''What's Buzzin' Buzzard?'' is a 1943 American animated short film 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 America ...

, produced by Fred Quimby, and musical score by Scott Bradley. The short pokes fun at the food shortages common at the time. The plot focuses on two

turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of Sou ...

s struggling to find food in the desert. It was released to theaters on November 27, 1943 by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. Producer Fred Quimby disliked the cartoon but was surprised when it was put under the preservation in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. It is currently available on the Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1 Blu-Ray. The cartoon during production was under the title "Vulture A La King".

Plot

The short begins in the Painted Desert as 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 ...

sound alike turkey vulture (voiced by

Patrick McGeehan Patrick Joseph McGeehan (March 4, 1907 – January 3, 1988) was an American actor. Early life Patrick Joseph McGeehan was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on March 4, 1907. He left home at age 14 when he went to sea, later working in vaudeville ...

) complains to his friend Joe (voiced by Kent Rogers) about his hunger that his stomach literally starts to talk back to him, "Send down one hamburger! Everything on it!" The Durante Vulture quotes "See what I mean!" When Joe is asked by the Durante Vulture how he's doing, Joe opens his mouth where there is a spider web with a sign that reads "Closed for the duration". The Durante Vulture expresses his desire for a

T-bone steak The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a T-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each s ...

. A picture of a steak is shown on the screen for a couple seconds with "

Auld Lang Syne "Auld Lang Syne" () is a Scottish song. In the English-speaking world, it is traditionally sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on Hogmanay/New Year's Eve. It is also often heard at funerals, graduations, and as a far ...

" playing the background followed by a sign that reads "3 minute intermission for drooling - The Management". They later spot a

jackrabbit Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The genu ...

(also voiced by Rogers) and fight over him. They get caught up in their fight and the rabbit gets away. The vultures then start to plot against each other and try eating other. The Durante vulture sits next to a rock and Joe sneakily makes a sandwich with his hand. The Durante vulture lets out a yelp (voiced by

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician who is best known for co-creating ''Tom and Jerry'' and providing the vocal effects for the series' title characters. Alongside Joseph B ...

), and when he questions Joe's actions he lies and explains he has a

toothache Toothaches, also known as dental pain or tooth pain,Segen JC. (2002). ''McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine''. The McGraw-Hill Companies. is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or referred ...

. He asks him to examine his tooth while and tries to bite his head. Joe begins to salt the Durante vulture's tail before he hits him on the head with a mallet. The Durante Vulture starts to read a book on cooking and is unknowingly being cooked in a pot by Joe. The Durante Vulture soon realizes this and runs into a log cabin. Joe tricks him into coming outside by pretending to see a beautiful woman. The Durante Vulture comes out and Joe hits him on the head and then covers him with butter before Joe gets up and runs. The two vultures chase after each other until The Durante Vulture pretends to be a

rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...

which causes Joe to faint. However immediately afterwards, the Durante Vulture sees a real one and faints himself. The Durante Vulture later paints a rock to look like a steak and calls Joe over to eat it. Joe eats it perfectly as if it were a real steak. The Durante Vulture tries to do the same only to break his teeth. The vultures get in a scuffle that turns into a whirlwind. Joe escapes and pulls a pot under Durante Vulture only to notice that he has disappeared. The Durante Vulture is revealed to have put a broiling pan under Joe, which he slams a lid on, puts in an oven and locks the oven shut. The Durante Vulture sits on top of the stove which is revealed to be a conveyor belt to a meat slicer. The Durante Vulture barely escapes being sliced and runs into a hole, and Joe uses a

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...

to get to him. The Durante Vulture pops up from another hole behind him and while trying to decapitate Joe proceeds to chop the cactus. The Durante Vulture grows tired and surrenders. He goes over to have himself beheaded and Joe almost does, but the Durante Vulture runs after Joe with the butcher knife. The vultures chase each other with various weapons around a rock until the Durante Vulture notices that the rabbit has returned. They capture the rabbit and fight over him only for the rabbit to break it up and asks if they know what day it is as he shows them the calendar date that says " Meatless Tuesday". Having realized they fought over the rabbit for nothing, the vultures bawl hysterically. Before the cartoon can end, a "Patrons Attention" title card appears as the announcer (voiced by John Wald) quotes the following: The picture of the T-bone steak is shown again with "Auld Lang Syne" playing in the background as the cartoon ends.

Credits

* Director:

* Story: Rich Hogan * Animation: Ed Love, Ray Abrams,

Preston Blair Preston Erwin Blair (October 24, 1908 – April 19, 1995) was an American character animation, character animator, best remembered for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio. ...

* Music: Scott Bradley

Availability

*'' Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1'' (Blu-Ray)

References

External links

*
Credits for the cartoon
{{Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoons 1943 films Films directed by Tex Avery 1940s American animated films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short films Films scored by Scott Bradley Cultural depictions of Jimmy Durante Films produced by Fred Quimby Films set in Arizona Films set in deserts Animated films about birds Anthropomorphic vultures 1943 animated short films

Plot

Credits

Availability

See also

References

External links