The Bear That Wasn't

This is really different, an animated that you would think has to be really funny with the people that made it, guys like Chuck Jones and Frank Tashin, Paul Frees and Maurice Noble....but it isn't. It simply is a comment on being who you are, and perhaps a dig or two on our industrialized, impersonal society. Whatever the intent, there is one thing for sure: this is different.

One could made the same analogy with an alligator and the state of Florida. One day it's a swamp; the next thing you know it's nothing but concrete and condominiums. Huh? That's the scene here as the bear hibernates, wakes up and now he's in the middle of a big city and then, inside a factory where nobody believes he's a bear. Why would they? Why would a bear be in a factor? What happened to the open land where he lived? Everyone has questions in here.

However one interprets this story, I enjoyed the artwork and the modern style of it in this cartoon. Like the story, the artwork is very different from the Looney Tunes we are used to seeing from the 1930s through the 1950s. In some respects, it is very '60-ish looking, a la The Pink Panther cartoons.

Whatever it is, if you own the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Three, don't overlook this extra cartoon that is listed under "From The Vault."

... the result is this underseen gem from the last days of the MGM Animation Department. The four geniuses are, of course, Chuck Jones (co-director), Maurice Noble (co-director/designer), Frank Tashlin (script), and Paul Frees (voices). The result is a delight.

Tashlin's Thurbur-like story, which I won't spoil, is a delightful double satire on big business bureaucracy and perception vs. reality, with our hapless ursine hero somehow preserving his dignity and sanity in a situation that rapidly snowballs into indignity and insanity. Tashlin's witty script calls to mind his best work in live-action films, Jones and Noble's direction and designs are among their best, and the understated humor of Frees's voice characterizations wrap up this comic package nicely. That this film wasn't even nominated for an Academy Award is inexplicable.

As I revise these comments, some three years after I originally wrote them, "The Bear That Wasn't" has finally come out on DVD, as part of the Loony Tunes Gold Collection, Volume 3. Do yourself a favor and see it.

This is an interesting short from the WB gang, since it's message-driven. (See other comments below for plot descriptions from the fawning fans.) Frees' voice work is nice, and the characteristic Chuck Jones facial expressions on the bear are endearing, as usual... but "interesting" is about as far as I can go in praise of this 'toon.

With a sledgehammer's subtlety, the message is made clear about one-quarter of the way into this short. After that it's repeated... and repeated... and repeated. And then, a full minute in the middle is spent rehashing what you just watched while the theme song (from the opening credits) plays... yet again. Some of the animation here is done beautifully, like the birds; while other parts are strange and utterly unnecessary, like the bizarre floor-arrows. There are very few characters, none of which have any real characterization; and what little conflict there is (necessary to ANY story) simply vanishes about halfway. The predictable ending comes with almost zero difficulty, plot-wise, and has me completely puzzled as to why a story so simplistic had to be ten minutes long?

I'm a big big fan of classic WB and H&B animation, and I thought at first I was about to be exposed to a hidden gem; but it's pretty understandable why I've never heard of this short. I can only assume that it appeals to young children and the memories of those who saw it when they were very young. It probably deserves a 2-vote when compared to everything else Jones et al did, and a 6-vote when compared to other animation... so, on average, 4 out of 10.

Every time I see this cartoon, I remember what Anatole France once reportedly said: "If a thousand people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." This cartoon is about a bear and the nightmare his life becomes when others persist in believing a foolish thing and manage to briefly convince him that it's the truth. Remember wht Shakespeare said: "To thine own self be true". This runs occasionally on Cartoon Network. Most recommended

While Chuck Jones remains best known for his Warner Bros. animated shorts, he also directed a couple of interesting pieces after he left WB. Probably best known are "The Dot and the Line" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", but another one is "The Bear That Wasn't", an eerily prophetic look at the industrial age. Based on a short story by Frank Tashlin (also a former WB director), it portrays a bear hibernating, only to wake up and discover that there's a now a factory surrounding his cave. While the cartoon maintains a lighthearted tone, it does get fairly serious - if inadvertently - when the bear tries to explain his predicament. Representatives of each successive echelon tell him that he's just a man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat.

At the very least, we see the invasion of the natural world by industry; one might interpret this cartoon as a precursor to "The Lorax". But inside the factory itself, not only do they force the bear to perform labor similar to what Charlie Chaplin did in "Modern Times", but there's the hierarchy displayed when we see the president in his throne-like chair. Not to mention the fact that they do everything possible to berate the bear out of knowing that he's a bear.

But even beyond all this, the cartoon brings to mind the fact that these factories have since shut down and moved production to the Third World. Michael Moore's "Roger and Me" is a prime example of what resulted from such a situation. In other words, first the factories destroy their natural settings, then they abandon the areas and let them rot. This is what we have become as a society.

All in all, I certainly recommend this cartoon.