Review of Rock-a-Bye Bear

"Rock-a-Bye Bear" is an American cartoon from 1952, the later years of the Golden Age of Animation, and this one here was directed by Tex Avery and even if the names of the writers and voice actors are not unknown either and they were all pretty prolific, Avery is the star. It runs for a bit over 7 minutes and the star here is Spike this time, a bit unusual as Spike normally is more of a supporting player, especially away from MGM in these Sylveyter/Tweety and Tom&Jerry films. Then again, is he really the star here. I think he is more of a tool for the other dog and the bear to bring up laughs. I liked the beginning how Spike gets picked by the needle, but the one who used said needle immediately regrets it because it is a simple job (yeah, right!), well-paid and inside a warm house. What follows next is a perfect example of how animals really acted like humans so many times in these old films as we see the jealous dog perform a quick and easy prison break. The middle part is basically all kinds of occasions where Spike is in danger of waking up the sleeping bear, but manages to get out right in time before he screams and these occasions are burdened on poor Spike by the other dog who really seems to be a master of gadgets. But when there is no getting away from the big finale and the explosion there, an unexpected and for me satisfying twist happens as the bear really only seems to react to whistling sounds and otherwise nothing can wake him up at all. Poor Spike. Had he known that earlier, but at least he is not getting the blame eventually. Overall, a fairly good cartoon from almost 70 years ago, maybe more depending on when you read this review. I give it a thumbs-up and this means something as I am not always that big on Tex Avery as everybody else. Go watch it if you like these old cartoons.