In the 1930s, Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising paired together to make a ton of truly insipid cartoons for Looney Tunes. The films, apart from being rather dull, had something else in common...they were sacchariney and filled with cutesy characters who love to sing. While this might have worked okay back in the 1930s, Looney Tunes took a huge shift when the pair left the studio....making much more edgy and funny cartoons. Gone were singing cuties and Bosco (one of their dullest stars)...in were the likes of Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny. Rudolf Ising went to MGM to make more cartoons and at first, they too, were kind of the sappy variety. Fortunately, they did get better....and "The Bear and the Beavers" is proof the man could make fun cartoons. He joined the likes of Hanna-Barbera (who specialized in the Tom & Jerry shorts) and Tex Avery (who simply made insanely strange and funny shorts) and remained there for a few years.
This cartoon stars Barney Bear....a character that Ising worked with frequently. Barney awakens mid-winter as he's run out of wood and his home is getting cold. So, he goes out to chop wood....and discovers the beavers' stash instead. Is Barney going to get away with stealing this or will the beavers get their revenge?
The cartoon is not insanely funny nor especially great....but it's NOT cutesy and there's no singing...a huge improvement over the 1930s shorts. Not a must-see film but a decent time-passer.