Rock-A-Bye Bear is Still Sleeping

Tex Avery made several cartoons where characters run outside and react to inflicted pain so someone inside isn’t disturbed. “Deputy Droopy” seems to get the most attention because of Ed Benedict’s flat character designs. I much prefer “Rock-A-Bye Bear” (released 1952). The story by Heck Allen and Rich Hogan is far more satisfying (at the end of “Deputy Droopy,” suddenly all the characters develop hearing problems out of nowhere). The little dog who has been terrorising Spike gets his.

Joe Bear hires Spike for a nice, cushy job—keeping his house quiet and not waking him during hibernation time. A jealous beagle tries to make a racket and pin it on Spike so he can get the comfortable job. The situation builds to where the beagle blows up the house—but the bear doesn’t wake up. Here’s the little dog’s take when he sees his plan failed. One frame per drawing.












Ah, if only the cartoon was restored and released. You’d be able to get the effect of the take better.

The credited animation crew is Walt Clinton, Grant Simmons and Mike Lah. Avery revisited the idea again at the Lantz studio in “The Legend of Rockabye Point” (released in 1955), a fine cartoon even though the animation’s a few steps below his work at MGM.