What's Brewin', Bruin? (1948)

Absolutely Brilliant!

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

. . . PROFESSOR MARSTON AND THE WONDER WOMAN will immediately recognize that Warner Bros.' crack team of clairvoyant prognosticators, their Animated Shorts Seers division (aka, The Looney Tuners) was warning Americans of the dangers posed by the reprehensible Marston Clan IN REAL TIME with such offerings as WHAT'S BREWIN,' BRUIN? About six minutes through this brief cartoon the smallest bear is shown tying up his pair of brow-beaten and defenseless (due to a Cosby-like drugging with "Roofie" or Quaalude pills) larger ursine cave-mates with more bonds than Marston's infamous "Knotty Lady." Warner recognized that Marston had wormed his way into the confidence of the esteemed "Man of Steel" (aka, Superman) comic producers with his S & M Saga aimed at perverting America's Youth and nipping the incipient Baby Boom in its Butt by encouraging unfruitful sexual liaisons. Wishing to have none of that, Warner casts "Papa Bear" as the deviant Professor M, while trying to tone down M's Real Life Perversion Peter Meter Reading by showing him sleeping with his son rather than his mistress. If you watch WHAT'S BREWIN,' BRUIN? you can be the judge as to Warner's degree of success here.

The Three Bears cartoons are well made, very funny (often hysterically so) worthy of more praise than they get rather than the relative obscurity they've garnered (it is good though that they are remembered fondly).'What's Brewin' Bruin?' is not an exception. It's not my favourite of their cartoons, a contender for that being 'A Bear for Punishment'. Mama Bear is not as funny or interesting as Papa and Junyer and consequently comes over as a little bland. Everything else however is fantastic. Mel Blanc is a fantastic voice actor, one of my favourites (and a favourite of many other animation fans), but has had more to do before and his material is not as inspired as usual, he does do well as Mama Bear though Bea Benaderet does suit the character to me much better.However, apart from a still lack of refinement for Mama Bear the animation is very nicely done indeed. It's sumptuously and vibrantly coloured, richly detailed and crisply drawn, the animation on Papa Bear is pretty imaginative. Carl Stalling seldom disappoints, from memory have not heard a bad music score from it, and once again in 'What's Brewin' Bruin?' he shows why he is so highly regarded and considered the best of the regular Looney Tunes composers (myself included). One cannot help love the lush and dynamic way the music's orchestrated, the constant energy in the rhythms and the unmatched enhancing of the action.Also shining is the writing, Junyer and Papa Bear have some hilarious and witty dialogue that suit their characters perfectly. The gags are even funnier and even more inventive, they have a sadistic edge and a mean streak but not in a pointless or stomach-churning way, showing that Looney Tunes were not afraid to take risks. There are reservations about Mama Bear, but Junyer and Papa Bear are filled with personality (it is hard to not be endeared to Junyer's hilarious dim-wittedness or feel sorry for Papa Bear despite his cantankerous and violent treatment of Junyer) and are brilliantly characterised.Of the voice acting, the clear standout is Billy Bletcher as Papa Bear. He is note-perfect, and while Blanc did very well in the previous 'Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears' Bletcher owns the role. Stan Freberg is very amusing and never annoying as Junyer.All in all, very good Three Bears cartoon. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Warners made several cartoons starring this bear family. I absolutely loved them because they were so unlike the stereotypical image of the three bears. In this case, Papa Bear is a nasty and ill-tempered jerk and Baby Bear is about as bright as a zucchini! I loved watching Papa Bear get so angry at Baby Bear and scream and shout as they were all supposed to be trying to hibernate for the winter! Almost everything that Baby Bear did set off his father and some times even Mama Bear irked Papa Bear. I normally DON'T like such a twisted and sadistic view of family, but it was just so terribly funny I found myself laughing throughout the cartoon. After you see this, try to see if you can find any of the followups--they are a hoot!

This is a cartoon that makes you really sorry for that poor hotheaded Pa Bear. After that humiliating defeat at cards, the animators just won't let him hibernate. The dialogue is minimal after the story kicks off, but the writing is fantastic. There are just so many ways that the bear's attempts to sleep are thwarted repeatedly, and they're all funny. You really feel sorry for the guy, no matter how much he yelled at his family. The guy's got some problems. The expressions of the frustrated ursine are great, and actions speak much, much louder than words. Those bloodshot eyes just get redder and redder until ... can't give that away. The ending's great. A really funny cartoon, well worth your precious time.