Jones timing, the expressions given to the characters by the animators, Carl Stalling’s score, the voice work and Mike Maltese’s story with a ludicrous ending couldn’t fit together any better.
The basic story is Henry the bear (Billy Bletcher) wants to ignore Father’s Day. His wife (Bea Benaderet) and Junior (Stan Freberg) believe it is inevitable that it MUST be celebrated.
Their cave has a stage in it, so the mother and son put on a Father’s Day show especially for Henry. Jones would subtly change expressions so shots wouldn’t be static and to make the situation funnier. Here’s an example.
The curtain goes up.
“‘My Pa,’ by Junior Bear, age 7 and a half. My Pa!”
Cue the pye-anee accompaniment.
Cut to Henry. This drawing is held.
“When the nasty old Bogeyman fills me with fears”
“And my little old pinafore is all wet with tears”
“And my cute little pug nose is all red from cryin’ ”
“Who is it that saves me and keeps me from dyin’?”
“My Pa!”
Henry covers his head.
“When my little pink cheeks are pale with fright”
“Who is it that lifts me and holds me tight”
“And says, ‘There, there, little man. Everything is all right?’”
“My Pa!”
Curtain down.
Henry reacts.
The cartoon gets even better, first with Ma’s deadpan high-stepping dance (Maltese was an amateur hoofer) and then the patriotic finale (to the melody of J.F. Barth’s “Frat”) where mother and son dump Henry in a barrel of flour and dress him as the State of Liberty, showing us how gosh-durn patriotic Father’s Day is.
This is where one of our fine blog readers will have an answer. Years ago, I read that Maltese based “My Pa” on a sentimental old poem, which was posted somewhere. I can’t find the reference, nor the poem. If anyone knows anything about this, please post a comment.
Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, Ben Washam and Lloyd Vaughan are the credited animators.
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