A Rainy Day with the Bear Family

Papa Bear is sleeping in his hammock. With a storm coming, Mama Bear wants him to fix the hole in the roof. He makes it worst. It doesn't help that Mother Nature isn't cooperating.

This is a Hugh Harman MGM cartoon short. The issue with Papa Bear is that he's scary when he growls. He has very sharp teeth and it's not funny. Otherwise, it's fine. It's a bear family and a storm.

This was the best of a very short series of cartoons that was a misfired attempt playing on the Three Bears, with thoroughly unlikable characters, including Papa, a lazy, mean and obnoxious fellow, Mama, not much better than Papa and Baby, a cute cipher with no real personality to speak of and consequently most irritating. Production values are good and the story is good, with some funny moments, but MGM fared much better with the character of Barney Bear, with some endearing qualities mixed in with the gruffness. This series isn't anywhere near the same league as the considerably funnier Warner Brothers take on the same fairy tale and died quickly. This particular short has a good ending, but I've seen better (and worse) in my time. Average at best. Worth watching, but don't try too hard to find it unless you collect MGM cartoons. For completeists.

A Three Bears saga. Papa is a fat and lazy guy. Momma prances around and cleans the house. She forces Papa to fix a small hole in the roof before the rains come. Of course, before he's finished he has literally destroyed the place. A torrential downpour and lots of lightning cause him incredible distress. Of course, the lesson is supposed to be that we need to take care of things or they will snowball--and they do. His inability to allow his laziness to guide him, causes the roof to cave in. At that point his temper dictates everything and he becomes juggernaut of destruction. Not a great cartoon.

Mama Bear tells Papa Bear to fix the hole in the roof. He points out that it isn't raining, so there's no hurry. While she goes singing to make dinner, the rain comes, with Papa on the roof.

This short series of cartoons from the Harman-Ising team would eventually become MGM's 'Barney Bear' series, in which the solitary and grumpy Barney would deal with distractions. I sometimes wonder what happened to Mama and the small cub, but given Papa's disposition, and the terrible and funny plight he undergoes, it's not a matter of great moment here.