''Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears'' is a 1944

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

'' 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, Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons ...

and produced by an uncredited Eddie Selzer. The short was released on September 2, 1944. Because of the racial stereotypes of

black people Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...

throughout the short, it is withheld from circulation, one of the so-called " Censored Eleven" shorts. It is the only Censored Eleven short not to be produced by

Leon Schlesinger Leonardo Schlesinger ( ; May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949) was an American film producer who founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the Golden Age of American animation The gold ...

as he had sold the studio to

around the release of this cartoon.

Plot

The Three Bears, a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trio, are enjoying a hot

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...

when their instruments catch fire. After consulting a storybook, they find that they must go out for a walk to let the instruments cool off. Across the street (in a house with a neon sign saying "GRANMA'S"), the

Big Bad Wolf The Big Bad Wolf is a fictional wolf appearing in several cautionary tales, including some of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales''. Versions of this character have appeared in numerous works, and it has become a generic archetype of a menacing predatory ant ...

is expecting Red Riding Hood's arrival. Instead, he receives a telegram that says Red Riding Hood will be late because she is "working at Lockheed as a riveter." The frustrated wolf looks out the window and sees Goldilocks entering the Three Bears' house. (Unlike the other characters, Goldilocks is drawn as an attractive young woman.) Because there is a "food shortage" going on, the wolf decides to pursue Goldilocks. Inside the Three Bears' house, Goldilocks tries all the beds and lies down in the best one, only to find the wolf in bed with her. The wolf chases Goldilocks through the house until the Three Bears return. Finding Goldilocks and the wolf struggling in the living room, they shout "Jitterbugs!" and begin playing a dance tune. The wolf and Goldilocks dance the

jitterbug Jitterbug is a generalized term used to describe Swing (dance), swing dancing. It is often synonymous with the lindy hop dance but might include elements of the Jive (dance), jive, east coast swing, collegiate shag, Charleston (dance), charlesto ...

until the wolf is exhausted and flees to Grandma's house. Red Riding Hood returns to find the wolf in Grandma's bed, but the wolf is too tired to eat her. So he attempts to make Red leave, claiming she came too late for their segment and his feet are sore from the dance. However The Three Bears rush in, shout "Dere's dat jitterbug!" and resume playing. This causes Grandma to burst out of a cupboard and jitterbug with the wolf, who turns to the audience and says, in a

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

voice, "''Everybody'' wants to get into the act!"

Reception

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' (MPH) was an American film industry trade paper first published as the ''Exhibitors Herald'' in 1915, and MPH from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals ...

'' (Oct 7, 1944): "When hot swing hits the old nursery tales it cuts some strange capers. Here, three bears go to town in modern musical style leaving the way clear for a

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

d Goldilocks who proceeds to sample the beds. In comes the wolf, weary of waiting for Little Red Riding Hood and on the prowl for other game. The bears return and Goldi gives the Wolf quite a workout, while Red Riding Hood and Grandma arrive in time to keep him on his feet." ''Motion Picture Exhibitor'' (Sept 6, 1944): "This hilarious burlesque on fairy tales has the three Jivin' Black Bears going to town with some red hot music... With rhyme, colored dialect, swell music accompaniment, this is tops. Excellent."

Notes

* This cartoon was re-released into the Blue Ribbon ''Merrie Melodies'' program on December 1, 1951. Because the short credits

on re-release, the original closing title card was kept. It is the only cartoon in the Censored Eleven that does not survive with its original titles, as the original titles for " Sunday Go to Meetin' Time" and " The Isle of Pingo Pongo" are known to exist.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldilocks And The Jivin' Bears 1944 films Short films directed by Friz Freleng Merrie Melodies short films Censored Eleven Animated films based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears Animated films based on Little Red Riding Hood American parody films Fairy tale parody films Films scored by Carl Stalling Vitaphone short films Animated films about bears Animated films about wolves 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films 1940s English-language films English-language short films 1944 animated short films

Plot

Reception

Notes

See also

References

External links