck, a new line opens up. Unfortunately, she doesn’t make it to the front in time, as an elderly female beats her to the punch. Said woman plans to deposit $200.00 in pennies. It takes so long that the other line diminishes. By the time she tries to take advantage of the now empty other line, she finds herself behind another woman depositing pennies.

12:30 P.M.: Having just finished purchasing a few things, the subject goes to eat. Her diet of choice is simple sugars served in liquid form. Like the noble hummingbird, she needs all the energy to keep up with her demanding workload.

1:00 P.M.: Not forgetting the rest of the family, she buys enough to keep them well fed for the upcoming week. After filling up her automobile, the food empties onto the pavement when she opens up the other door.

2:00 P.M.: To keep her mate attached to her, the female of the species regularly pretties herself up so he won’t be attracted to younger species who have larger breasts, and rounder buttocks. She pulls up to a beauty parlor, (doing a much better job at parallel parking than I could ever hope to achieve) and learns all the latest gossip. A pivotal skill that all her kind must learn. Of course, she must make repeat trips outside to feed more nickels into the parking meter.

3:00 P.M.: Unbeknownst to the female, two guys from the city have arrived to remove the parking meter. (One of which is capable of teleporting himself out of their vehicle) They put a fire hydrant in place of the meter. When the female exits, she finds her vehicle being ticketed by a police officer.

5:00 P.M.: And so we come back to where my notes began. Despite her tough day, her mate does not cut her any slack. As it turns out, she also bought him a present: A rolling pin that she whacks him with.

Conclusion: This species seems dangerous when provoked. (Just like the best animals) Seeing as how I scare easily and provoke on a daily basis, I doubt I shall ever attempt to take a mate of my own. End notes.

That was interesting. I don’t think I’ll ever show up again. I didn’t really contribute anything, and have my own things to do on Sundays. Good night.

Personal Rating: 3

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Horton hatches the Egg

“I’m still on vacation.”

Supervised by Robert Clampett; Animation by Robert McKimson. A Merrie Melody released on April 11, 1942.

Yep! This short is the only Looney Tune that is adapting someone else’s property. Clampett’s wild animation style mixed with Seuss’s wild imagination? What a combination! Since you no doubt know the story, I’m just going to have Boy read it out loud, while I make comments about the story as well as changes in the short. Take it away!

Sɪɢʜᴇᴅ Mᴀʏᴢɪᴇ, ᴀ ʟᴀᴢʏ ʙɪʀᴅ ʜᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴀɴ ᴇɢɢ: “I’ᴍ ᴛɪʀᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ I’ᴍ ʙᴏʀᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ I’ᴠᴇ ᴋɪɴᴋs ɪɴ ᴍʏ ʟᴇɢ ꜰʀᴏᴍ sɪᴛᴛɪɴɢ, ᴊᴜsᴛ sɪᴛᴛɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀᴇ ᴅᴀʏ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴅᴀʏ. Iᴛ’s ᴡᴏʀᴋ! Hᴏᴡ I ʜᴀᴛᴇ ɪᴛ! I’ᴅ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ʀᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ᴘʟᴀʏ! I’ᴅ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ ᴠᴀᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, ꜰʟʏ ᴏꜰꜰ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀ ʀᴇsᴛ ɪꜰ I ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜰɪɴᴅ sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴛᴏ sᴛᴀʏ ᴏɴ ᴍʏ ɴᴇsᴛ! Iꜰ I ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜰɪɴᴅ sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ, I’ᴅ ꜰʟʏ ᴀᴡᴀʏ-ꜰʀᴇᴇ….”

The first difference is that Clampett added much more color. The book has much more black and white with a green sky. Speaking of the book, Clampett and his crew didn’t even use storyboards when making this short. They just scribbled notes in Clampett’s copy of the book. Perhaps their work on this is what inspired Seuss to help with Snafu?

But really, is Mayzie so lazy that sitting on her can, is too much work? I know one has to tip the egg constantly to keep it warm on all sides and keep the chick from sticking to one part of the egg, but is it really work?

Tʜᴇɴ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ, ᴛʜᴇ Eʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ, ᴘᴀssᴇᴅ ʙʏ ʜᴇʀ ᴛʀᴇᴇ.
“Hᴇʟʟᴏ!” ᴄᴀʟʟᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀᴢʏ ʙɪʀᴅ, sᴍɪʟɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ʙᴇsᴛ, “Yᴏᴜ’ᴠᴇ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴅᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴀ ʀᴇsᴛ. Wᴏᴜʟᴅ YOU ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ sɪᴛ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɢɢ ɪɴ ᴍʏ ɴᴇsᴛ?”

In the short, Horton is pink. Because it’s Clampett, d*mn it! Nothing is too crazy for this man. And instead of Blanc, we have Kent Rogers who I’ve mentioned was also the voice for “The Bashful Buzzard,” Beaky. The somewhat slow and dopey voice suits Horton. It’s how I’ve always pictured him talking.

Tʜᴇ ᴇʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ ʟᴀᴜɢʜᴇᴅ. “Wʜʏ, ᴏꜰ ᴀʟʟ sɪʟʟʏ ᴛʜɪɴɢs! I ʜᴀᴠᴇɴ’ᴛ ꜰᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀs ᴀɴᴅ I ʜᴀᴠᴇɴ’ᴛ ᴡɪɴɢs. ME ᴏɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇɢɢ? Wʜʏ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏᴇsɴ’ᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ sᴇɴsᴇ…. ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇɢɢ ɪs sᴏ ᴍᴀʟʟ, ᴍᴀ’ᴀᴍ, ᴀɴᴅ I’ᴍ sᴏ ɪᴍᴍᴇɴsᴇ!”
“Tᴜᴛ, ᴛᴜᴛ,” ᴀɴsᴡᴇʀᴇᴅ Mᴀʏᴢɪᴇ. “I ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ sᴍᴀʟʟ ʙᴜᴛ I’ᴍ sᴜʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ᴅᴏ ɪᴛ. Nᴏ ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ. Jᴜsᴛ sɪᴛ ᴏɴ ɪᴛ sᴏꜰᴛʟʏ. Yᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴋɪɴᴅ. Cᴏᴍᴇ, ʙᴇ ᴀ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ꜰᴇʟʟᴏᴡ. I ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴏɴ’ᴛ ᴍɪɴᴅ.”
“I ᴄᴀɴ’ᴛ,” sᴀɪᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇʟᴇᴘᴀʜɴᴛ. “PL-E-E-ASE!” ʙᴇɢɢᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪʀᴅ. “I ᴡᴏɴ’ᴛ ʙᴇ ɢᴏɴᴇ ʟᴏɴɢ, sɪʀ. I ɢɪᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴅ. I’ʟʟ ʜᴜʀʀʏ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴀᴄᴋ. Wʜʏ, I’ʟʟ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʙᴇ ᴍɪssᴇᴅ….”

Horton takes a little more convincing in the book. Not much, but he doesn’t say he can’t in the short. And as for not having wings, I’m not sure that’s a valid argument. Ever look at the way Seuss draws elephant ears? They look an awful lot like what angels use to fly.

“Vᴇʀʏ ᴡᴇʟʟ,” sᴀɪᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ, “sɪɴᴄᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ɪɴsɪsᴛ….
Yᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴀ ᴠᴀᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ. Gᴏ ꜰʟʏ ᴏꜰꜰ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ɪᴛ. I’ʟʟ sɪᴛ ᴏɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇɢɢ ᴀɴᴅ I’ʟʟ ᴛʀʏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋ ɪᴛ. I’ʟʟ sᴛᴀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇ ꜰᴀɪᴛʜꜰᴜʟ. I ᴍᴇᴀɴ ᴡʜᴀᴛ I sᴀʏ.”
“Tᴏᴏᴅʟᴇ-ᴏᴏ!” sᴀɴɢ ᴏᴜᴛ Mᴀʏᴢɪᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰʟᴜᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ.

So who was the father of this egg? Many birds stay together to raise it, but the male must be worst than Mayzie. She at least bothered to make sure the egg wouldn’t die without her. Unless he was the better parent, and just happened to be eaten by the cat in the hat.

“H-ᴍ-ᴍ-ᴍ… ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀsᴛ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ,” ᴍᴜʀᴍᴜʀᴇᴅ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ, “Lᴇᴛ’s sᴇᴇ…. Tʜᴇ ꜰɪʀsᴛ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ɪs ᴛᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴘ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜɪs ᴛʀᴇᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴍᴜᴄʜ sᴛʀᴏɴɢᴇʀ. Tʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀs ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴅᴏɴᴇ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ I ɢᴇᴛ ᴏɴ ɪᴛ. I ᴍᴜsᴛ ᴡᴇɪɢʜ ᴀ ᴛᴏɴ.”

I like the fact that Seuss decided to explain how the tree won’t snap under an elephant’s weight, but not explaining how the elephant wasn’t crushing the egg? That wasn’t as important. This part gets no mention in the short. The tree just gets propped without explanation. And Horton only weighs about a ton? How old is he? Judging by the lack of tusks, he must be pretty young, but I always figured he was full grown. If he is, he is way malnourished!

Tʜᴇɴ ᴄᴀʀᴇꜰᴜʟʟʏ, ᴛᴇɴᴅᴇʀʟʏ, ɢᴇɴᴛʟʏ ʜᴇ ᴄʀᴇᴘᴛ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴜɴᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇsᴛ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴇɢɢ sʟᴇᴘᴛ.

As far as I know, unhatched chicks don’t wake in their eggs. So, yes. Slept is the right term.

Tʜᴇɴ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇʟᴘʜᴀɴᴛ sᴍɪʟᴇᴅ. “Nᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ’s ᴛʜᴀᴛ….”
Aɴᴅ ʜᴇ sᴀᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ sᴀᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ sᴀᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ sᴀᴛ….

And what did he do for food? Did he just eat all the plants surrounding him? And what about defecation? Did he ever stop sitting so he wouldn’t soil the egg? These are the kind of questions I ponder.

Aɴᴅ ʜᴇ sᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ ʜᴇ ᴇɢɢ ᴡᴀʀᴍ…. Aɴᴅ ʜᴇ sᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴀ ᴛᴇʀʀɪʙʟᴇ sᴛᴏʀᴍ. Iᴛ ᴘᴏᴜʀᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ʟɪɢʜɴɪɴɢᴇᴅ! Iᴛ ᴛʜᴜɴᴅᴇʀᴇᴅ! Iᴛ ʀᴜᴍʙʟᴇᴅ! “Tʜɪs ɪsɴ’ᴛ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ꜰᴜɴ,” ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴏᴏʀ ᴇʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ ɢʀᴜᴍʙʟᴇᴅ. “I ᴡɪsʜ sʜᴇ’ᴅ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ‘ᴄᴀᴜsᴇ I’ᴍ ᴄᴏʟᴅ ᴀɴᴅ I’ᴍ ᴡᴇᴛ. I ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ Mᴀʏᴢɪᴇ ʙɪʀᴅ ᴅᴏᴇsɴ’ᴛ ꜰᴏʀɢᴇᴛ.”

I understand you’re upset Horton, but wouldn’t you be wet no matter where you went? You’re not exactly small enough to hide under much. And are you really that cold? I figured you were in a jungle of some sort. The short has some fun with this scene. The whole place floods and only the tip of his trunk shows. (The egg is doing fine while submerged.)

Bᴜᴛ Mᴀʏᴢɪᴇ, ʙʏ ᴛʜɪs ᴛɪᴍᴇ, ᴡᴀs ꜰᴀʀ ʙᴇʏᴏɴᴅ ʀᴇᴀᴄʜ, ᴇɴᴊᴏʏɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ sᴜɴsʜɪɴᴇ ᴡᴀʏ ᴏꜰꜰ ɪɴ Pᴀʟᴍ Bᴇᴀᴄʜ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ sᴜᴄʜ ꜰᴜɴ, sᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀꜰᴜʟ ʀᴇsᴛ, ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇᴅ sʜᴇ’ᴅ NEVER ɢᴏ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʀ ɴᴇsᴛ!

“Far beyond reach?” How fast was she flying? She only left earlier in the day. And for those of you who have the book, look at this page. Why is that one guy staring at her? Has he never seen a bird before? Or is he like me and just amazed to see such an animal out of its natural habitat?

Sᴏ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ sɪᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ, ᴅᴀʏ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴅᴀʏ. Aɴᴅ sᴏᴏɴ ɪᴛ ᴡᴀs Aᴜᴛᴜᴍɴ. Tʜᴇ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇs ʙʟᴇᴡ ᴀᴡᴀʏ. Aɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɴ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴛʜᴇ Wɪɴᴛᴇʀ… ᴛʜᴇ sɴᴏᴡ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ sʟᴇᴇᴛ! Aɴᴅ ɪᴄɪᴄʟᴇs ʜᴜɴɢ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʜɪs ᴛʀᴜɴᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ʜɪs ꜰᴇᴇᴛ.
Bᴜᴛ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ sɪᴛᴛɪɴɢ, ᴀɴᴅ sᴀɪᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ sɴᴇᴇᴢᴇ, “I’ʟʟ sᴛᴀʏ ᴏɴ ᴛʜɪs ᴇɢɢ ᴀɴᴅ I ᴡᴏɴ’ᴛ ʟᴇᴛ ɪᴛ ꜰʀᴇᴇᴢᴇ. I ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ I sᴀɪᴅ ᴀɴᴅ I sᴀɪᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ I ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ…. Aɴ ᴇʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ’s ꜰᴀɪᴛʜꜰᴜʟ ᴏɴᴇ ʜᴜɴᴅʀᴇᴅ ᴘᴇʀ ᴄᴇɴᴛ!”

Okay, I guess it wasn’t a jungle then. In the short, Horton at least gets a cute pair of earmuffs for this part. As for the book, the tree has switched sides and now leans to the left.

Sᴏ ᴘᴏᴏʀ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ sᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡʜᴏʟᴇ ᴡɪɴᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ…. Aɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɴ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴘʀɪɴɢᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇs ᴀɴᴇᴡ! Hɪs ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅs ɢᴀᴛʜᴇʀᴇᴅ ʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ sʜᴏᴜʀᴛᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ɢʟᴇᴇ.

One of these friends may look familiar. It’s Rosebud the mouse, who we last saw in “Farm Frolics”. Making his only other appearance here. Another of his friends is a kangaroo who has joey that has another joey in its pouch. Strange.

“Lᴏᴏᴋ! Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ Eʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ’s ᴜᴘ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴛʀᴇᴇ!” Tʜᴇʏ ᴛᴀᴜɴᴛᴇᴅ. Tʜᴇʏ ᴛᴇᴀsᴇᴅ ʜɪᴍ. Tʜᴇʏ ʏᴇʟʟᴇᴅ, “Hᴏᴡ ᴀʙsᴜʀᴅ!” “Oʟᴅ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ Eʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ ᴛʜɪɴᴋs ʜᴇ’s ᴀ ʙɪʀᴅ!”

And I guess they didn’t give him a chance to explain himself. Maybe once they learned of his predicament, they’d help out. At least try and find Mayzie.

Tʜᴇʏ ʟᴀᴜɢʜᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ ʟᴀᴜɢʜᴇᴅ. Tʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴀʟʟ ʀᴀɴ ᴀᴡᴀʏ. Aɴᴅ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ᴡᴀs ʟᴏɴᴇʟʏ. Hᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴘʟᴀʏ. Bᴜᴛ ʜᴇ sᴀᴛ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɢɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴏɴᴛɪɴᴜᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ sᴀʏ: “I ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ I sᴀɪᴅ ᴀɴᴅ I sᴀɪᴅ ᴡᴀʜᴛ I ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ…. Aɴᴅ ᴇʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ’s ꜰᴀɪᴛʜꜰᴜʟ ᴏɴᴇ ʜᴜɴᴅʀᴇᴅ ᴘᴇʀ ᴄᴇɴᴛ!

I suppose it isn’t really specified, but it sounds like Horton wants to play with these animals who are dicks. Surely you can make some better friends, man.

“Nᴏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ WHAT ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴs, ᴛʜɪs ᴇɢɢ ᴍᴜsᴛ ʙᴇ ᴛᴇɴᴅᴇᴅ!” Bᴜᴛ ᴘᴏᴏʀ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ’s ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇs ᴡᴇʀᴇ ꜰᴀʀ, ꜰᴀʀ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴇɴᴅᴇᴅ. Fᴏʀ, ᴡʜɪʟᴇ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ sᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ sᴏ ꜰᴀɪᴛʜꜰᴜʟ, sᴏ ᴋɪɴᴅ, ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀs ᴄᴀᴍᴇ sɴᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ sᴏꜰᴛʟʏ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ!

Clampett has fun with the hunters designs. Each one looks different than the others.

Hᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇɴ’s ꜰᴏᴏᴛsᴛᴇᴘs! Hᴇ ᴛᴜʀɴᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ sᴛᴀʀᴛ! Tʜʀᴇᴇ ʀɪꜰʟᴇs ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴀɪᴍɪɴɢ ʀɪɢʜᴛ sᴛʀᴀɪɢʜᴛ ᴀᴛ ʜɪs ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ!

And in the animated world, heart apparently means rump.

Dɪᴅ ʜᴇ ʀᴜɴ? Hᴇ ᴅɪᴅ ɴᴏᴛ! HORTON STAYED ON THAT NEST! Hᴇ ʜᴇʟᴅ ʜɪs ʜᴇᴀᴅ ʜɪɢʜ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ ᴛʜʀᴇᴡ ᴏᴜᴛ ʜɪs ᴄʜᴇsᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ ʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀs ᴀs ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴀs ᴛᴏ sᴀʏ: “Sʜᴏᴏᴛ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴜsᴛ ʙᴜᴛ I ᴡᴏɴ’ᴛ ʀᴜɴ ᴀᴡᴀʏ! I ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ Isᴀɪᴅ ᴀɴᴅ I sᴀɪᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ I ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ…. Aɴᴅ ᴇʟᴇᴘᴀɴᴛs’s ꜰᴀɪᴛʜꜰᴜʟ ᴏɴᴇ ʜᴜɴᴅʀᴇᴅ ᴘᴇʀ ᴄᴇɴᴛ!”

Horton is so bass.

Bᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇɴ ᴅɪᴅɴ’ᴛ sʜᴏᴏᴛ! Mᴜᴄʜ ᴛᴏ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ’s sᴜʀᴘʀɪsᴇ, ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴅʀᴏᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ɢᴜɴs ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ sᴛᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴡɪᴅᴇ ᴇʏᴇs! “ʟᴏᴏᴋ!” ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴀʟʟ sʜᴏᴜᴛᴇᴅ, “Cᴀɴ sᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ʙᴇ? Aɴ ᴇʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ sɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴘ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ᴛʀᴇᴇ…”

Really, it’s only mildly interesting. The tree that isn’t breaking, THAT’S the impressive part.

“Iᴛ’s sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ! Iᴛ’s ᴀᴍᴀᴢɪɴɢ! Iᴛ’s ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀꜰᴜʟ! Nᴇᴡ! Dᴏɴ’ᴛ sʜᴏᴏᴛ ʜɪᴍ. Wᴇ’ʟʟ CATCH ʜɪᴍ. Tʜᴀᴛ’s ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴇ’ʟʟ ᴅᴏ! Lᴇᴛ’s ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ʜɪᴍ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ. Wʜʏ, ʜᴇ’s ᴛᴇʀʀɪʙʟʏ ꜰᴜɴɴʏ! Wᴇ’ʟʟ sᴇʟʟ ʜɪᴍ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀ ᴄɪʀᴄᴜs, ꜰᴏʀ ᴍᴏɴᴇʏ!”

I suppose during the war, even mildly funny was much appreciated.

Aɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀsᴛ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ʜᴇ ᴋɴᴇᴡ, ᴛʜᴇʏ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴜʟᴛ ᴀ ʙɪɢ ᴡᴀɢᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʀᴏᴘᴇs ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʀᴏɴᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴜʟʟᴇʀs ᴛᴏ ᴅʀᴀɢ ᴏɴ. Tʜᴇʏ ᴅᴜɢ ᴜᴘ ʜɪs ᴛʀᴇᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴘᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ɪɴsɪᴅᴇ, ᴡɪᴛʜ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ sᴏ sᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ᴘʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ ᴄʀɪᴇᴅ. “Wᴇ’ʀᴇ ᴏꜰꜰ!” ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇɴ sʜᴏᴜᴛᴇᴅ. Aɴᴅ ᴏꜰꜰ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴀʟʟ ᴡᴇɴᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ᴜɴʜᴀᴘᴘʏ, ᴏɴᴇ ʜᴜɴᴅʀᴇᴅ ᴘᴇʀ ᴄᴇɴᴛ.

Somehow they did all this without Horton snapping their spines with his trunk, and they potted the tree. I suppose if they can pull the whole thing, lifting it was just a bit harder. Another minor difference in the short: all three pull.

Uᴘ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴊᴜɴɢʟᴇ! Uᴘ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ sᴋʏ! Uᴘ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴜɴᴛᴀɪɴs ᴛᴇɴ ᴛʜᴏᴜsᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴇᴇᴛ ʜɪɢʜ! Tʜᴇɴ ᴅᴏᴡɴ, ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴜɴᴛᴀɪɴs ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴀ ᴡᴇɴᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀʀᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ, ᴇɢɢ, ɴᴇsᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʀᴇᴇ …

So they WERE in a jungle! A jungle with snow. (And I though Wackyland was weird.) And did they really have to go up the mountain rather than around? These guys really must be the strongest men in the world. (I guess they are all named Artie.)

Tʜᴇɴ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀɢᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏɴᴛᴏ ᴀ sʜɪᴘ! Oᴜᴛ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ… ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴏᴏʜ, ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴀ ᴛʀɪᴘ! Rᴏʟʟɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏssɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ sᴘʟᴀsʜᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ sᴘʀᴀʏ! Aɴᴅ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ sᴀɪᴅ, ᴅᴀʏ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴅᴀʏ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴅᴀʏ, “I ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ I sᴀɪᴅ ᴀɴᴅ I sᴀɪᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ I ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ… ʙᴜᴛ ᴏʜ, ᴀᴍ I sᴇᴀsɪᴄᴋ! Oɴᴇ ʜᴜɴᴅʀᴇᴅ ᴘᴇʀ ᴄᴇɴᴛ!”

Clampett had real fun with this page! See that fish watching the ship? He shoots himself now that he’s seen everything. And yes, suicidal fish get cut when aired on TV. Pussies.

Aꜰᴛᴇʀ ʙᴏʙʙɪɴɢ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴡᴇᴇᴋs ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ᴄᴏʀᴋ, ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀɴᴅᴇᴅ ᴀᴛ ʟᴀsᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡɴ ᴏꜰ Nᴇᴡ Yᴏʀᴋ. “Aʟʟ ᴀsʜᴏʀᴇ!” ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇɴ sʜᴏᴜᴛᴇᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ʟᴜʀᴄʜ ᴡᴇɴᴛ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ Eʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ sᴛɪʟʟ ᴏɴ ʜɪs ᴘᴇʀᴄʜ, ᴛɪᴇᴅ ᴏɴᴛᴏ ᴀ ʙᴏᴀʀᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴊᴜsᴛ sᴄᴀʀᴇᴄʟʏ ʜᴏʟᴅ ʜɪᴍ….BUMP! Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ʟᴀɴᴅᴇᴅ! Aɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇɴ sᴏʟᴅ ʜɪᴍ!

I suppose he can’t talk to people in the book, but he can in the short. That just makes the people even more cruel.

Sᴏʟᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴀ ᴄɪʀᴄᴜs! Tʜᴇɴ ᴡᴇᴇᴋ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴡᴇᴇᴋ ᴛʜᴇʏ sʜᴏᴡᴇᴅ ʜɪᴍ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴀᴛ ᴛᴇɴ ᴄᴇɴᴛs ᴀ ᴘᴇᴇᴋ. Tʜᴇʏ ᴛᴏᴏᴋ ʜɪᴍ ᴛᴏ Bᴏsᴛᴏɴ, ᴛᴏ Kᴀʟᴀᴍᴀᴢᴏᴏ, Cʜɪᴄᴀɢᴏ, Wᴇᴇʜᴀᴡᴋᴇɴ ᴀɴᴅ Wᴀsʜɪɴɢᴛᴏɴ, ᴛᴏᴏ! Tᴏ Dᴀʏᴛᴏɴ, Oʜɪᴏ; Sᴛ. Pᴀᴜʟ, Mɪɴɴᴇsᴏᴛᴀ; Tᴏ Wɪᴄʜɪᴛᴀ, Kᴀɴsᴀs; ᴛᴏ Dʀᴀᴋᴇ, Nᴏʀᴛʜ Dᴀᴋᴏᴛᴀ. Aɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴏᴜsᴀɴᴅs ᴏꜰ ꜰᴏʟᴋs ꜰʟᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ sᴇᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴀᴜɢʜ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ ᴜᴘ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴛʀᴇᴇ. Pᴏᴏʀ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ɢʀᴇᴡ sᴀᴅᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀʀᴛʜᴇʀ ʜᴇ ᴡᴇɴᴛ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ sᴀɪᴅ ᴀs ʜᴇ sᴀᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏᴛ ɴᴏɪsʏ ᴛᴇɴᴛ: “I ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ I sᴀɪᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ I sᴀɪᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ I ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ… ᴀɴ ᴇʟᴘʜᴀɴᴛ’s ꜰᴀɪᴛʜꜰᴜʟ-ᴏɴᴇ ʜᴜɴᴅʀᴇᴅ ᴘᴇʀ ᴄᴇɴᴛ!”

The crow isn’t animated in the short. They move as much as the people in the book do.

Tʜᴇɴ… ONE DAY ᴛʜᴇ Cɪʀᴄᴜs Sʜᴏᴡ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴀ ᴛᴏᴡɴ ᴡᴀʏ ᴅᴏᴡɴ sᴏᴜᴛʜ, ɴᴏᴛ sᴏ ꜰᴀʀ ꜰʀᴏᴍ Pᴀʟᴍ Bᴇᴀᴄʜ. Aɴᴅ, ᴅᴀᴡᴅʟɪɴɢ ᴀʟᴏɴɢ ᴡᴀʏ ᴜᴘ ʜɪɢʜ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ sᴋʏ, ᴡʜᴏ (ᴏꜰ ᴀʟʟ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ!) sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴄʜᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ꜰʟʏ ʙʏ ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴏʟᴅ ɢᴏᴏᴅ-ꜰᴏʀ-ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʙɪʀᴅ, ʀᴜɴᴀᴡᴀʏ Mᴀʏᴢɪᴇ! Sᴛɪʟʟ ᴏɴ ᴠᴀᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ sᴛɪʟʟ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴀs ʟᴀᴢʏ. Aɴᴅ, sᴘʏɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʟᴀɢs ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴇɴᴛs ᴊᴜsᴛ ʙᴇʟᴏᴡ, sʜᴇ sᴀɴɢ ᴏᴜᴛ, “ᴡʜᴀᴛ ꜰᴜɴ! Wʜʏ, I’ʟʟ ɢᴏ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ sʜᴏᴡ!”

Birds are so proud of the fact admission doesn’t apply to them.

Aɴᴅ sʜᴇ sᴡᴏᴏᴘᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʟᴏᴜᴅs ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴀɴ ᴏᴘᴇɴ ᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴅᴏᴏʀ… “Gᴏᴏᴅ ɢʀᴀᴄɪᴏᴜs!” ɢᴀsᴘᴇᴅ Mᴀʏᴢɪᴇ, “I’ᴠᴇ sᴇᴇɴ YOU ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ!”
Pᴏᴏʀ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜɪs ꜰᴀᴄᴇ ᴡʜɪᴛᴇ ᴀs ᴄʜᴀʟᴋ! Hᴇ sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ sᴘᴇᴀᴋ, ʙᴜᴛ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴛᴀʟᴋ…

I doubt she would have recognized him if he wasn’t in a tree.

Tʜᴇʀᴇ ʀᴀɴɢ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴏsɪᴇsᴛ ᴇᴀʀ-sᴘʟɪᴛᴛɪɴɢ sǫᴜᴇᴀᴋs ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɢɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ’ᴅ sᴀᴛ ᴏɴ ꜰᴏʀ ꜰɪꜰᴛʏ-ᴏɴᴇ ᴡᴇᴇᴋs! A ᴛʜᴜᴍᴘɪɴɢ! ᴀ ʙᴜᴍᴘɪɴɢ! A ᴡɪʟᴅ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ sᴄʀᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ! “Mʏ ᴇɢɢ” sʜᴏᴜᴛᴇᴅ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ. “Mʏ EGG! WHY, IT’S HATCHING!”

You might think fifty-one weeks is too long for an egg to hatch, but an elephant’s gestation period is 22 months, so that sounds like a fair compromise.

“Bᴜᴛ ɪᴛ’s MINE!” sᴄʀᴇᴀᴍᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪʀᴅ, ᴡʜᴇɴ sʜᴇ ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɢɢ ᴄʀᴀᴄᴋ. (Tʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴡᴀs ᴀʟʟ ᴅᴏɴᴇ. Nᴏᴡ sʜᴇ ᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ɪᴛ ʙᴀᴄᴋ.) “Iᴛ’s MY ᴇɢɢ!” sʜᴇ sᴘᴜᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ. “ʏᴏᴜ sᴛᴏʟᴇ ɪᴛ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴍᴇ! Gᴇᴛ ᴏꜰꜰ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ɴᴇsᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ɢᴇᴛ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ᴛʀᴇᴇ!”
Pᴏᴏʀ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ʙᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ sᴀᴅ, ʜᴇᴀᴠʏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ….

Even as a kid this part bothered me. The work is NOT almost done, it’s only going to get harder. Why does she want it back so much? Does she think she can make the chick wait on her?

Bᴜᴛ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴠᴇʀʏ ɪɴsᴛᴀɴᴛ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɢɢ ʙᴜʀsᴛ ᴀᴘᴀʀᴛ! Aɴᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇs ᴏꜰ ʀᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜɪᴛᴇ sʜᴇʟʟ, ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɢɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ’ᴅ sᴀᴛ ᴏɴ sᴏ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ sᴏ ᴡᴇʟʟ, Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ Eʟᴇᴘʜᴀɴᴛ sᴀᴡ sᴏᴍᴇʜᴛɪɴɢ ᴡʜɪᴢᴢ! IT HAD EARS AND A TAIL AND A TRUNK JUST LIKE HIS!

So, unless sitting on an egg just infuses it with your D.N.A., Horton was the father all along. No wonder Mayzie made him sit. He had to do his share.

Aɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ sʜᴏᴜᴛɪɴɢ, “ᴡʜᴀᴛ’s ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜɪs ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ…?” Tʜᴇʏ ʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ! ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ sᴛᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴇʏᴇs ᴘᴏᴘᴘɪɴɢ ᴏᴜᴛ~ Tʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴄʜᴇᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴄʜᴇᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ CHEERED ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ. Tʜᴇʏ’ᴅ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ sᴇᴇɴ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ! “Mʏ ɢᴏᴏᴅɴᴇss! Mʏ ɢʀᴀᴄɪᴏᴜs!” ᴛʜᴇʏ sʜᴏᴜᴛᴇᴅ. “MY WORD! Iᴛ’s sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ʙʀᴀɴᴅ ɴᴇᴡ! IT’S AN ELEPHANT BIRD!!
ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ, ɪᴛ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ, ɪᴛ SHOULD ʙᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ! Bᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ Hᴏʀᴛᴏɴ ᴡᴀs ꜰᴀɪᴛʜꜰᴜʟ! Hᴇ sᴀᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ sᴀᴛ! Hᴇ ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ sᴀɪᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ sᴀɪᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ….”

Except… the elephant bird wasn’t brand new by 1940 when this book came out. It was a real species that had already gone extinct. It layed the biggest eggs of any animal. (And we’ve got another person staring at the bird again. Is he wondering what other chimaeras he could make?)

…Aɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ sᴇɴᴛ ʜɪᴍ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ, ᴏɴᴇ ʜᴜɴᴅʀᴇᴅ ᴘᴇʀ ᴄᴇɴᴛ!

Showing that some people are nice after all. (But did they really never try and see if the elephant was sitting on anything?) I’m just glad it ended happily for everyone who wasn’t a prick. And our short ends with Horton and his (I’m guessing son.) singing together. And what a merry melody it is!

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