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

The First Easter Rabbit

 Premiered April 6, 1976.
"We came within a hair's breadth, if you'll excuse the pun, of never having an Easter rabbit at all."
-G.B.

A bunny named G.B. (Burl Ives) narrates the story of how the Easter Bunny began his career.

Exuberant narrator G.B.

A little girl named Glinda (Dina Lynn) gets a stuffed animal bunny for Christmas. She names the bunny Stuffy.

Stuffy in Glinda's stocking with a sprig of holly between his paws

Stuffy becomes Glinda's favorite toy.

Glinda later contracts scarlet fever. The doctor tells Glinda's mother Elizabeth (Joan Gardner)  that all of Glinda's possessions must be burned to prevent a relapse of the disease.  Stuffy is among the items that will be destroyed.

While waiting on the rubbish pile, Stuffy is visited by a fairy named Calliope (Gardner again). She turns him into a real bunny and tells him he will become "the First Easter Rabbit."

Calliope sends Stuffy to Easter Valley, where it's always Spring, despite its location near the North Pole. She says Stuffy must "beware of Zero" as she flies away.

On the way to Easter Valley, Stuffy encounters three rabbits of questionable morals (the narrator calls them "con-rabbits").  They're names are Spats (Paul Frees), Flops (Stan Freberg) and Whiskers (Don Messick).   They're skeptical of Stuffy's story, but they offer to help him find Easter Valley, thinking there might be some way for them to profit from the adventure.

Stuffy meets Flops, Spats & Whiskers.

Meanwhile, Zero (Frees again) is also trying to get to the valley.  He is responsible for keeping the North Pole cold, but he can't access Easter Valley.  He asks his toady, a snowball named Bruce (Messick) to find a route to the valley.  Zero plans to make Easter Valley as icy as the rest of the Pole.

Zero, with his flunky Bruce.

Stuffy and the other rabbits meet a bird who directs them to the secret entrance to Easter Valley, which happens to be under a tree. When they arrive, Santa Claus (Frees again) stops by to welcome his new neighbor.

Santa Claus welcomes Stuffy

Stuffy worries that they don't have enough time to prepare for Easter. The other rabbits ask "What's in it for us?" Santa says that if they give presents to children, they'll feel good by doing good.

A little bird tells Stuffy how to access Easter Valley.

Zero observes the rabbits from afar. He conspires to capture the Golden Lily, which enables Easter Valley to stay Spring-like year round.  Once in possession of the lily, Zero causes winter to descend upon Easter Valley. Stuffy and company are snowed in.

Will stuffy be able to deliver eggs, candy and presents to children on Easter?  Will he get to see Glinda again?

Zero captures the Golden Lily, Bruce regrets helping him obtain the lily.

J.A. Morris says:
I had not seen The First Easter Rabbit in more than 30 years and found it was better than I remembered.  I've always felt that Rankin-Bass' "traditionally" animated specials were inferior to their Stop-Motion "Animagic" offerings.

Stuffy puts on a Santa suit while performing "There's That Rabbit".

But the music is nice, the special is full of beautiful Spring colors and the voice actors do a great job.  Paul Frees, Don Messick and Stan Freberg are among the best voice actors of all time and they bring their A-game to this special   Burl Ives also does a good job as narrator here.

Jonathan & Elizabeth (Glinda's doctor & mother, respectively) enjoy the Easter Parade.

 Additionally, his character GB's outfit  bears a strong resemblance to the clothes worn by Snowman Sam in Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer.  Fans of the series Mad Men may be surprised to learn that Robert Morse (yes, Bert Cooper himself) voices Stuffy the Easter Rabbit.

Robert Morse, who plays Bert Cooper in Mad Men...

...also voices Stuffy, the First Easter Rabbit!

 I always enjoyed the supporting role Santa Claus plays in this special.  As a kid, seeing Santa here was a nice reminder that Christmas was not as far away as it seemed.  And I also thinks it's cool that Santa helps Stuffy & friends deliver their Easter goodies.  Wouldn't it be nice if we could call up Santa for help if we were stuck in a snowdrift?

Santa & his reindeer (yep, led by Rudolph) arrive in Easter Valley to help Stuffy.

The introductory song "There's That Rabbit" isn't the best thing Maury Laws wrote, but it's catchy and memorable. Which is good, because the song pops up throughout the special.  The inclusion of Irving Berlin's classic song "Easter Parade" gives this special a real "major league" feeling.  And the "Easter Parade" scene is a nice finale, the reunion of Glinda and Stuffy is touching.

Stuffy & Glinda reunite at the Easter Parade.

All in all, The First Easter Rabbit is a very good Easter special and is recommended.  And if you're a fan of Mad Men, you may find it particularly amusing to hear the voice of "Bert Cooper" coming out of a cartoon rabbit.

Stuffy dances & charms the crowd at the parade.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Easter Eggs

RigbyMel says:

This special is relatively new to me - the first time I saw it was last year.  The story is an interesting mixture of elements, including similarities to the 1964 Rankin-Bass classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer with plot  from Margery Williams' 1922 tale The Velveteen Rabbit  and a bit of Irving Berlin thrown in for good measure.   The polyglot nature of the special works better than one might expect.

Stuffy and friends working on Easter goodies to share

On a side note, I am amused at how often Santa Claus seems to show up in various Easter related specials.  (It makes sense considering the origins of both holidays.)    That being said,  Santa's message to the sidekick bunnies about making others happy being more rewarding than personal gain is one that bears repeating year-round.

Off-Season Santa is around for help and advice!

 I do find the villain in this special to be a bit lacking in motivation compared to some other Rankin-Bass bad guys.   Bruce the anthropomorphic snowball is a creative addition, though.

The Macguffin Golden Easter Lily

As J.A. Morris says,  the voice acting is very appealing, the songs are fun and the bright spring colors are delightful. 

This might not be required viewing every year, but it is certainly an enjoyable way spend a half an hour.

RigbyMel's rating:

2 and a half Easter Eggs