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Big Heel-Watha

  • 1944
  • Approved
  • 8m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
435
YOUR RATING
Big Heel-Watha (1944)
AdventureAnimationComedyFamilyShort

To prove he's a true Indian brave, Big Heel-Watha decides to catch a squirrel - but wouldn't you know it; Screwy Squirrel is the first one he sees.To prove he's a true Indian brave, Big Heel-Watha decides to catch a squirrel - but wouldn't you know it; Screwy Squirrel is the first one he sees.To prove he's a true Indian brave, Big Heel-Watha decides to catch a squirrel - but wouldn't you know it; Screwy Squirrel is the first one he sees.

  • Director
    • Tex Avery
  • Writer
    • Heck Allen
  • Stars
    • Sara Berner
    • Frank Graham
    • Wally Maher
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    435
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Tex Avery
    • Writer
      • Heck Allen
    • Stars
      • Sara Berner
      • Frank Graham
      • Wally Maher
    • 6User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Top cast4

    Edit
    Sara Berner
    Sara Berner
    • Minnie Hot-Cha
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Graham
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • …
    Wally Maher
    • Screwy Squirrel
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Bill Thompson
    Bill Thompson
    • Big Heel-Watha
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Tex Avery
    • Writer
      • Heck Allen
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews6

    6.8435
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    Featured reviews

    8Captain_Couth

    Screwball goes native in this short!

    Big Heel-Watha a.k.a. Buck of the Month (1944) is a cartoon short that Screwball is only a secondary character to a dopey Indian named Big Heel-Watha. The tribe needs meat so the Chief offers his daughter Minnie Hotcha to whom ever gets the tribe some meat. Since Squirrels cost no meal ration points, they're fair game. All the braves run out into the woods after being motivated by seeing Minnie Hotcha. Chief Rain-in-Face makes the offer. Big Heel-Watha unfortunately runs into Screwball Squirrel and is tormented by him endlessly. Can the dopey brave get the squirel and win the "hotest' woman in the tribe?

    A funny cartoon that features Screwball in only a secondary role. Tex Avery's bizarre humor and the welcomed appearance of the Squirrel make this short another classic. Not as funny as the others but it's still worth watching.

    A
    9llltdesq

    A Screwy Squirrel short, but he gets upstaged here

    Although this is a Screwy Squirrel short, he is really the secondary character. The title character is front and center in this one, which is the least violent of the five Screwball Squirrel cartoons. The best scenes involve the daughter of the tribe's chief-they are hilarious! Well worth seeing. Recommended.
    9TheLittleSongbird

    Screwy Squirrel goes native

    Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

    Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best he ever did. Love the previous two Screwy Squirrel cartoons, loved 'Big-Heel-Watha' as well. Even if it is Screwy at his least violent. Despite being a compelling, much more anarchic than his sweet appearance and funny character, as well as being charismatic enough to carry his cartoons as a lead character (as he does here), it is somewhat easy to see why Screwy didn't click and didn't last long, being a brash character with few sympathetic qualities.

    He is a secondary character here somewhat but a very good one. The Chief is even more interesting and has the funnier moments, with the even funnier ones being with the cartoon-stealing daughter.

    Tex Avery does a wonderful job directing, with his unique, unlike-any-other visual and humour style all over it once again.

    'Big-Wheel-Watha', like the previous two cartoons but not as violent, is wonderfully over-the-top, very creative in its violent tone and some of it is hilarious, like the chasing on the water, everything involving the daughter and the ending.

    Once again, 'Big-Wheel-Watha' as always with Avery is beautifully animated. The character designs are unique, Avery always did have creative character designs, and suitably fluid. The music, courtesy of Scott Bradley, is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms and fits very well indeed.

    Voice acting is very good. There is nothing obviously wrong here, other than that compared to the other Screwy cartoons it's fairly tame.

    In summation, another fine Screwy squirrel, though one's enjoyment is dependent on your perception of the character himself. 9/10 Bethany Cox
    8rbverhoef

    Recommended

    'Big Heel-Watha' tells the story of an Indian with only one feather, hunting down the Screwball Squirrel. The chief has ordered every Indian to try to get some food; he who succeeds can marry his daughter. After the one-feathered Indian found some animals his mind is set on the squirrel, leading us to a couple of funny surprises in the end.

    This cartoon is very funny from start to finish. The Indian village is seen as some kind of modern corporation, the Indian knows he is in a cartoon and comments on it, the scene where he chases the squirrel on water is hilarious and the ending, especially the moment between the chief and his daughter, is perfect. I highly recommend this great cartoon.

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    Related interests

    Still frame
    Adventure
    Daveigh Chase, Rumi Hiiragi, and Mari Natsuki in Spirited Away (2001)
    Animation
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
    Family
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
    Short

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      "Big Heel-Watha" is later withdrawn from syndication in North America in the 21st century due to the exaggerated stereotypes of Native Americans. As of February 2020, it's available on Blu-ray.
    • Quotes

      Big Heel-Watha: That squirrel makes me so mad I could just scream

      [In a small voice]

      Big Heel-Watha: eee!, there!.

    • Connections
      Featured in Så er der tegnefilm: Episode #8.8 (1986)
    • Soundtracks
      By the Waters of Minnetonka
      (uncredited)

      Music by Thurlow Lieurance and J.M. Cavanass

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 21, 1944 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Buck of the Month
    • Filming locations
      • Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA("Old faithless geyser")
    • Production companies
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoon Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 8m
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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