The Bear’s Tale (1940)
The Bear’s Tale Review
The Bear’s Tale is a 1940 animated short film from the Merry Melodies series. It is a terrific entry without a doubt.
Finally we get a great entry in this series after lackluster film after film during the beginning of 1940. The Bear’s Tale is basically the mixture of two famous fairy tales: Goldilocks and the Three Bears as well as Little Red Riding Hood. And it entirely works despite at first seeming too disparate. This is the kind of fairy tale parodies Warner Bros. was famous for as they have already done a great job with ‘Little Red Walking Hood’ and here they strike again.
The ending gag is pretty funny and clever, the wolf is the funniest character for sure and although the bears do not get enough development, the Papa Bear is memorable in his goofy, charming personality. Red and Goldilocks are also pretty solid and one of the highlights includes their telephone call. The film features modern technology and seeing that in the middle of the forest is funny in and of itself. The animation is absolutely spectacular and so polished while the score itself is beautiful in its classic compositions.
The Bear’s Tale mixes its two famous fairy tales into a very funny whole with stunning animation, great score and terrific humor with a bunch of great gags.
