There's basically one joke here-this lion is hungry! Unfortunately, when the bulk of the gags bounce off of a single premise, there's a danger that they'll fall flat after a while and that's largely what happens here. I will be talking about some of the gags, so consider this a mild spoiler warning:
When we meet the lion, he's hungry-he basically says so to the audience. We see him try twice to catch a meal, with very unsuccessful results. The second attempt is with a porcupine (ouch)! He then hears a voice on a radio (the radio actually has a mouth and talks) which promises three meals a day if you go to their zoo. We see a hunter who bears a slight resemblance (visually and vocally) to Jerry Colonna, a popular character actor and radio personality, who was frequently caricatured in cartoons.
The lion goes to take a physical and meets a skunk who tearfully says that they rejected him. The physical is perfunctory and punctuated by the lion begging the hunter for a meal.
Even at the zoo, no one feeds him. The crowd of animals tells him, "You'll be sorry!", as he arrives and the crowd outside his cage heckles him. He finally rebels and escapes, thus starting a chase sequence sprinkled with food jokes. The lion is ultimately recaptured and caged again.
The short ends on a high note, as the conclusion is funny, if a bit predictable to anyone who's watched many cartoons. Not a bad cartoon, just not as good as it could have been. This is on at least one inexpensive compilation DVD. Worth watching.
When we meet the lion, he's hungry-he basically says so to the audience. We see him try twice to catch a meal, with very unsuccessful results. The second attempt is with a porcupine (ouch)! He then hears a voice on a radio (the radio actually has a mouth and talks) which promises three meals a day if you go to their zoo. We see a hunter who bears a slight resemblance (visually and vocally) to Jerry Colonna, a popular character actor and radio personality, who was frequently caricatured in cartoons.
The lion goes to take a physical and meets a skunk who tearfully says that they rejected him. The physical is perfunctory and punctuated by the lion begging the hunter for a meal.
Even at the zoo, no one feeds him. The crowd of animals tells him, "You'll be sorry!", as he arrives and the crowd outside his cage heckles him. He finally rebels and escapes, thus starting a chase sequence sprinkled with food jokes. The lion is ultimately recaptured and caged again.
The short ends on a high note, as the conclusion is funny, if a bit predictable to anyone who's watched many cartoons. Not a bad cartoon, just not as good as it could have been. This is on at least one inexpensive compilation DVD. Worth watching.