"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest home of three
bachelor
A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". ().
Etymo ...
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
s while they are away. She eats some of their
porridge
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...
, sits down on one of their chairs and breaks it, and sleeps in one of their beds. When the bears return and discover her, she wakes up, jumps out of the window, and is never seen again. The second version replaced the old woman with a young girl named Goldilocks, and the third and by far best-known version replaced the original bear trio with Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear.
What was originally a frightening oral tale became a cosy family story with only a hint of menace. The story has elicited various interpretations and has been adapted to film, opera, and other media. "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is one of the most popular fairy tales in the English language.
[Elms 1977, p. 257]
Original plot
![The story of the three bears 1839 pg 21](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/The_story_of_the_three_bears_1839_pg_21.jpg)
In
Robert Southey
Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...
's version of the tale ("The Story of the Three Bears"), three
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
bears – "a little, small, wee bear, a middle-sized bear, and a great, huge bear" – live together in a house in the woods. Southey describes them as very good-natured, trusting, harmless, tidy, and hospitable. Each of these "bachelor" bears has his own
porridge
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...
bowl, chair, and bed. One day they make porridge for breakfast, but it is too hot to eat, so they decide to take a walk in the woods while their porridge cools. An old woman approaches the bears' house. She has been sent out by her family because she is a disgrace to them. She is impudent, bad-mannered, foul-mouthed, ugly, dirty, and a vagrant deserving of a stint in the
House of Correction
The house of correction was a type of establishment built after the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601), places where those who were "unwilling to work", including vagrants and beggars, were set to work. The building of houses of correctio ...
. She looks through a window, peeps through the keyhole, and lifts the latch. Assured that no one is home, she walks in. The old woman eats the Wee Bear's porridge, then settles into his chair and breaks it. Prowling about, she finds the bears' beds and falls asleep in Wee Bear's bed. The end of the tale is reached when the bears return. Wee Bear finds his empty bowl, his broken chair, and the old woman sleeping in his bed and cries, "Somebody has been lying in my bed, and here she is!" The old woman wakes, is chased out of the house by the huge bear and is never seen again.
Origins
![Robert Southey - Project Gutenberg eText 13619](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Robert_Southey_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_13619.jpg)
The story was first recorded in narrative form by English writer and poet
Robert Southey
Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...
, and first published anonymously as "The Story of the Three Bears" in 1837 in a volume of his writings called ''The Doctor''.
[Tatar 2002, p. 245] The same year Southey's tale was published, the story was versified by editor George Nicol, who acknowledged the anonymous author of ''The Doctor'' as "the great, original concocter" of the tale.
Southey was delighted with Nicol's effort to bring more exposure to the tale, concerned children might overlook it in ''The Doctor''.
[Curry 1921, p. 65] Nicol's version was illustrated with engravings by B. Hart (after "C.J."), and was reissued in 1848 with Southey identified as the story's author.
[Ober 1981, p. 48]
The story of the three bears was in circulation before the publication of Southey's tale.
[Dorson 2001, p. 94] In 1813, for example, Southey was telling the story to friends, and in 1831 Eleanor Mure fashioned a handmade booklet about the three bears and the old woman for her nephew Horace Broke's birthday.
Southey and Mure differ in details. Southey's bears have porridge, but Mure's have milk;
[Opie 1992, p. 199] Southey's old woman has no motive for entering the house, but Mure's old woman is piqued when her courtesy visit is rebuffed; Southey's old woman runs away when discovered, but Mure's old woman is impaled on the steeple of
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
.
[Opie 1992, pp. 199–200]
Folklorists
Iona and Peter Opie
Iona Margaret Balfour Opie, (13 October 1923 – 23 October 2017) and Peter Mason Opie (25 November 1918 – 5 February 1982) were an English married team of folklorists who applied modern techniques to understanding children's literature and ...
point out in ''The Classic Fairy Tales'' (1999) that the tale has a "partial analogue" in "
Snow White
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...
": the lost princess enters the dwarfs' house, tastes their food, and falls asleep in one of their beds. In a manner similar to the three bears, the dwarfs cry, "Someone's been sitting in my chair!", "Someone's been eating off my plate!", and "Someone's been sleeping in my bed!" The Opies also point to similarities in a Norwegian tale about a princess who takes refuge in a cave inhabited by three Russian princes dressed in bearskins. She eats their food and hides under a bed.
[Opie 1992, p. 200]
In 1865,
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
referenced a similar tale in ''
Our Mutual Friend
''Our Mutual Friend'', written in 1864–1865, is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining savage satire with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, quo ...
'', but in that story the house belongs to
hobgoblin
A hobgoblin is a household spirit, typically appearing in folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his ''A Midsummer Nigh ...
s rather than bears. Dickens' reference however suggests a yet-to-be-discovered analogue or source.
[Ober 1981, p. xii] Hunting rituals and ceremonies have been suggested and dismissed as possible origins.
[Ober 1981, p. x][Elms 1977, p. 259]
![Page 89 illustration in More English Fairy Tales](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Page_89_illustration_in_More_English_Fairy_Tales.png)
In 1894, "Scrapefoot", a tale with a fox as antagonist that bears striking similarities to Southey's story, was uncovered by the folklorist
Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.
Jacob ...
and may predate Southey's version in the
oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...
. Some sources state that it was illustrator
John D. Batten
John Dickson Batten (8 October 1860 – 5 August 1932), born in Plymouth, Devon, was an English painter of figures in oils, tempera and fresco and a book illustrator and printmaker. He was an active member of the Society of Painters in Temper ...
who in 1894 reported a variant of the tale at least 40 years old. In this version, the three bears live in a castle in the woods and are visited by a
fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
called Scrapefoot who drinks their milk, sits in their chairs, and rests in their beds.
This version belongs to the early Fox and Bear tale-cycle.
Southey possibly heard "Scrapefoot", and confused its "vixen" with a synonym for an unpleasant malicious old woman. Some maintain however that the story as well as the old woman originated with Southey.
Southey most likely learned the tale as a child from his uncle William Tyler. Uncle Tyler may have told a version with a vixen (female fox) as the intruder, and then Southey may have later confused "vixen" with another common meaning of "a crafty old woman".
P. M. Zall writes in "The Gothic Voice of Father Bear" (1974) that "it was no trick for Southey, a consummate technician, to recreate the improvisational tone of an Uncle William through rhythmical reiteration, artful alliteration ('they walked into the woods, while'), even bardic interpolation ('She could not have been a good, honest Old Woman')". Ultimately, it is uncertain where Southey or his uncle learned the tale.
Later variations: Goldilocks
![Joseph Cundall0](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Joseph_Cundall0.jpg)
Twelve years after the publication of Southey's tale,
Joseph Cundall
Joseph Cundall (22 September 1818 – 10 January 1895) was a Victorian English writer under the pseudonym of "Stephen Percy", a pioneer photographer and London publisher of children's books. He provided employment for many of the best artists o ...
transformed the antagonist from an ugly old woman to a pretty little girl in his ''Treasury of Pleasure Books for Young Children''. He explained his reasons for doing so in a dedicatory letter to his children, dated November 1849, which was inserted at the beginning of the book:
Once the little girl entered the tale, she remained – suggesting children prefer an attractive child in the story rather than an ugly old woman.
The juvenile antagonist saw a succession of names:
[Seal 2001, p. 91] Silver Hair in the pantomime ''Harlequin and The Three Bears; or, Little Silver Hair and the Fairies'' by
J. B. Buckstone
John Baldwin Buckstone (14 September 1802 – 31 October 1879) was an English actor, playwright and comedian who wrote 150 plays, the first of which was produced in 1826.
He starred as a comic actor during much of his career for various periods ...
(1853); Silver-Locks in ''Aunt Mavor's Nursery Tales'' (1858); Silverhair in
George MacDonald
George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll. I ...
's ''
The Golden Key'' (1867); Golden Hair in ''Aunt Friendly's Nursery Book'' (ca. 1868);
Silver-Hair and Goldenlocks at various times; Little Golden-Hair (1889);
[Briggs 2002, pp. 128–129] and finally Goldilocks in ''Old Nursery Stories and Rhymes'' (1904).
Tatar credits English author
Flora Annie Steel
Flora Annie Steel (2 April 1847 – 12 April 1929) was a writer who lived in British India for 22 years. She was noted especially for books set in the Indian sub-continent or connected with it. Her novel ''On the Face of the Waters'' (1896) desc ...
with naming the child in ''English Fairy Tales'' (1918).
![The Story of the Three Bears pg 25](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/The_Story_of_the_Three_Bears_pg_25.jpg)
Goldilocks's fate varies in the many retellings: in some versions, she runs into the forest, in some she is almost eaten by the bears but her mother rescues her, in some she vows to be a good child, and in some she returns home. Whatever her fate, Goldilocks fares better than Southey's vagrant old woman who, in his opinion, deserved a stint in the House of Correction, and far better than Miss Mure's old woman who is impaled upon a steeple in
St Paul's church-yard.
[Tatar 2002, p. 246]
Southey's all-male ursine trio has not been left untouched over the years. The group was re-cast as Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear, but the date of this change is disputed. Tatar indicates it occurred by 1852,
while Katherine Briggs suggests the event occurred in 1878 with ''
Mother Goose's Fairy Tales'' published by Routledge.
With the publication of the tale by "Aunt Fanny" in 1852, the bears became a family in the ''illustrations'' to the tale but remained three bachelor bears in the text.
In Dickens' version of 1858, the two larger bears are brother and sister, and friends to the little bear. This arrangement represents the evolution of the ursine trio from the traditional three male bears to a family of father, mother, and child. In a publication c. 1860, the bears have become a family at last in both text and illustrations: "the old papa bear, the mama bear, and the little boy bear". In a Routledge publication c. 1867, Papa Bear is called Rough Bruin, Mama Bear is Mammy Muff, and Baby Bear is called Tiny. Inexplicably, the illustrations depict the three as male bears.
In publications subsequent to Aunt Fanny's of 1852, Victorian nicety required editors to routinely and silently alter Southey's "
ere she sate till the bottom of the chair came out, and down came her's, plump upon the ground" to read "and down she came", omitting any reference to the human bottom. The cumulative effect of the several changes to the tale since its original publication was to transform a fearsome oral tale into a cosy family story with an unrealised hint of menace.
Interpretations
Maria Tatar
Maria Magdalene Tatar (born May 13, 1945) is an American academic whose expertise lies in children's literature, German literature, and folklore. She is the John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, and Chair of the Committee o ...
, in ''The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales'' (2002), notes that Southey's tale is sometimes viewed as a cautionary tale that imparts a lesson about the hazards of wandering off and exploring unknown territory. Like "
The Tale of the Three Little Pigs", the story uses repetitive formulas to engage the child's attention and to reinforce the point about safety and shelter.
Tatar points out that the tale is typically framed today as a discovery of what is "just right", but for earlier generations, it was a tale about an intruder who could not control herself when encountering the possessions of others.
[Tatar 2002, p. 251]
In ''
The Uses of Enchantment
''The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales'' is a 1976 book by Bruno Bettelheim, in which the author analyzes fairy tales in terms of Freudian psychoanalysis. The book has been a subject of controversy regarding possibl ...
'' (1976), the child psychologist
Bruno Bettelheim
Bruno Bettelheim (August 28, 1903 – March 13, 1990) was an Austrian-born psychologist, scholar, public intellectual and writer who spent most of his academic and clinical career in the United States. An early writer on autism, Bettelheim's wo ...
describes Goldilocks as "poor, beautiful, and charming", and notes that the story does not describe her positively except for her hair.
[Elms 1977, p. 264] Bettelheim mainly discussed the tale in terms of Goldilocks' struggle to move past
Oedipal issues to confront adolescent identity problems.
In Bettelheim's view, the tale fails to encourage children "to pursue the hard labour of solving, one at a time, the problems which growing up presents", and does not end as fairy tales should with the "promise of future happiness awaiting those who have mastered their Oedipal situation as a child". He believes the tale is an escapist one that thwarts the child reading it from gaining emotional maturity.
Tatar criticises Bettelheim's views: "
isreading is perhaps too invested in instrumentalizing fairy tales, that is, in turning them into vehicles that convey messages and set forth behavioural models for the child. While the story may not solve Oedipal issues or sibling rivalry as Bettelheim believes "
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
" does, it suggests the importance of respecting property and the consequences of just 'trying out' things that do not belong to you."
Elms suggests Bettelheim may have missed the
anal aspect of the tale that would make it helpful to the child's personality development.
In ''Handbook of Psychobiography'' Elms describes Southey's tale not as one of Bettelheimian post-Oedipal ego development but as one of
Freudian
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
pre-Oedipal anality.
He believes the story appeals chiefly to preschoolers who are engaged in "cleanliness training, maintaining environmental and behavioural order, and distress about disruption of order". His own experience and his observation of others lead him to believe children align themselves with the tidy, organised ursine protagonists rather than the unruly, delinquent human antagonist. In Elms's view, the anality of "The Story of the Three Bears" can be traced directly to Robert Southey's fastidious, dirt-obsessed aunt who raised him and passed her obsession to him in a milder form.
[Schultz 2005, p. 93]
Literary elements
The story makes extensive use of the literary
rule of three Rule of three or Rule of Thirds may refer to:
Science and technology
*Rule of three (aeronautics), a rule of descent in aviation
*Rule of three (C++ programming), a rule of thumb about class method definitions
* Rule of three (computer programming ...
, featuring three chairs, three bowls of porridge, three beds, and the three title characters who live in the house. There are also three sequences of the bears discovering in turn that someone has been eating from their porridge, sitting in their chairs, and finally, lying in their beds, at which point is the climax of Goldilocks being discovered. This follows three earlier sequences of Goldilocks trying the bowls of porridge, chairs, and beds successively, each time finding the third "just right". Author
Christopher Booker
Christopher John Penrice Booker (7 October 1937 – 3 July 2019) was an English journalist and author. He was a founder and first editor of the satirical magazine '' Private Eye'' in 1961. From 1990 onward he was a columnist for ''The Sunday T ...
characterises this as the "dialectical three", where "the first is wrong in one way, the second in another or opposite way, and only the third, in the middle, is just right". Booker continues: "This idea that the way forward lies in finding an exact middle path between opposites is of extraordinary importance in storytelling". This concept has spread across many other disciplines, particularly developmental psychology, biology, economics, and engineering where it is called the "
Goldilocks principle
The Goldilocks principle is named by analogy to the children's story " The Three Bears", in which a young girl named Goldilocks tastes three different bowls of porridge and finds she prefers porridge that is neither too hot nor too cold, but has ...
". In planetary astronomy, a planet orbiting its sun at just the right distance for liquid water to exist on its surface, neither too hot nor too cold, is referred to as being in the '
Goldilocks Zone
In astronomy and astrobiology, the circumstellar habitable zone (CHZ), or simply the habitable zone, is the range of orbits around a star within which a planetary surface can support liquid water given sufficient atmospheric pressure.J. F. Ka ...
'. As
Stephen Hawking put it, "like Goldilocks, the development of intelligent life requires that planetary temperatures be 'just right.
Adaptations
Animated shorts
Looney Tunes' Three Bears
''
Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears
''Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears'' is a 1944 ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on February 26, 1944, and features Bugs Bunny. This short marks the first appearance of Jon ...
'' is a 1944 ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon short directed by
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...
.
The short was released on February 26, 1944, and features
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...
. Later ''
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. '' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts continued the use of the same
Three Bears family, distinguished by a short, irascible father named Henry, a deadpan mother, and a huge, oafish seven-year-old "baby," still in diapers. Jones first brought back the Bears for his 1948 cartoon ''
What's Brewin', Bruin?''.
Here, Papa Bear decides that it's time for the Bears to
hibernate
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...
; however, various disturbances interfere. Junior's voice is here supplied by
Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director.
His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...
. Other Three Bears cartoons included ''
Bear Feat'' (1948) and ''
The Bee-Deviled Bruin'' (1949).
The final golden-age cartoon with this bear family, ''
A Bear for Punishment
''A Bear for Punishment'' is a 1951 animated Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on October 20, 1951, and stars the Three Bears.
Plot
In the Three Bear's cave, Henry Bear is woken up from slumb ...
'' (1951), parodies cultural values surrounding the celebration of Father's Day. ''Looney Tunes'' comic books and more modern TV cartoons have now and then continued the use of the characters, occasionally in starring roles.
Terrytoons' ''The Three Bears''
A short film by
Terrytoons
Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in name only). Terrytoons was founded by ...
titled ''The Three Bears'' was released in 1934 and remade in 1939. The remake famously adds stereotypical Italian accents and mannerisms to the bears; instead of eating porridge (as in the 1934 original), they eat
spaghetti
Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.[spaghetti](_blank)
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridg ...
. The 1939 scene in which Papa Bear says "Somebody toucha my spaghet!" ("somebody touched my spaghetti") became a viral
Internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
in late 2017. While the 1939 bears are brown, not black, the commonly seen print is faded in such a way that they appear to have black fur, and so are often depicted in artwork based on the meme.
Others
* The
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
cartoons of the late 1930s included a Bear Family sub-series by
Hugh Harman
Hugh Harman (August 31, 1903 – November 25, 1982) was an American animator. He was known for creating the Warner Bros. Cartoons and MGM Cartoons and his collaboration with Rudolf Ising during the golden age of American animation. Career
He ...
based on the story, starting with ''Goldilocks and the Three Bears'' (1939), then continuing on to ''
A Rainy Day with the Bear Family'' (1940) and ''Papa Gets the Bird'' (1941). The MGM character of
Barney Bear
''Barney Bear'' is an American series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio. The title character is an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a sluggish, sleepy bear who often is in pursuit of nothing b ...
, originating concurrently, was at times advertised as being this Bear Family's Papa, though creator
Rudolf Ising
Rudolf Carl Ising (August 7, 1903 – July 18, 1992) was an American animator best known for collaborating with Hugh Harman to establish the Warner Bros. and MGM Cartoon studios during the early years of the golden age of American animation. In ...
appears to have always intended him as a separate character.
* ''
Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears
''Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears'' is a 1944 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Friz Freleng and produced by Eddie Selzer. The short was released on September 2, 1944.
Because of the racial stereotypes of black people throug ...
'' is a 1944 ''
Merrie Melodies
''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...
'' cartoon directed by
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' ...
.
The cartoon depicts the Bears as an all-male trio of Black musicians, with Goldilocks as a teenage jitterbug.
* ''
Now Hare This'' is a 1958 ''
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. '' cartoon directed by
Robert McKimson
Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DePa ...
whose second act of this short was based on "Goldilocks and Three Bears". The short was released on May 31, 1958, and stars
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...
.
* ''
Goldimouse and the Three Cats
''Goldimouse and the Three Cats'' is a 1960 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' animated cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on March 15, 1960, and stars Sylvester and Sylvester Jr.
This cartoon was included in the 1982 feature fi ...
'' is a 1960
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
''
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. '' animated cartoon directed by
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' ...
.
* ''Goldilocks and the Three Bears/Rumpelstiltskin/Little Red Riding Hood/Sleeping Beauty'' (1984), a
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
featurette produced by
Lee Mendelson Film Productions
Lee Mendelson Film Productions is an American animation studio situated in Burlingame, California founded by Lee Mendelson. The studio is best known for the ''Peanuts'' animated film productions including ''Snoopy, Come Home'' and '' A Boy Named ...
.
* ''
The Goldilocks and the 3 Bears Show'' (aka ''Goldilocks and the 3 Bears'') is the third and final animated film in the
Unstable Fables
''Unstable Fables'' is a trilogy of Computer animation, computer-animated films produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with Flame Ventures, Prana Studios, and The Weinstein Company. The direct-to-DVD feature-length films were distribute ...
series. The film is a twisted retelling of the story of Goldilocks. The direct-to-DVD film was released on December 16, 2008.
Television animation
* ''
Goldilocks
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest home ...
'' is a half-hour musical animated film, the audio tracks for which were recorded in the summer of 1969, produced strictly for television in 1970 by
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (known for their work on ''
The Pink Panther Show
''The Pink Panther Show'' is a showcase of animated shorts produced by David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng between 1969 and 1978, starring the animated Pink Panther character from the opening credits of the live-action films. The series was pr ...
'', of which the animation style is strongly reminiscent) and produced with the assistance of
Mirisch-Geoffrey Productions.
* The three bears may or may not have been the inspiration for Stan and Jan Berenstain's ''
Berenstain Bears
The ''Berenstain Bears'' is a children's literature franchise created by the late Stan and Jan Berenstain and continued by their son, Mike Berenstain, who assumed partial authorship in 2002, and full authorship in 2012 following Jan's death. T ...
''.
* In
Rooster Teeth Productions
Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of Warne ...
''
RWBY
''RWBY'' (pronounced "Ruby") is an American Anime-influenced animation, anime-influenced Computer animation, computer-animated web series created by Monty Oum for Rooster Teeth. It is set in the fictional world of Remnant, where young people tr ...
'', Yang Xiao Long is a carefree, reckless yellow-haired girl. She is a "rule-breaker" who likes teddy bears. She is an allusion to Goldilocks which is reflected in her name, translated from Chinese as "sun", referring to the colour yellow.
Also, in her trailer, Yang confronts Hei "Junior" Xiong, whose name is Chinese for "black bear." Combining this with his nickname, he alludes to the Baby Bear.
* The TV show ''
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child'' featured an adaption of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" in a Jamaican setting which featured the voices of
Raven-Symoné
Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman-Maday () (née Pearman; born December 10, 1985), also known mononymously as Raven, is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She has received several accolades, including five NAACP Image Awards, two Kids ...
as Goldilocks,
Tone Loc
Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Lōc (), is an American rapper, actor, and producer. He is known for his raspy voice, his hit songs " Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina", for which he was nomina ...
as Desmond Bear,
Alfre Woodard
Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...
as Winsome Bear, and
David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on '' Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015 ...
as Dudley Bear.
* In the Simpsons episode "
Bart's New Friend
"Bart's New Friend" is the eleventh episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 563rd episode of the series. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 11, 201 ...
," the couch gag is based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
* A fractured version of the story was made for Jay Ward's ''
Fractured Fairy Tales
''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the American Broadca ...
'', in which Goldilocks had a winter resort and the three bears invade for hibernation purposes; Papa Bear was short and short-tempered, Mama Bear was more even-tempered, and Baby Bear was a huge, oversized dope who was "not sleepy".
* In the television show ''
Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater
''Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater'' is an animated series based on the Japanese character Hello Kitty, produced by DIC Enterprises and animated by Toei Animation. The series involves Hello Kitty and her friends (and occasionally family) doing the ...
'', the episode "Kittylocks and the Three Bears" is an adaptation of the story.
* A commercial for the 2005
Hummer
Hummer (stylized as HUMMER) is a brand of pickups and SUVs that was first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a sub-brand of GMC in 2020. ...
portrayed the Three Bears returning from a family trip to their very upscale home to discover all the elements of the traditional story. They race to their garage to check on the status of the family Hummers. Mama Bear and Papa Bear are relieved that both vehicles are still in place, but Baby Bear is distraught to find his missing as the camera cuts away to Goldilocks (in this version portrayed by a very attractive young woman) rakishly smiling as she makes her getaway in Baby Bear's Hummer down a scenic mountain road.
* Disney Junior's ''
Goldie & Bear
''Goldie & Bear'' is an American animated children's television series which began on September 12, 2015. The show was created for Disney Junior by Jorge Aguirre and Rick Gitelson. It was directed by Chris Gilligan and produced using CGI animation ...
'' premiered in 2016. The tale is set after the events of the story where Goldilocks (voiced by
Natalie Lander
Natalie Jenette Lander (born March 28, 1983) is an American actress. She is the daughter of actors David Lander and Kathy Fields. She is known for her work on ABC's ''The Middle'', where she plays Debbie. Other TV credits include ''Castle'', '' ...
) and Jack Bear (voiced by Georgie Kidder) eventually became best friends.
Live-action television
*"
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest home ...
" is the 9th episode of the television anthology ''
Faerie Tale Theatre
Faerie Tale Theatre (also known as Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre) is an American live-action fairytale fantasy drama anthology television series of 27 episodes, that originally aired on Showtime from September 11, 1982 until November 14, 19 ...
''. It stars
Tatum O'Neal
Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award, winning at age 10 for her performance as Addie Loggins in '' Paper Moon'' (1973) opposite her father, Ryan O'Neal. S ...
as Goldilocks. Released in 1984
* In an episode of ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
'', a reversed version of the story titled "
Baby Bear and the Three Goldilocks" was told (and written) by Telly and
Elmo
Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prio ...
.
Video games
* The 1993 PC game ''Sesame Street: Numbers'' features a ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
''-esque twist on the story, and it is found in one of the three books in the game. Titled ''Count Goldilocks and the 3 Bears'', it features the
Count von Count
Count von Count (known simply as the Count) is a Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is meant to parody Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Count Dracula. He first appeared on the show in the Season 4 premiere ...
taking the role of Goldilocks, as "Count Goldilocks". Instead of arriving after Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear go on their picnic, he arrives before they go out. He then proceeds to count them, their picnic baskets, wooden chairs, and beds. Each time he is done counting one of them, he asks why they have three of what he counted. At the end, Baby Bear says that they have three of everything because they are three bears. Then, they finally go on their picnic in the woods.
Music and audio
* ''
Goldilocks
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest home ...
'' is a musical with a book by Jean and Walter Kerr, music by Leroy Anderson, and lyrics by the Kerrs and Joan Ford.
* Songwriter
Bobby Troup
Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the song " Route 66" and acted in the role of Dr. Joe Early with his wife Julie London in the television progr ...
's
hipster interpretation titled "The Three Bears", first recorded by
Page Cavanaugh
Walter Page Cavanaugh (January 26, 1922 in Cherokee, Kansas – December 19, 2008 in Los Angeles) was an American jazz and pop pianist, vocalist, and arranger.
Career
He began on piano at age nine and played with Ernie Williamson's band in 1938 ...
in 1946, is often erroneously credited to "anonymous" and re-titled "Three Bears Rap", "Three Bears with a Beat", etc.
*
Kurt Schwertsik
Kurt Schwertsik (born 25 June 1935) is an Austrian contemporary composer. He is known for creating the "Third Viennese School" and spreading contemporary classical music.
Life
Schwertsik was born in Vienna. A pupil of Joseph Marx and Karl Schisk ...
's 35-minute opera ''
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
's Goldilocks'' premiered in 1997 at the
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is a concert and arts venue located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket v ...
. The opera's setting is the Forest Assizes where Baby Bear stands accused of assaulting Miss Goldie Locks. The tables are turned when the defence limns the trauma suffered by the bears at the hands of that "brazen little crook", Goldilocks.
* ''
Goldilocks
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest home ...
'' is a 12" soundtrack vinyl album taken from the TV film ''
Goldilocks
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest home ...
'' shown on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
on 31 March 1970. It was first released in 1970 as DL-3511 by Decca Custom Records for a special promotion of Evans-Black Carpets by
Armstrong Armstrong may refer to:
Places
* Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places
Antarctica
* Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands
Argentina
* Armstrong, Santa Fe
Australia
* Armstrong, Victoria
Canada
* Armstrong, British Columbia
* Armstrong ...
. When the promotion period had expired, the album was re-released by
Disneyland Records
Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its ...
as ST-3889 with an accompanying 12-page storybook. The recording is particularly important to the
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
career as he recorded commercial tracks in every year from 1926 to 1977 and this album represents his only recording work for 1969.
* In 2014,
MC Frontalot
Damian Hess (born December 3, 1973), better known by his stage name MC Frontalot, is an American rapper and web designer.
Hess began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. His first successes came through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and ...
released a hip-hop rendition of the story as part of the album, ''
Question Bedtime'', in which the narrator warns the three bears of a ruthless woman called Gold Locks who hunts and eats bear cubs. An official music video was uploaded in 2015.
* In 2016, professional wrestler
Bray Wyatt
Windham Lawrence Rotunda (born May 23, 1987) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under the ring name Bray Wyatt.
Rotunda is ...
read a dark version to
Edge and Christian
Edge & Christian (E&C) were a Canadian professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where they won the WWF Tag Team Championship on ...
.
Other references
* "Goldilocks Eats Grits" has the bears living in a cave in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
in the United States.
See also
* ''
Little Red Riding Hood
"Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brother ...
''
*
Goldilocks principle
The Goldilocks principle is named by analogy to the children's story " The Three Bears", in which a young girl named Goldilocks tastes three different bowls of porridge and finds she prefers porridge that is neither too hot nor too cold, but has ...
References
Citations
General sources
*
The Seven Basic Plots
''The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories'' is a 2004 book by Christopher Booker containing a Jung-influenced analysis of stories and their psychological meaning. Booker worked on the book for thirty-four years.
Summary The meta-plot
The meta ...
.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
"The Story of the Three Bears", manuscript by Eleanor Mure, 1831- first recorded version
– first published version
"The Story of the Three Bears", versified by George Nicol, 2nd edition, 1839text
"The Three Bears" by Robert Southey– later version with "Silver-hair", a "little girl"
– later version with father, mother and baby bear
{{Authority control
1830s children's books
1837 short stories
19th-century British children's literature
Animal tales
Bears in literature
British fairy tales
English fairy tales
English folklore
Female characters in fairy tales
Fictional trios
Literary characters introduced in 1837
Short stories adapted into films
Short stories adapted into plays
Works by Robert Southey