A Bear for Punishment

1951 film by Chuck Jones

A Bear for Punishment

Directed by| Charles M. Jones
Story by| Michael Maltese
Produced by| Edward Selzer (uncredited)
Starring| Bea Benaderet
Billy Bletcher
Stan Freberg (all uncredited)
Music by| Carl Stalling
Animation by| Ken Harris
Phil Monroe
Lloyd Vaughan
Ben Washam
Layouts by| Robert Gribbroek
Backgrounds by| Philip DeGuard
Color process| Technicolor

Production
company

Warner Bros. Cartoons

Distributed by| Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation

Release date

* October 20, 1951 (1951-10-20) (USA)

Running time

| 7:10
Language| English

A Bear for Punishment is a 1951 animated Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones.[1] The short was released on October 20, 1951, and stars the Three Bears, in their last appearance in the Golden age of American animation.[2]

## Plot

[edit]

In the Three Bear's cave, Henry Bear is woken up from slumber by a ridiculous number of alarm clocks. Junior Bear claps and happily exclaims, "Oh boy! At last, the great day has come at last! Oh boy, oh boy!" When he can't shut them up, Junior silences them all by whispering "Shah!" Henry loses his temper, as he often does, shoving a clock in Junior's face. He is about to lose his temper with Mama Bear when she reminds him today is Father's Day. Henry feels embarrassed and (reluctantly) allows his family to treat him for Father's Day.

Unfortunately, the family's celebration of Father's Day repeatedly backfires on Henry: Junior trips on a roller skate as he is presenting Henry with breakfast in bed, covering him in food; he accidentally fills Henry's tobacco pipe with gunpowder and causes it to explode when he lights it; and he attempts to shave his "Paw" using a broken, shattered straight razor blade, leaving Henry injured to the point where Ma and Junior briefly thinks he's dead. However, Henry rises up and beats Junior again, causing him to exclaim: "Paw is all right now, Maw!"

Ma and Junior then put on an elaborate musical presentation for Father's Day, which embarrasses Henry to the extreme. This includes Junior reciting a cheesy poem for "My Paw," Ma giving an exaggerated song-and-dance act (while keeping a dead-serious and straight face for the entire time), and Henry being grabbed and dressed up as the Statue of Liberty, while Ma and Junior (dressed as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln respectively) present him as a tribute to Father's Day.

The march, "Father", performed by Junior and Mama, is a special vocal written to the tune of "Frat" by John F. Barth, a long-standing Warner cartoon staple. This is also one of few shorts where Mel Blanc does not provide a voice for any character.[3]

## Voice cast

[edit]

* Billy Bletcher as Papa Bear
* Bea Benaderet as Mama Bear
* Stan Freberg as Junior Bear

## Reception

[edit]

Animation historian Greg Ford writes that A Bear for Punishment is "a tour de force depicting Maw and Junyer's overzealous salute to Father's Day... As outrageous as Ken Harris' animation of this pageant is, Jones' drawings of Paw, in intercut reaction shots, are even funnier... It is typical of Jones' direction that, even in the midst of one of the most energetic, floridly animated scenes in cartoon history, the primacy of the single drawing should reassert itself."[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 228\. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
2. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 147\. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
3. ^ Furniss, Maureen, ed. (2005). Chuck Jones: Conversations. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-1578067299.
4. ^ Beck, Jerry, ed. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-1-64722-137-9.

## External links

[edit]

* A Bear for Punishment at IMDb

* v
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Chuck Jones

Short subjects|

| 1930s|

* The Night Watchman (1938)
* Dog Gone Modern (1939)
* Robin Hood Makes Good (1939)
* Prest-O Change-O (1939)
* Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939)
* Naughty but Mice (1939)
* Old Glory (1939)
* Snowman's Land (1939)
* Little Brother Rat (1939)
* The Little Lion Hunter (1939)
* The Good Egg (1939)
* Sniffles and the Bookworm (1939)
* The Curious Puppy (1939)

|

1940s|

* Mighty Hunters (1940)
* Elmer's Candid Camera (1940)
* Sniffles Takes a Trip (1940)
* Tom Thumb in Trouble (1940)
* The Egg Collector (1940)
* Ghost Wanted (1940)
* Stage Fright (1940)
* Good Night Elmer (1940)
* Bedtime for Sniffles (1940)
* Elmer's Pet Rabbit (1941)
* Sniffles Bells the Cat (1941)
* Joe Glow, the Firefly (1941)
* Porky's Ant (1941)
* Toy Trouble (1941)
* Porky's Prize Pony (1941)
* Inki and the Lion (1941)
* Snow Time for Comedy (1941)
* The Brave Little Bat (1941)
* Saddle Silly (1941)
* Porky's Midnight Matinee (1941)
* The Bird Came C.O.D. (1942)
* Porky's Cafe (1942)
* Conrad the Sailor (1942)
* Dog Tired (1942)
* The Draft Horse (1942)
* Hold the Lion, Please (1942)
* The Squawkin' Hawk (1942)
* Fox Pop (1942)
* The Dover Boys at Pimento University; or, The Rivals of Roquefort Hall (1942)
* My Favorite Duck (1942)
* Case of the Missing Hare (1942)
* To Duck or Not to Duck (1943)
* Flop Goes the Weasel (1943)
* Super-Rabbit (1943)
* The Unbearable Bear (1943)
* The Aristo-Cat (1943)
* Coming!! Snafu (1943)
* Wackiki Wabbit (1943)
* Spies (1943)
* The Infantry Blues (1943)
* Fin'n Catty (1943)
* Inki and the Minah Bird (1943)
* Point Rationing of Foods (1943)
* Tom Turk and Daffy (1944)
* Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (1944)
* Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike (1944)
* The Weakly Reporter (1944)
* A Lecture on Camouflage (1944)
* Going Home (1944, unreleased)
* Gas (1944)
* Angel Puss (1944)
* Outpost (1944)
* From Hand to Mouse (1944)
* Lost and Foundling (1944)
* Hell-Bent for Election (1944)
* Odor-able Kitty (1945)
* Private Snafu in The Aleutians—Isles of Enchantment (Oh Brother!) (1945)
* Trap Happy Porky (1945)
* It's Murder She Says (1945)
* Hare Conditioned (1945)
* Fresh Airedale (1945)
* No Buddy Atoll (1945)
* Hare Tonic (1945)
* Secrets of the Caribbean (1945)
* Quentin Quail (1946)
* Hush My Mouse (1946)
* Hair-Raising Hare (1946)
* Fair and Worm-er (1946)
* Roughly Squeaking (1946)
* Scent-imental Over You (1947)
* Inki at the Circus (1947)
* A Pest in the House (1947)
* House Hunting Mice (1947)
* Little Orphan Airedale (1947)
* A Feather in His Hare (1948)
* What's Brewin', Bruin? (1948)
* Rabbit Punch (1948)
* Haredevil Hare (1948)
* You Were Never Duckier (1948)
* Daffy Dilly (1948)
* My Bunny Lies over the Sea (1948)
* Scaredy Cat (1948)
* So Much for So Little (1949)
* Awful Orphan (1949)
* Mississippi Hare (1949)
* Mouse Wreckers (1949)
* The Bee-Deviled Bruin (1949)
* Long-Haired Hare (1949)
* Often an Orphan (1949)
* Fast and Furry-ous (1949)
* Frigid Hare (1949)
* For Scent-imental Reasons (1949)
* Bear Feat (1949)
* Rabbit Hood (1949)

1950s|

* The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1950)
* The Ducksters (1950)
* Dog Gone South (1950)
* 8 Ball Bunny (1950)
* The Hypo-Chondri-Cat (1950)
* Homeless Hare (1950)
* Caveman Inki (1950)
* Rabbit of Seville (1950)
* Two's A Crowd (1950)
* Bunny Hugged (1951)
* Scent-imental Romeo (1951)
* A Hound for Trouble (1951)
* Rabbit Fire (1951)
* Chow Hound (1951)
* The Wearing of the Grin (1951)
* Cheese Chasers (1951)
* A Bear for Punishment (1951)
* Drip-Along Daffy (1951)
* Operation: Rabbit (1952)
* Feed the Kitty (1952)
* Little Beau Pepé (1952)
* Water, Water Every Hare (1952)
* Beep, Beep (1952)
* The Hasty Hare (1952)
* Going! Going! Gosh! (1952)
* Mouse-Warming (1952)
* Rabbit Seasoning (1952)
* Terrier Stricken (1952)
* Orange Blossoms for Violet (1952)
* Don't Give Up the Sheep (1953)
* Forward March Hare (1953)
* Kiss Me Cat (1953)
* Duck Amuck (1953)
* Much Ado About Nutting (1953)
* Wild Over You (1953)
* Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953)
* Bully for Bugs (1953)
* Zipping Along (1953)
* Lumber Jack-Rabbit (1953)
* Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (1953)
* Punch Trunk (1953)
* Feline Frame-Up (1954)
* No Barking (1954)
* The Cat's Bah (1954)
* Claws for Alarm (1954)
* Bewitched Bunny (1954)
* Stop! Look! And Hasten! (1954)
* From A to Z-Z-Z-Z (1954)
* My Little Duckaroo (1954)
* Sheep Ahoy (1954)
* Baby Buggy Bunny (1954)
* Beanstalk Bunny (1955)
* Ready, Set, Zoom! (1955)
* Past Perfumance (1955)
* Rabbit Rampage (1955)
* Double or Mutton (1955)
* Jumpin' Jupiter (1955)
* Knight-mare Hare (1955)
* Two Scent's Worth (1955)
* Guided Muscle (1955)
* One Froggy Evening (1955)
* 90 Day Wondering (1956)
* Bugs' Bonnets (1956)
* Broom-Stick Bunny (1956)
* Rocket Squad (1956)
* Heaven Scent (1956)
* Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z (1956)
* Barbary Coast Bunny (1956)
* Rocket-Bye Baby (1956)
* Deduce, You Say! (1956)
* There They Go-Go-Go! (1956)
* To Hare Is Human (1956)
* Scrambled Aches (1957)
* Ali Baba Bunny (1957)
* Go Fly a Kit (1957)
* Boyhood Daze (1957)
* Steal Wool (1957)
* What's Opera, Doc? (1957)
* Zoom and Bored (1957)
* Touché and Go (1957)
* Drafty, Isn't It? (1957)
* Robin Hood Daffy (1958)
* Hare-Way to the Stars (1958)
* Whoa, Be-Gone! (1958)
* To Itch His Own (1958)
* Hook, Line and Stinker (1958)
* Hip Hip-Hurry! (1958)
* Cat Feud (1958)
* Baton Bunny (1959)
* Hot-Rod and Reel! (1959)
* Wild About Hurry (1959)

1960s|

* Fastest with the Mostest (1960)
* Who Scent You? (1960)
* Rabbit's Feat (1960)
* Ready, Woolen and Able (1960)
* Hopalong Casualty (1960)
* High Note (1960)
* Zip 'N Snort (1961)
* The Mouse on 57th Street (1961)
* The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961)
* Lickety-Splat (1961)
* A Scent of the Matterhorn (1961)
* Compressed Hare (1961)
* Beep Prepared (1961)
* Nelly's Folly (1961)
* A Sheep in the Deep (1962)
* Zoom at the Top (1962)
* Louvre Come Back to Me! (1962)
* Martian Through Georgia (1962)
* I Was a Teenage Thumb (1963)
* Now Hear This (1963)
* Hare-Breadth Hurry (1963)
* Mad as a Mars Hare (1963)
* Transylvania 6-5000 (1963)
* To Beep or Not to Beep (1963)
* Tom and Jerry (cartoon shorts, 1963–1967)
* War and Pieces (1964)
* The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (1965)
* The Bear That Wasn't (1967)

1980s|

* Spaced Out Bunny (1980)
* Soup or Sonic (1980)

1990s|

* Chariots of Fur (1994)
* Another Froggy Evening (1995)
* Superior Duck (1996)
* Pullet Surprise (1997)
* From Hare to Eternity (1997)
* Father of the Bird (1997)

Television
specials|

* How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
* The Pogo Special Birthday Special (1969)
* Horton Hears a Who! (1970)
* The Cat in the Hat (1971)
* The Cricket in Times Square (1973)
* A Very Merry Cricket (1973)
* Yankee Doodle Cricket (1975)
* The White Seal (1975)
* Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (1975)
* Mowgli's Brothers (1976)
* Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals (1976)
* Bugs Bunny in King Arthur's Court (1978)
* Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper (1978)
* Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile (1979)
* Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (1979)
* Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over (1980)
* Daffy Duck’s Thanks-for-Giving Special (1980)
* A Chipmunk Christmas (1981)
* Peter and the Wolf (1995)

Feature films|

* Gay Purr-ee (1962, screenplay)
* The Phantom Tollbooth (1970)
* The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979)
* Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, animation consultant)
* Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990, animation sequences)
* Stay Tuned (1992, animation sequence)
* Mrs. Doubtfire (1993, animation supervisor)

Television series|

* The Bugs Bunny Show (1960-1962, new animated sequences)
* Off to See the Wizard (1967-1968, animated sequences)
* Curiosity Shop (1971-1972)

Books|

* Daffy Duck for President (1997)

Characters|

* Bugs Bunny
* Charlie Dog
* Claude Cat
* Daffy Duck
* Elmer Fudd
* Gossamer
* Henery Hawk
* Hubie and Bertie
* Marc Antony and Pussyfoot
* Marvin the Martian
* Michigan J. Frog
* Nasty Canasta
* Penelope Pussycat
* Pepé Le Pew
* Porky Pig
* Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog
* Sniffles
* The Three Bears
* Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner
* Witch Hazel

Other works|

* Chuck Amuck: The Movie
* Chuck Jones: Extremes & Inbetweens – A Life in Animation

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