Fair and Worm-er

The whole spectrum of life involves the food chain or hierarchy of species. Worms get eaten by birds, birds get eaten by cats, cats get chased by dogs and the dog is hunted by the man from the pound. When the animals realise this chain they decide that to support the pursuer of their pursuer is to give themselves a better shot.

Despite a lack of nay discernible plot, this chase cartoon is quite funny and also features an early appearance from a character who would later become Pepe the skunk. The plot involves the various levels in the food chain realising that they need to help out those above their predator to avoid being prey themselves. Cue some funny chases and falls as well as the usual stuff.

The characters aren't imaginative or anything new – the film only wants to have the animal hierarchy fully in place. Even the human characters are just stereotypes (the battered husband and the domineering wife) who do what they are required to do in the film.

Overall this is fairly amusing but I was surprised how little impact it made in my memory – even as I write this I would struggle to point out anything in it that made it stand out or made it any better than the average cartoon of the period.

I agree with a previous commenter: predator-prey cartoons use one of the most simple and one of the best formulae. A two-part food chain is the customary medium, but in Fair and Worm-er (1946), the animators carefully construct a day in the life of a complete cartoon food chain.

So you have a realistic food chain, with every part of it represented in animated form. So what else is there to do but give the audience some funny chase scenes. The uniformity of the food chain is demonstrated in a single scene when each component organism of the food chain begins the chase as soon as its quarry appears in perfect textbook fashion.

But that's not all, folks. You throw in a stereotypical 40's housewife with rolling pin, and her obligatory rodentophobia. Plus a beast that terrorizes everyone: a skunk that minds its own business, later to become Pepe le Pew.

The worm, unnamed but familiar in several early cartoons, is always the wise guy, and he is one who is unafraid of the skunk. Eventually, the different animals realize they have to help their predator's enemy, thus giving themselves a better chance at survival. This is a really funny part, and one that is very memorable. There are several bizzarre occurrences, as the animals defy the laws of physics, and the chase is always fun to behold.

But the thing is, this cartoon does nothing to be unique. It's a simple story, and the animators just aim to make something funny out of it. I would say it's one of the best one-shot cartoons of all time anyway, simply because it does a great and admirable job with something so simple. But all you will remember is that it was funny when you watched it. That's what I was looking for when I turned on the TV, so bravo to the makers. Highly recommended.

Cartoons have proved it time and again: nothing's funnier than natural enemies chasing each other.

And in "Fair and Worm-er", the whole cartoon is just one big chase, based on a simple premise of a worm trying to get to an apple. Of course, he is being chased by a bird, who is chased by a cat, who is chased by a dog, who is chased by a dog catcher, who is chased by his wife....

Well, you get the idea.

For the length of the cartoon, each character chases the other, sometimes one will conspire against another to aid themselves (i.e. - the bird thwarts the dog catcher so the dog will catch the cat and leave him free to get to the worm! WHEW!). Actually, it's all rather simple - just like the Roadrunner cartoons (also directed by Jones!) - but with the added input of a skunk thrown in for good measure, it can only help.

Ten stars for "Fair and Worm-er". Join the chase!