''The Farm of Tomorrow'' is a 1954 one- reel animated

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American a ...

and produced by Fred Quimby. It was released theatrically with the feature filmmovie ''

Rogue Cop ''Rogue Cop'' is a 1954 American film noir directed by Roy Rowland, based on the novel by William P. McGivern, and starring Robert Taylor, Janet Leigh, and George Raft.Everett Aaker, ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013 p 159 ...

'' on 18 September 1954 and distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. This cartoon is one of Avery's future technology cartoons including '' The House of Tomorrow'', ''The Car of Tomorrow'' and '' T.V. of Tomorrow''.

Summary

The narrator (voiced by Paul Frees) introduces the

Farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

of Tomorrow, a wonderland of modern and mechanical inventions together with the advanced scientifically-improved livestock. A series of gags showing how much more productive farms would be if

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

s started crossbreeding their animals to create weird (but very useful) hybrids. Each of the inventions and hybrids are explained: * In the old days, hatching eggs would take 3 weeks. A toaster-like

incubator An incubator is anything that performs or facilitates various forms of incubation, and may refer to: Biology and medicine * Incubator (culture), a device used to grow and maintain microbiological cultures or cell cultures * Incubator (egg), a de ...

that hatches chicks requires only a few seconds. Set it to dark and the chicks come up black. It is mentioned that caution should be used in setting the selector. * Another problem in the old days would be the grading of eggs for size. A pinball machine-like egg grader was created for this purpose. One small egg rolls through the machine and hatches a small chick who runs back inside the machine calling for his mom. * Picking up corn used to waste vast amounts of energy. A

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

was crossed with

Mexican jumping beans Mexican jumping beans (also known as ' in Spanish) are seed pods that have been inhabited by the larva of a small moth ('' Cydia saltitans'') and are native to Mexico. The "bean" is usually tan to brown. They are from the shrub '' Sebastiania ...

; they jump directly into the

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

's mouth. * A chicken was crossed with a talking parrot, with the result that the hybrid (voiced by June Foray) lays an egg and shouts "Come and get it!" * A chicken was crossed with an

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are ...

to provide bigger drumsticks. * A chicken was crossed with a

centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an ...

to get more drumsticks. * To increase egg production, a chicken was crossed with a slot machine. A

lifts the chicken's left wing and eggs are released, which the farmer collects. * To guarantee absolute freshness in every egg, a full-proof Smell-O-Meter was created. A rotten egg is detected and discarded. It subsequently hatches a small

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...

. * To solve the

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

problem around the dairy, a

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

was crossed with a

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

. The beaver tail is perfect for swatting flies. * Milking the cow had, in the past, taken much of the farmer's valuable time. To speed things up, a cow was crossed with a

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

. A milkman retrieves milk bottles from its pouch. * A

silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...

was crossed with a

garter snake Garter snake is a common name for generally harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus ''Thamnophis'' in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus ''Thamnophis'' can be found from the sub ...

resulting in a beautiful calf (a woman's). * A female narrator (voiced by Colleen Collins) talks about how a

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

was crossed with a kitchen sink to create a garbage disposal unit for the ladies. * The female narrator talks about how, for lady flower lovers, a shaded

buttercup ''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed in Europe, ...

was crossed with a

milkweed ''Asclepias'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to humans ...

to create a pink cowslip (a literal cow in a literal slip). * Speaking of the new look in poultry, a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

was crossed with a

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

. "You don't have to pick him girls, just peel him!" * No more frostbitten fruit for the citrus farmer because an orange was crossed with a

fir tree Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related to ...

. This gives the orange a fur coat. * For frustrated grocers, a

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

was crossed with a

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...

to discourage the vegetable-squeezing customers. A female shopper squeezes this hybrid, which squirts juice in her face. * An umbrella was crossed with a

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

to solve the annual problem on what to do with the tree after

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. * For the

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

dweller with limited garden space, a potluck multi-plant was perfected. * For the sheep ranchers, a lamb was crossed with a

dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: "badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety of c ...

, giving it five yards more wool per sheep. * Sheep shearing was simplified; a

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

was crossed with a pair of

long underwear Long underwear, also called long johns or thermal underwear, is a style of two-piece underwear with long legs and long sleeves that is normally worn during cold weather. It is commonly worn by people under their clothes in cold countries. In t ...

to produce long underwear-like wool. The farmer uses a plank to knock the sheep out of that wool. * For the $2.00 betters, a

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

was crossed with a

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. "He's a cinch to win by a neck!" This is seen when the hybrid lowers its neck as the racers approach the finish line. * A

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

was crossed with a stag

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

to accommodate the impatient newlyweds who can't wait to have a big family. There are 13 babies being carried in its antlers. Before ending the cartoon, the male narrator talks to the viewers about the animals in the Reject Barn who are in need of a home. They consist of: * A dove crossed with a

high chair A high chair is a piece of furniture used for feeding older babies and younger toddlers. The seat is raised a fair distance from the ground, so that a person of adult height may spoon-feed the child comfortably from a standing position (hence t ...

to make a

stool pigeon An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...

. * A pole crossed with a cat to make a 10 ft. polecat. * An owl crossed with a

billy goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

to make a hootenanny.

References

External links

* *
The Farm of Tomorrow
' at the TCM Movie Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Farm of Tomorrow 1954 animated films 1954 films 1954 short films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short films Films directed by Tex Avery 1950s American animated films 1950s animated short films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films scored by Scott Bradley Films with screenplays by Henry Wilson Allen Films about agriculture Films about technology Films set in the future Hybridisation (biology) Films produced by Fred Quimby Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio short films 1950s English-language films