The Bear That Wasn't
- Studio
- MGM
- Distributor
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Synopsis
A bear settles down for his long winter nap, and while he sleeps, the progress of man continues. He wakes up to find himself in the middle of an industrial complex. He then gets confused by the foreman as a worker and is told to work. To this, he responds, "But I'm not a man, I'm a Bear". He's then taken to each of his successive bosses, who try to convince him that he's just a very hairy man who needs a shave...
Characters
Bear, Foreman, Bosses
Credits
Directing
- Director
- Chuck Jones
- Co-directed By
- Maurice Noble
Producing
- Producer
- Chuck Jones, Frank Tashlin
- Executive Producer
- Les Goldman
Writing
- Writer
- Frank Tashlin (Story, The Bear That Wasn't)
- Additional Story
- Irv Spector
Voices
- Voice
- Paul Frees (Narrator)
Music
- Music
- Dean Elliott
Animation
- Supervising Animator
- Ben Washam
- Animator
- Tom Ray, Philip Roman, Dick Thompson, Don Towsley
Art Department
- Production Design
- Maurice Noble
- Backgrounds
- Philip De Guard, Don Morgan
Production Management
- Production Supervisor
- Les Goldman
- Production Management
- Earl Jones (as Earl Jonas)
Production notes
The last MGM cartoon short for the theaters. The MGM animation studio closed the day after this cartoon released.
Reviews
The Bear Who Wasn't
I remember seeing this at a drive-in theater (remember those) when I was 10 or 11. It was the cartoon before the movie. That was over 40 years ago and this is the first time I have seen it since. Glad I finally found it. Now if I could only find the Sci-fi movie that I saw on TV around the same time that featured a 30 foot giant... Guess that would be asking too much :)
The Bear That Wasn't
I believe this was the last cartoon Chuck Jones made for MGM, and it's a fitting end to his tenure there. A great modern parable that has aged very well. Catch it if you can (it occasionally shows up on Cartoon Network).