What’s brewin, Bruin?

“Oh, goody, goody! Uh, a snowman!”

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8cvc7y

Directed by Charles M. Jones; Story by Tedd Pierce and Michael Maltese; Animation by Phil Monroe, Ken Harris, Lloyd Vaughn, and Ben Washam; Layouts by Robert Gribbroek; Backgrounds by Peter Alvarado; Effects Animation by A. C. Gamer; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Looney Tune released on February 28, 1948.

Having been four years since their last cartoon, we’re given a quick reintroduction to Henry, Ma, and Junyer. The parents are playing a game of gin rummy, and according to the score list, Henry has yet to win. But with Ma’s poker face, that’s no surprise. So challenging her in the first place was Henry’s first mistake. His second was to take advice from his son. Thanks to Junyer’s “tips” Henry loses again. He takes it very well for his standards.

Well, fun time must be put on hold as they really need to get to sleep if they’re going to bypass winter. (They never make the mistake of calling it hibernating. Well done, Chuck!) Each says their prayers and gets into their respective bed. (According to Junyer’s chart on the wall, he’s very good at ‘behinding his ears.’) The problems immediately arise. Ma’s a snorer and Junyer’s cradle creaks. It then falls apart and Junyer’s crying adds to the cacophony. Since he’s a half-decent father deep down, and it will shut the kid up, Henry allows the tyke to share his bed.

That was his third mistake, as Junyer’s bulk flattens Henry, but things get more unpleasant because of a leak in the roof. As the son of the household, it’s Junyer’s job to plug it up. The water finds an out through his ears, so that solution won’t work. Henry jams the hole full of long underwear, which holds a little better, but eventually leads to a bigger problem. (Who in this household wears those?)The window is also open, per Ma’s wishes seeing as how she opens it every time Henry closes it. Even bricks can’t keep her away. (Wives always win.)

When the stuffed moose head on the wall falls on Henry, Junyer and Ma take notice of the strange being in their house, and chase it with a gun and a mallet. After Henry gets revealed, Junyer earns another star on his ‘good boy’ chart by bringing the spanking brush to Henry. But no, this final straw demands more than that. Henry is going to get some sleep, and his family is NOT going to interfere with that. This means tying the two to their beds, (Junyer’s now fixed) muzzling their mouths, (Junyer’s muzzle miscolored) plugging that hole correctly, nailing the window shut and even making sure the clock is silenced. This will be a blissful slumber to savor!

And it’s now spring. Plants are sprouting, animals are calling, and ice is melting. It’s all very beautiful, but very loud. And Henry has suffered too much to have to put up with it! He yells for things to be quiet, and the universe finally cuts him some slack. Time rewinds back to winter so the bear can finally get some rest. (Thankfully, the short ends before time repeats the whole picture.)

Favorite Part: It really is great that Henry got to win at last. Yes, he’s an a-hole who deserves just about every misfortune that befalls him, but he just wanted to enjoy winter the way all creatures should: totally unaware. I’m happy for him.

Personal Rating: 3

Bear Feat

“What did I ever do to deserve such a family?”

 Directed by Charles M. Jones; Story by Michael Maltese; Animation by Ben Washam, Lloyd Vaughan, Ken Harris, and Phil Monroe; Layouts by Robert Gribbroek;Backgrounds by Peter Alvarado; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Looney Tune released in 1949. Directed by Charles M. Jones; Story by Michael Maltese; Animation by Ben Washam, Lloyd Vaughan, Ken Harris, and Phil Monroe; Layouts by Robert Gribbroek;Backgrounds by Peter Alvarado; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Looney Tune released in 1949.

It’s breakfast time at the three bears’ house and Junyer is annoying his father by laughing uproariously at a Bugs Bunny comic in the paper. (This will lead to a mistake later) After giving him his first pounding of the day, Henry spies an add in the paper that really catches his interest. Seems the Mingling Bros. circus is requesting trained bears. And the salary is nothing to scoff at. It’s “Good Pay!” Henry figures they could be sensational with a little practice. Ma tries to tell him something, but Henry won’t let her. Seeing how enthusiastic Junyer is about the idea, she decides to go along with it. Henry and Junyer, (who I’m just now realizing is probably also named Henry) try to unicycle on a tightrope. His son’s weight brings the wire to the ground. Henry orders him off, and he is launched. Other tricks don’t fare much better. While using a trapeze, Henry smacks a tree branch, and trying to jump through a hoop at the same time as Junyer just yields more of a headache than he usually has. Next up is less of an act, and more of a carnival game. But it has a sign that is hilarious when taken out of context: “Hit my baby son!” Henry tries his game (wherein you throw a baseball at Junyer’s head. It’s only slightly less cruel than you probably imagined. Only because you might miss.) Junyer’s head is hard enough to bounce the ball right back. So it’s back to the tricks. Henry wants Junyer to jump on his seesaw to launch him onto a chair Ma is holding. Again, since Junyer is so fat, (he eats a lot in this short. Which means he will survive the winter) he launches Henry high into the atmosphere. Seeing as there is no point waiting around, mother and son head back home. The next day, they resume their positions. Henry still doesn’t land on target. (I wonder what was going on through his head the whole time) He tries a high dive, but Junyer drinks all the water, and finally riding a motorcycle in a large barrel. This comes to an end thanks to one of Junyer’s banana peels. (On the plus side, Henry lets out quite the amusing scream) Back at home, Henry decides they are ready, and gets the paper to see where the address is. Only now does he realize that the paper is from 1928! (They really have a crappy delivery boy, but this brings up my problem from earlier: There was Bugs Bunny comic in that? He wouldn’t be born for another 12 years! Heck, even Mickey wasn’t around yet. He was born in May of that year, and wouldn’t be shown to the public until November. I guess Bugs tried out comics before acting. Or it was supposed to be an Oswald comic. I’m thinking too hard about this. Let’s just finish our story) Henry finally snaps, and decides to end it all. He jumps off a cliff. (It would be horrifying if it wasn’t funny. Just look at the smile on his face!) To his dismay, Junyer loves him too much and saves his life with a fresh bucket of water. Tada!  

Personal Rating: 3

Looney Tunes: Back in Action! (Part 4)

A nice shot of France is shown. (Hey look. It’s Madeline. Clever) Our group is in the Lourve, and they come to the painting they seek. Not understanding what they are supposed to do, Kate sarcastically comments that they’ll have to steal it. (Which Bugs and Daffy are more than willing to do.) Playing with the card, they realize the back part comes off. It’s a window and when they hold it up to the painting, it becomes an x-ray. It shows her underwear (laugh) but also a map to Africa. That must be where the diamond is! They take a picture, (Daffy hopping up and down because he wants to take one) when Elmer appears.

Despite the fact Bugs and him made 35 pictures together. (No really. That’s the correct amount.) He’s “secwetwee evuw”. Bugs and Daffy distract him with card tricks while Kate and D.J. make their escape. Kate mentions that they’ll be all right because Elmer never gets Bugs. That’s what has kept their routine fresh all these years. D.J. is glad real life is different than films, because if this was a movie, then Kate would probably be kidnapped. Completely unaware of the fact that Bob has taken her.

The toons meanwhile, are chasing each other through the paintings. In “The Persistence of Memory” they are melting. (Hey, if the watches can melt, it’s hot enough.) It’s so hot that Elmer’s words become pictures. They run into “The Scream” and get yelled in the face. When Bug’s steps on Elmer’s foot, he makes the same face. (Creepy.) But while they are having fun experimenting with different animation styles, D.J. is still chasing after Bob. He alerts French policeman, Pepe Le Pew about the man carrying the woman away in a bag. But maybe he should have told a different guy. (Pepe is probably thinking that he now knows how to keep Penelope with him.) His scent  soon chases D.J. away.

Back in the Lourve, the trio chases each other into “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” After they exit, Elmer is still pointalized and Bugs dispatches of him with a fan. At the Eiffel Tower, Bob takes Kate to the top. D.J., having lost too much time with Pepe, pulls out the controls for his spy pants and gets ready to fly up there. His pants fly away without him. Immediately, he is heckled by the three bears on vacation. Henrey wasn’t really being a jerk, (I mean c’mon. Who wouldn’t point out the hilarity of flying pants?) but D.J. steals the bear’s pants anyway. (And people wonder why Henrey turned out the way he did.)

Bob waves down a helicopter piloted by Beaky Buzzard. (So he’s also on Acme’s side? Too bad we don’t get more out of him. At least he has a line here. Unlike “Space Jam.”) Bob takes Kate’s phone and begins to fly away. Kate jumps on him, but loses her grip and falls. D.J. uses the spy phone’s grappling hook to grab her and swing themselves to a cafe where Bugs and Daffy are waiting. Kate hugs D.J. assuring us that they will end up together by the end of the film. Even though they lost the picture, Bug’s still has the card. They begin making plans for Africa! (Next week is the final part! Don’t miss it!)

Bah, Humduck! (A Looney Tunes Christmas)

“What do I look like, an ATM?”

Merry Christmas to all who visit my humble blog! With Christmas nearby, it is time to talk about this direct to DVD movie.

It starts with our narrator, Bugs Bunny. He declares that even though rabbits are associated with Easter, he still loves Christmas. (Besides, remember the last Easter we saw Bugs? That’d sour anyone’s mood.) He is nearly hit by a limo. The owner of said limo? Daffy Duck. Owner of the Luckyduck Superstore. He has an awesome hover scooter, and not one speck of generosity. He refuses to help a poor, homeless, (Playboy) penguin, and steals the generosity bucket of carolers Egghead Jr., Henrey Hawk, Barnyard Dawg as a puppy for some reason, (?) and Priscilla Pig. (more on this cutie, later.)

Daffy has many employees working at his store. Including Sam Sheepdog, Miss Prissy, Charlie Dog, the Three Bears, a security guard (Gossamar) who is sitting on Santa (Cecil) Turtle’s lap, Foghorn Leghorn, Slowpoke Rodriguez, Claude Cat, Hubie and Bertie, Mac and Tosh, Beaky Buzzard, Hippitey Hopper, and  a (Pete) Puma janitor. (Just like his role in “Tiny Toon Aventures”!) He also has some employees with a bit more personality. Including Elmer Fudd, who works very hard, and is exhausted. Wile E. Coyote, who is constantly hungry, Marvin the Martian who is homesick and wishes to return home for the holidays, (Martian Christmas?) Speedy Gonazales who does wrapping, Pepe Le Pew, who tries to get to know a shopper who looks just like a skunk, (No really. Penelope just has a stripe.) and my man, Porky Pig, his assisstant manager. Whom Daffy shortly demotes to assisstant-assissant manager.

Bugs warns him that greedy people tend to get visited by Christmas ghosts. Daffy has no worry and heads to his office. There, he is visited by his idol, Sylvester the (Cat) Investor. He was the greediest person around, before he was murdered. Daffy now has that title, and is being warned that he must change his ways. He may be spooked, but Daffy is sure this is a prank, and pays it little heed.

After being visited by Bugs again, (He was searching for cheap skates, and was directed up here.) he gets a passage delivered by a Roadrunner. (I have no idea if he is an employee or not.) It is a gift Daffy sent to himself, a godly remote that can do just about anything for his office. His employees then come asking for favors, but are all snubbed. Porky just wants to have Christmas off so he can spend time with his daughter, Priscilla. (Now let me just say, that she is ADORABLE! Tara Strong really knows how to bring in a cuter than cute performance.)  Daffy refuses and demands that everyone come in at 5:00 AM the next day. (Where else are the last minute Kwanzaa shoppers supposed to go?) Everyone leaves discouraged.

Bugs is still there with Daffy as the exits are covered in snow. Daffy demands they separate and soon after, is visited by the ghost of Christmas past. Or rather ghosts. Granny and Tweety take Daffy back to his past, and we see how hard his childhood was. He lived at an orphanage, and was never adopted. Morons. Why wouldn’t you want to adopt the world’s funniest duck? (I said FUNNIEST, not most popular. And for that matter where is that swan? She took him in only to leave him behind?) This does little to change his ways and Daffy just wants to use their powers “Back to the Future 2” style to get more money. He is sent back to the store.

The ghost of Christmas present is played by… Yosemite Sam? I think you could have chosen a better character for that. Maybe switch with Sylvester? Anyways, he shows Daffy how hard his employees lives really are. Another adorable scene shows, that Priscilla wants two things for Christmas, a doll, and for her daddy to spend it with her. (Too. Cute.  Daffy is not convinced quite yet, and just begs Bugs to hide him from the promised third ghost, once he returns.

They reenact “Tom Turk and Daffy” but ultimately Daffy is taken away by the ghost of Christmas future, the Tasmanian Devil. He sees his grave, and learns that his employees are out of jobs, because he tried to will the store to himself. Porky remarks that at least he and Priscilla can spend Christmas together. (I meant she with Porky! She didn’t die yet, sickos!) Being an angel anyway, she leaves some cookies on Daffy’s resting place, (which look hilarious, since they look like him) and wishes him luck, since she knows he’s not in heaven. (*Laughing* Best joke right there!)

Daffy finally resolves to change his ways and the next morning, gives everyone a paid vacation, as well as a rocket home for Marvin, and a personal chef for Wile. (Francois from “French Rarebit”) Even Pepe gets a kiss from Penelope. (Her choice even! She wasn’t bribed!) Daffy sees how much his generosity is going to cost him, and briefly tries to take it all back. That’s when Priscilla offers him a hilarious looking cookie, and calls him “Uncle”. (I wish she’d do that to me.) Daffy remains generous to the delight of Bugs and the ghosts. We end with Priscilla saying our “That’s all Folks!” (Did i mention how adorable she is?)

Overall this short, is nothing grand, but if you are a Looney Tunes fan, you’ll enjoy it.

Personal Rating: 2 for the common folk, 3 for the Looney-tics.

A Bear for Punishment

“I hate breakfast in bed!”

I know. I should have talked about a Mother’s day cartoon, but i couldn’t find one. Father’s day works fine. This cartoon was based on Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese’s fathers days they experienced. (That’s harsh)

One morning, Henry Bear wakes up to many alarm clocks. He learns that its fathers day and his family wants to treat him right. Junyer spills breakfast on him, and tries to shave him with a broken razor. He can’t even fill his dad’s pipe without an injury. (“g-u-n-p-o-w-d-e-r, deh, tobacco”)

Finally, they perform a show. Junyer recites a poem about how he loves his father, Ma does a dance, and as a finale they dress up Henry as the stature of liberty and launch fireworks. He is too shocked to protest. (And thus the 3 bears cartoons ended)

Personal Rating: 3

Space Jam

“You guys are nuts.”

“Correction, we’re Looney Tunes”

I love this movie, but then again, I am a Looney Tunes fanboy. It’s sad most of the world seems to hate it. I think that is bull crap. This is a masterpiece if ever there was one. At least it did great at the box office.

The history is that people made commercials with Bugs and Michael Jordan advertising basketball shoes. So they figured making a movie was a good idea. (I think it was.) Our plot is that a theme park in outer space, (it is not specified which planet, but I think the whole park is its own planet) sucks. (How can people say that? Didn’t you ever want to ride an Astro-orbiter wannabe that shoots at you? Oh yeah, me neither) The owner decides they need new attractions and figures that the Looney Tunes are just the thing. I’d come.

However, Bugs tricks them into thinking they need to give the toons a chance to defend themselves. Since the aliens are short and have tiny limbs, basketball seems like a shoe in. However the aliens have the ability to steal the ability from five NBA players. Luckily, Jordan was retired at this time. So they don’t nab him. The toons get him for their side and we get the greatest game in all history!

This also introduced us to Lola. She did not have much of a personality in this movie, save for being someone for Bugs to be attracted to. Seems she was popular though, as she appeared in “Baby Looney Tunes”, “Tweety’s High Flying Adventure”, and “The Looney Tunes Show.”

Bottom line if you hate this you have no taste and at the very least you have to watch it once. (There must be more who love this, I know it!) “Tune” in next time where I will name all the Looney Tunes who appear in the film as well as some interesting facts. Woo hoo hoo hoo! Woo hoo!

Personal Rating: 3. (Unless you’re one of those people who can’t stand anything Looney that came out after the Golden age. For you, it’s a 2.)

Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears

“Someone’s been sleeping in my bed, and here he is, still been sleeping in my bed.”

Once upon a time there were 3 bears and… whoa deja-vu. I swear I said this stuff before. Better stop just to be on the safe side.

We find our ursine family being hungry when Henry gets an idea. They’ll lure Goldilocks home so they can fest on her flesh. (Well, they ARE bears.) But from the moment that Ma says they have no porridge and only carrots with which to make carrot soup, the title makes perfect sense. Bugs proceeds to carry out the story but can’t fool Ma who is ready to clobber him. He romances her and she falls for him, and now he can’t get rid of her. He also has to worry about Henry and Jr. who are still intent on having rabbit for dinner. Warner bros. did good work spoofing fairy tales. This, of course, is one of their better ones. The humor even continues after the iris out. (Briefly)

Personal Rating: 4

The Scarlet Pumpernickel

“I’m simply furious!”

If there’s one thing I love, it’s seeing a whole lot of cartoon characters that aren’t usually together, together. That’s why I love this cartoon. It has a great cast: Porky, Daffy, Sylvester, Ma Bear, Henery hawk, and Elmer Fudd. (Interestingly, Fudd was voiced by Mel Blanc, I have no idea why) The humor here doesn’t disappoint either. Its just as funny as any other Looney Tune.

I think I’ve talked about greedy Daffy enough. Its time I moved to my favorite version of him, Daffy Daffy!

Personal Rating: 4