The Bear That Wasn't

Ever wonder how the psychedelic, existential mindset of the 60s transferred itself to the next generation? Well, this cartoon is your answer. Starting with the existential title "The Bear that Wasn't", kids and viewers of all ages are taken on a mind trip where self-identity conflicts with social identity, and modern-day bureaucracy and hierarchy are satirized and exposed. All of this is done through some of the most beautiful and artistic animation of Chuck Jones, with its use of autumnal colors, shapes, shadows and outlines, all set to a Sergio Mendes-esquire mid-late 60s jazzy score, with its own psychedelic overtones. Not to mention the unusual length of this 'cartoon'--10 minutes. There all other tasty little tidbits of that time period too -- the Bear has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth for most of the cartoon while he is bewildered at what is happening to him.

To think that little kids might have been zoned in to this in front of the TV on Saturday morning, while eating their breakfast cereal. What could they possibly be thinking after watching this? They say the 1960s counter culture was largely influenced by the fact that college campus theaters would show European new wave films, and so here were all these college kids innocently going to the campus theater, just cause it was there, yet being exposed to these radically artsy subversive films. This helped sow the seeds of a counterculture and the era which brought the widest and most pervasive critique of the society and everything about it, its values, norms, etc.

I just saw this last night on BOOMERANG. I could have turned it off, but it was like watching a train wreck. I had to research it and found that it was based on a children's book written in 1946; the author was said to be very unhappy with this animated version. The argument is always "But its for kids, not for adults, right!" Yes! There are so may quality animations for kids out there, why waste time on junk like this! It is everything that was wrong with the late 60's - 70's animation. Stuff like this almost killed the animation art form. In fact it was the last feature to be produced by the MGM animation group. P.S. - The lowest rank this form allows is "1 star", I wanted to give it "0".

Whatever kids are supposed to glean from this unconventional way of saying "be yourself," it's liable to be over their heads in delivering any sort of message. The appeal seems targeted for the '60 rebels who were activists on college campuses.

Nice modern animation, some bright colors, an abstract look--and an ultra-silly storyline make this one of Chuck Jones' lesser cartoons of the era.

Whatever satire existed in the original work has been made senseless by this cartoon. Viewed as the way nature has been disturbed by the invasion of man's industrial society, some adults may approve of it.

Not my idea of a truly entertaining cartoon for all ages.

This is really different, an animated that you would think has to be really funny with the people that made it, guys like Chuck Jones and Frank Tashin, Paul Frees and Maurice Noble....but it isn't. It simply is a comment on being who you are, and perhaps a dig or two on our industrialized, impersonal society. Whatever the intent, there is one thing for sure: this is different.

One could made the same analogy with an alligator and the state of Florida. One day it's a swamp; the next thing you know it's nothing but concrete and condominiums. Huh? That's the scene here as the bear hibernates, wakes up and now he's in the middle of a big city and then, inside a factory where nobody believes he's a bear. Why would they? Why would a bear be in a factor? What happened to the open land where he lived? Everyone has questions in here.

However one interprets this story, I enjoyed the artwork and the modern style of it in this cartoon. Like the story, the artwork is very different from the Looney Tunes we are used to seeing from the 1930s through the 1950s. In some respects, it is very '60-ish looking, a la The Pink Panther cartoons.

Whatever it is, if you own the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Three, don't overlook this extra cartoon that is listed under "From The Vault."

This is an interesting short from the WB gang, since it's message-driven. (See other comments below for plot descriptions from the fawning fans.) Frees' voice work is nice, and the characteristic Chuck Jones facial expressions on the bear are endearing, as usual... but "interesting" is about as far as I can go in praise of this 'toon.

With a sledgehammer's subtlety, the message is made clear about one-quarter of the way into this short. After that it's repeated... and repeated... and repeated. And then, a full minute in the middle is spent rehashing what you just watched while the theme song (from the opening credits) plays... yet again. Some of the animation here is done beautifully, like the birds; while other parts are strange and utterly unnecessary, like the bizarre floor-arrows. There are very few characters, none of which have any real characterization; and what little conflict there is (necessary to ANY story) simply vanishes about halfway. The predictable ending comes with almost zero difficulty, plot-wise, and has me completely puzzled as to why a story so simplistic had to be ten minutes long?

I'm a big big fan of classic WB and H&B animation, and I thought at first I was about to be exposed to a hidden gem; but it's pretty understandable why I've never heard of this short. I can only assume that it appeals to young children and the memories of those who saw it when they were very young. It probably deserves a 2-vote when compared to everything else Jones et al did, and a 6-vote when compared to other animation... so, on average, 4 out of 10.