Bear and Robespierre

When you think of a cartoon where a character comments on the action, another character talks to the audience and another character holds up a sign, you probably think of Tex Avery. He used all these devices, both at Warner Bros. and MGM. They got laughs so seemingly everyone started doing the same thing.

Frank Tashlin was known more for aping live action cinematography, then adding touches you could only do in animation. In Booby Hatched, released in October 1944, he has a few of overhead camera angles, and shooting scenes looking up from the ground. But he also tries out a few Avery touches in a story by Warren Foster.

Robespierre is an unhatched duckling, with only his feet sticking out under the bottom of the shell. He’s lost in the woods in a vicious snowstorm. “I’m lost-ed! Help! Save me!” he yells as he ploughs through the snow. Suddenly he stops, the blowing snow is held in mid-air and the dramatic music ends. He turns to the audience and comments “This is the saddest part of the picture folks.” Then, he turns, the blowing snow and music return and he resumes his trudging.



Tashlin’s animator is up to the challenge of moving a speaking character without a mouth or arms. The egg nods around while the legs bend at the knees.

The camera pans right to a wolf looking forward to a duck dinner. Sign gag.



Robespierre zooms under a sleeping bear in a cave (to the sound of Fingal’s “Cave Overture). Tashlin indulges in some nice timing here. The bear wakes up, widening its eyes. It moves its lips, looks down, lifts its right leg and sees the egg.



Tashlin holds the bear in place for 36 frames. The bear lowers his leg, closes his eyes as if he’s going back to sleep. Tashlin holds the bear for another 17 frames, then it opens its eyes and says to the audience “So I laid an egg.”



For some reason, Tashlin has the bear’s mouth half-covered when the line is said.

Izzy Ellis is credited, while Art Davis and Cal Dalton are likely among the other animators. Dick Thomas is uncredited as the background artist. Carl Stalling opens the short with a minor-key version of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and we get some familiar tunes, including “Am I Blue?” (the eggs turn blue) and Raymond Scott’s “Toy Trumpet” (when the mother duck and ducklings are marching).