Lumber Jerks

Two British gophers are storing their nuts for the weekend, when they find that much of their tree has been taken away which they have to find and bring it back. 'Goofy Gophers' indeed, try 'utterly lame never heard from again' gophers. I hold Looney Tunes shorts to a higher standard and when said standard isn't realized (or in this case even close), I'm sorely disappointed, and such is the case with this one. It just plain not the good at all and that saddens me a bit. This animated short can be found on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1.

My Grade: D

This features "Goofy Gophers," and I can see why this pair of characters never made it big in the Warner Brothers company of animated characters: they simply weren't funny. Cute? Yes? Funny? No. There wasn't anything to laugh about it this story of two gophers who have the top of their tree (where they store nuts) chopped off by lumberjacks.

They go searching for the half-tree, find it at the bottom of a river with others, and try to bring it home, first paddling down the river with it, then back at the mill battling a buzz-saw, and then following it as it became furniture.

All the while, they keep their cool and use a decent vocabulary, trying to sound British. They also get a plug in that will please all the "tree-huggers" out there.

Charming in spots, but where's the humor? Not in this cartoon, that's for sure.

I notice by all the comments I've seen that most people are under the impression that "The Goofy Gophers" first and possibly only appearance was in "Lumber Jerks". Actually by my count, they appeared in a total of 9 cartoons (7 Looney Toons and 2 Merrie Melodies). There may possibly be more I don't know about. "Lumber Jerks" was actually their 7th cartoon. They appeared in:

1. The Goofy Gophers (1947)

2. Two Gophers from Texas (1948)

3. A Ham in a Role (1949)

4. A Bone for a Bone (1951)

5. I Gopher You (1954)

6. Pests for Guests (1955)

7. Lumber Jerks (1955)

8. Gopher Broke (1958)

9. Tease for Two (1965)

They seem to be more popular than most people think (although still no comparison to BUGS!)

Of the nine Goofy Gophers cartoons, four of them were directed by Fritz Freleng. And while the best of the Goofy Gophers will always be the first one 'The Goofy Gophers', all of Freleng's efforts are very good to great.

'Lumber Jerks' for me is the weakest of the four, but not really for any major flaws. Just that the previous three had a little more imagination and tighter pacing, this is unusually slow-moving for the series and it may be a turn off for some, for me the restraint was admirable but a couple of parts were a little too staid for my liking. 'Lumber Jerks' however is still a very good cartoon.

The animation is just lovely as always with the early and middle period Looney Tunes cartoons, with some bright vibrant colours and richly detailed backgrounds and everything is very fluidly and smoothly drawn with no obvious jarring anywhere.

While Carl Stalling for me has always been the slightly better composer, Milt Franklyn still does a fine job, it is always dynamic and beautiful to listen to with lots of energy, whimsy and lively character. More importantly, it fits beautifully, just that Stalling's music went one step further in enhancing the action more effectively.

The dialogue manages to be both sharp and restrained, clever in structure and filled with the usual fresh and zany Looney Tunes wit, never less than very funny. The gags, in laugh-a-minute mode, are imaginative and executed very well indeed, most of the humour coming from the endearingly over polite dialogue between Mac and Tosh.

The story is still entertaining, if not as lively in pace as the previous Goofy Gopher cartoons. One may miss the dark and sometimes brutal, but never over-the-top cartoonish or stomach-churningly sadistic slapstick and violence of their earlier outings with the intellectual and well-spoken dog, but the visual humour is still a lot of fun here.

Mac and Tosh work are a wonderfully entertaining duo, if a very acquired taste, being cute yet very funny in their over-politeness to one another. They are voiced adroitly by Stan Freberg and Mel Blanc.

All in all, very good though there's better in the Goofy Gophers series. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Lumber Jerks (1955)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Twin gophers are collecting nuts to move into their new home (a tree) when lumber jacks tear it down and move it down the river to turn into furniture. Freleng and Blanc were masters of animation but this here is one of their duds. I really can't say too many goods things about this short and the more I think of it the less I like it. For starters, found a lot of the animation to be mediocre at best. Nothing is downright bad but at the same time nothing really jumps off the screen saying it's good. I was also rather disappointed in the vocals because they're more annoying than anything else. I'm sure the heart of the filmmakers were in the right place but the end results are pretty lacking.