Donald et l'Ours

In the 1950s, the Disney studio came up with a new character, Humphrey the Bear. Depending on the cartoons, Humphrey lives in a national park and a ranger (voiced by Bill Thompson, who also played Mr. Smee in "Peter Pan") is often making sure this nice but troublesome bear stays out of trouble.

In "Beezy Bear", the ranger has to work to be sure Humphrey does NOT raid the nearby bee hives owned by Donald Duck. Why you would put hives right next to the bears' habitat, I have no idea...but that's the basic plot. Most of the time, the ranger doesn't believe Donald that the bear is raiding his hives....will it remain that way?

This, like the other Humphrey cartoons, is sweet, cute and enjoyable. It also features likable characters and is well worth seeing. Not the best of the series....but still awfully good.

This short is a battle of wits. To be more accurate, it's a battle of half-wits and largely comes out a draw, though Humphrey could technically be called the bigger loser. As neither would ever be mistaken for a member of MENSA, their schemes and machinations don't go as planned. Delightful cartoon that's well worth seeking out, it plays periodically on The Ink and Paint Club. Recommended.

The next on Disney Plus' shorts section was "Beezy Bear", the second short in a row featuring interactions between Donald Duck and Humphrey the bear. I didn't much care for the last one, but this one I enjoyed more.

Donald Duck (Clarence Nash) is a beekeeper who keeps his hives next to a national Park. One day he catches a bear (James MacDonald) stealing his honey and chases him back to across the boundary where the bears received a lecture from the Ranger (Bill Thompson) about not entering Donald's land. Donald sets up a barbed wire fence to ensure the bears stay away but Humphrey is enterprising and committed and continues to find ways to get at that honey.

Generally, I haven't thought these Donald shorts haven't been all that I hoped they might. Genuinely lack in the wit or humour that some other shorts have had. This was better though. I think it might be because of the score, more than anything else. The action of certain scenes was keyed in with that as well as some great use of sound effects. The best aspect though was hearing the voice of James MacDonald, legendary Disney voice of Mr. Smee and the White Rabbit, amongst many other classic characters.

A definite improvement, if not an all time classic.

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.

Beekeeper Donald is infuriated when a BEEZY BEAR from neighboring Brownstone National Park begins stealing his honey.

This humorous cartoon was one of a series to feature Humphrey Bear & Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore. Always an enjoyable duo, they starred in a short series of cartoons but ultimately disappeared into animated obscurity. Clarence "Ducky" Nash supplies Donald's voice, while Bill Thompson does the honors for the Ranger.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Bambi, Peter Pan and Mr. Toad. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

Donald Duck is a beekeeper, trying to keep his hives of honey from being raided by Humphrey the Bear. Donald puts up a barbed wire fence in hopes of keeping the hungry Humphrey out, but that doesn't quite stop him.

This cartoon consists of some classic Donald humor - especially liked his quick temper and quacky voice during his frustrated moments. It's just funny seeing him going back and forth in protecting his hives from the bear, getting a smack of honey blasted in his face in the process.

The animation is colorful and detailed. It's nice to see that Donald doesn't completely get the brunt of the bad luck in this one.

Grade A-