Strife with Father

Braindead avian Beaky Buzzard debuted in Bob Clampett's "Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid" in 1942. Clampett brought him back in "The Bashful Buzzard" in 1945. After a five year absence, Beaky reappeared in "The Lion's Busy" and "Strife with Father", after which he never appeared in another theatrical short.

This one portrays Beaky getting left at the doorstep of husband and wife owls Monte and Gwendlyn. They try to raise him to be a gentleman, but...well, let's just say that Beaky belongs with his own kind! Long story short, never try to integrate a loopy oaf into decent society. Maybe Beaky should see a shrink.

It's hard to say what I really think of Beaky Buzzard. He proved to be an interesting character in his few appearances. I don't know whether or not his shtick would have gotten tiresome had he starred in more cartoons. I guess that just his four roles created enough of a personality to last, even if he is only a second-tier character. This one's worth seeing, if only once. Included as an extra feature on the "Flame and the Arrow" DVD, so I wonder if it preceded that movie in the theater.

Beaky Buzzard appeared in four cartoons, of which 'Strife for Father' (following on from 'Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid', 'The Bashful Buzzard' and 'The Lion's Busy') is his final one. That it is the weakest of the four, to me, and still manages to be quite good, makes it sad that the character and his series was so short lived.

Robert McKimson did a fair share of cartoons that are regarded by me highly, and generally he was deserving of more credit in a career that was over-shadowed by those of Chuck Jones, Tex Avery and Friz Freleng at the height of their powers. 'Strife with Father' is not McKimson at his best but still has a lot to like about it and has all the numerous strengths and the few not so good things about all four Beaky Buzzard cartoons. Of which 'Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid' gets my vote as the best and funniest.

The story is slight and fairly predictable, also slightly repetitive on occasions. The humour, while still executed fine, generally doesn't come close to the best gags in 'Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid', nor is there dialogue quite as memorable as the shoe leather insult in 'The Bashful Buzzard'. The supporting characters could have been stronger, not particularly memorable.

However, Beaky himself is still a cute and amusing character, while never being too cloying, overly-dumb or annoying.

Animation is bright in colour, fluid and rich in detail and smooth in movement and design. Ever demonstrating why he has always been my personal favourite of the Looney Tunes composers, Carl Stalling provides yet another energetically characterful, beautifully orchestrated and cleverly action-enhancing music score.

Even though, as said, never hilarious, there is some very amusing dialogue. Same with the gags, fun and well animated but there are more hilarious and more inventive around. Mel Blanc's voice work is terrific as always.

Overall, quite good but not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox