Looney Tunes: A Bear For Punishment

Premiered October 20, 1951.

One morning, in the cave of the Three Bears, Papa Bear Henry (Billy Bletcher) wakes up in foul mood.  

Henry lightens up a bit when Mama Bear (Bea Benaderet) reminds him it's Father's Day and gives him a present.

In honor of the occasion, Mama and Junior Bear (Stan Freberg) prepare breakfast in bed for Henry, in spite of the fact that he hates eating breakfast in bed.  Breakfast turns into a disaster due to Junior's clumsiness.

For the next Father's Day "event," Junior offers to give Henry a shave, with a very scary looking razor.

Next up, Mama and Junior insist that Henry sit by a warm fire and read a book.  Junior prepares a pipe for Henry...

...which results in another Father's Day disaster.

Finally, Junior and his mother present a Father's Day pageant for Henry.  Junior reads a poem dedicated to his father.

Mama performs a song-and-dance number for Henry.

None of this appeals to Henry.

The show closes with a march, which culminates in Mama and Junior (forcibly) dressing Henry up as the Statue Of Liberty.

J.A. Morris says:
There's not much of a "story" to speak of in A Bear For Punishment.  It's basically a series of accidents that victimize Henry on Father's Day, when all Papa Bear wants is to be left alone.  However, when a cartoon is directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, you don't necessarily need much of a story to make it entertaining.

A Bear For Punishment is full of great site gags and excellent voice acting.  Billy Bletcher, Bea Benaderet and Stan Freeberg are perfectly cast in their roles.  Bletcher is especially great as Henry, his anger and disgust are palpable.  

Speaking of voice actors, this is one of the few classic Looney Tunes shorts that doesn't feature the voice of Mel Blanc.  It's also worth noting that this was the last Warner cartoon of the "classic" era to feature the Three Bears.

If you're curious about the title, the phrase "a bear for punishment" is an archaic variation of "a glutton for punishment."

There aren't that many movies, specials or episodes that focus on Father's Day and it's always nice to find one.  A Bear For Punishment is very funny and will be enjoyed by all fans of Looney Tunes and Chuck Jones.  Fathers who couldn't care less about Father's Day will especially enjoy it. 

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Father's Day ties

RigbyMel says: 

A Bear for Punishment is an enjoyably loony Father's Day cartoon.  

As J.A. Morris mentions above, there are some wonderful sight gags. For example,  Papa Bear appears to turn into a literal "heel" when he realizes that Junior and Mama are trying to celebrate Father's Day with him.   

Note "Kinsey Report" book with pink cover on the floor by Papa Bear's bed.  Also note that his bed appears to be part of a Model-T Ford. 

Poor Papa bear would much rather sleep in and/or read his copy of the Kinsey Report (again, a great blink and you'll miss it sight gag), but Junior and Mama have increasingly elaborate plans to celebrate the day.  The song and dance number that culminates with fireworks at the end is hilarious. 

Chuck Jones and company do a great job of contrasting Papa Bear's frustration with Junior's (and to a lesser extent Mama Bear's) steamroller-like testaments to their devotion, which makes for a very entertaining and silly animated short.   

RigbyMel's rating: 

.5


3 and a half Father's Day ties

Looney Tunes: "Tom Turk and Daffy"

Released February 12, 1944.

"The yams did it!  THE YAMS DID IT!"
-Daffy Duck

Daffy Duck (Mel Blanc) is building a snowman and singing "Jingle Bells".  Suddenly, a turkey named Tom (Billy Bletcher) runs into Daffy and asks him to help him hide from a hunter.

Daffy complies, but does so in a rather tortuous manner.

The hunter arrives in the form of Porky Pig (Blanc again) dressed as a Pilgrim.  Daffy hides Tom inside a snowman, and refuses to tell Porky where to find him.  Porky expresses disappointment over the possibilty of a Thanksgiving dinner without a turkey, giving a vivid description of items on the menu.  Daffy still doesn't budge, telling Porky "I ain't no stool pigeon."

 But Daffy gives in when Porky mentions yams.  Tom has other ideas and pins his tail feathers onto Daffy's tail, making Porky think Daffy is the turkey.  A chase through the snow ensues.

Daffy's lips are sealed!

J.A. Morris says:
I'm a huge fan of Warner Brothers' cartoons, but I hadn't seen this one until recently.  It's a great short, it's got some hilarious sight gags, especially one that involves a bucket of water thrown at Porky.

  It's also very fun to see Porky go from docile to furious here, as Daffy drives him into a murderous rage!

And Daffy's rendition of "Jingle Bells" will be stuck in your head for a long time.

Daffy sells out Tom for yams.

Some historical notes on this cartoon:
-Tom calls Daffy a "quisling" when Daffy shows Porky where the turkey is hiding.  During World War II, a quisling was someone who was collaborating with the Axis Powers. 

Tom hides out in a snowman.

-Daffy sings the song "Angel In Disguise" while hiding Tom in a snowman.  This song was introduced in the 1940 film It All Came True where it was performed by Ann Sheridan.

"Tom Turk And Daffy" is available on a dvd called Porky & Friends:Hilarious Ham. 

 If you're a fan of Looney Tunes, you'll want to make it part of your annual Thanksgiving entertainment.

J.A. Morris' rating:
  

4 pumpkin pies!

RigbyMel says:

This is perhaps an underrated/overlooked Looney Tunes short, which is a shame as it features classic, anarchic direction by Chuck Jones.   I was amused to see some gags from more familiar shorts show up in this cartoon.

For example, we see Porky turn into a literal "sucker" when he realizes he's been had and Chuck Jones shorts are always good for comical uses for signage.

Wait, where is the turkey again? ;-) 

In addition to Mel Blanc's sterling voice work as both Porky Pig and Daffy Duck,  we get a vocal appearance by Billy Bletcher as Tom Turkey.

Bletcher is probably best known today for his work as "Peg-Leg Pete" in assorted Disney shorts from the 1930s through the 1950s and he does a great job here.

This short is relatively new to me, and makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it.   It stands up well to repeated viewings.

RigbyMel's rating

4 pumpkin pies!