The Three Bears are a family that consists of Henry Bear (Papa Bear), Mama Bear (Elviry Bear) and Junyer Bear. The bears' cartoons most significant impact was perhaps on Chuck Jones himself, as these characters represent some of Jones's earliest work which were strictly intended to be funny. In the golden age, they were voiced by Billy Bletcher, Bea Benaderet, and Stan Freberg respectively.
Background[]
Papa Bear[]
Papa Bear (also known as Henry or Vern in Animaniacs) is the father of Junyer Bear and the husband of Mama Bear. Voice actor Billy Bletcher played Papa. Papa is a violent, loud-mouthed, cruel, short-tempered, nervous, and often abusive little dwarf bear. He would usually punch or kick Junyer (and is mean to him) whenever he said or did something wrong. He's never abusive with Mama Bear (except for near the end of "What's Brewin', Bruin?") but would sometimes act rude to her, such as telling her to shut up.
Mama Bear[]
Mama Bear (Elviry in the comics) is the mother of Junyer Bear and the wife of Papa Bear. Mama Bear is the innocent (and deadpan) and intelligent middle-bear, although she often resorts to thwacking one of them with a rolled-up newspaper to keep the peace. She usually tries to tell Henry something important, but Henry just tells her to shut up and does not listen. The only member to wear shoes, she wears a pink hat, a blue dress, and red slippers.
She manages to defeat Bugs Bunny in the family's debut short, where Mama Bear gets overly smitten over Bugs, chasing the rabbit away as a result.
Junyer Bear[]
Junyer Bear[2] (sometimes spelled Junior or Joonyer) is the child of Henry Bear and Mama Bear. He is seven years old, yet he is twice as tall as his parents, and he has a heavy voice. He is very dim-witted, naive, and childish, but he has a good heart. He appears to be an adult because of his size, but he is still a child.
History[]
Golden Age[]
Director Chuck Jones introduced the trio in the 1944 cartoon "Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears" as the main antagonists. In the short, Papa Bear tries to feed his starving family by having them act out their roles in the traditional fairy tale from which they derive their name, so that they could catch and eat Goldilocks for food. Unfortunately for them, when they were out of porridge, Mama substituted carrot soup for it, and the "Goldilocks" they lured turned out to be none other than Bugs Bunny. When Bugs tells Mama that she's beautiful, compliments her eyes, and plants a big kiss on her lips to distract Mama from attacking the wascally wabbit, his plan works too well that Bugs now must escape from a love-stricken Mama, now so smitten she can't keep her hands off of him. In the bears' debut cartoon, Mel Blanc voices Papa, Bea Benaderet voices Mama, and Kent Rogers voices Junyer.
Jones' bears as introduced in the short are perhaps the first film satire of the American nuclear family and how its traditional roles were coming under increasing scrutiny in the 1940s. As Jones himself was never shy to point out, this cartoon and others in the series anticipated the failings and foibles that would later make the sitcom All in the Family such a success. In the documentary Chuck Jones Extremes & Inbetweens, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening mentioned that the show was always credited for depicting the dysfunctional American family but added that the Three Bears predated that.
Jones brought back the bears for his 1948 cartoon "What's Brewin', Bruin?", without Bugs Bunny. Here, alpha-male Papa Bear decides that it's time for the bears to hibernate. Like any good family should, Mama Bear and Junyer Bear obey, but Mama's snoring and Junyer's creaky cradle keep Papa from getting the sleep he himself advocated. Henry's voice is here supplied by Billy Bletcher, Mama Bear's voice is supplied by Mel Blanc, and Junyer's voice is here supplied by Stan Freberg, who would retain the role for all future Three Bears cartoons, including "The Bee-Deviled Bruin" and "Bear Feat", both in 1949, though Bea Benaderet would reprise her role as Mama Bear in the latter cartoons.
Mama Bear made a silent cameo appearance in the 1950 Daffy Duck short "The Scarlet Pumpernickel".
1951's "A Bear for Punishment", the last film in the series, is often considered the funniest, and it is perhaps the most satirical. This time, it's Father's Day, and Mama and Junyer's well-intended gifts do nothing except dishonor the perturbed Papa. Jones later stated that many of the scenarios in the short were derived from his own experiences.
Chuck Jones retired the Three Bears in 1951. According to Chuck Jones, studio head Jack Warner did not want further shorts featuring the trio, as "everybody was making Three Bear pictures."[3] Jaime Weinman mentions that theater exhibitors asked Warner Bros. not to send more cartoons with the characters.[4] Maurice Noble once recalled that a guest complained when a short starring the bears got announced to screen in a theater, and the story got reported to the studio, which allegedly caused their retirement.[5]
Post-Golden Age[]
In the early 1990s, the Three Bears were brought back and featured several times in the TV series Tiny Toon Adventures. Most famously, they appeared in an updated "90's version" of the classic Three Bears fairy tale (with Elmyra Duff playing the part of Goldilocks), which parodied suburbia prevalent in American society. Papa Bear also appeared as the vendor in the Animaniacs episode "Garage Sale of the Century".
The Three Bears make a cameo appearance in Space Jam, with Mama Bear in the audience during the emergency meeting in the beginning laughing at the Nerdlucks, and later all three are watching a basketball game.
In Looney Tunes Back in Action, the bears are tourists in Paris. They run into D.J. Drake, whose trousers have rocketed off into the air, leaving him in his underwear. DJ steals Papa Bear's trousers so that he can save Kate Houghton from Mr. Bob Smith, who was ordered by Mr. Chairman to have her kidnapped.
The Three Bears appear in the direct-to-video film Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas as one of the Lucky Duck employees.
The Three Bears made a guest appearance in The Looney Tunes Show episode "Ridiculous Journey", with Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Junyer Bear voiced by Maurice LaMarche, Grey DeLisle and John DiMaggio respectively.
In Looney Tunes Cartoons, the Three Bears made a cameo appearance in "Happy Birthday Bugs Bunny!" and later appeared in "Life's a Beach" and "Moody at the Movies". Here, they are voiced, respectively, by Andrew Dickman, Candi Milo, and Stephen Stanton.
The Three Bears made appearances in Bugs Bunny Builders, voiced by Fred Tatasciore, Stephanie Southerland, and Ben Diskin, respectively. Papa Bear is friendlier and less abusive in this version.
Appearances[]
Cartoons[]
"Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears" (1944)- "What's Brewin', Bruin?" (1948)
- "The Bee-Deviled Bruin" (1949)
- "Bear Feat" (1949)
- "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" (1950) (Mama Bear only, cameo)
- "A Bear for Punishment" (1951)
In other media[]
- Space Jam (cameo)
- Looney Tunes Back in Action (minor appearance)
- Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (minor appearance)
- Space Jam A New Legacy (cameo)
Tiny Toon Adventures episodes:
Animaniacs episode:
- "Garage Sale of the Century" (Papa Bear only)
- "Grand Master Rabbit" (Junyer Bear only)
The television special:
The Looney Tunes Show episode:
Looney Tunes Cartoons shorts:
- "Happy Birthday Bugs Bunny!" (cameo)
- S6E02b "Life's a Beach"
- S6E08b "Moody at the Movies"
- "Party Boat" (Mama Bear only)
- "Skate Park" (Mama Bear only)
- "Honey Bunny"
- "Junior"
The video games:
- Looney Tunes World of Mayhem (Junyer Bear only) (2024)
Gallery[]
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References[]
- ā Furniss, Maureen, ed. (2005). "Witty Birds and Well-Drawn Cats: An Interview with Chuck Jones", Chuck Jones: Conversations. University Press of Mississippi, page 51. ISBN 978-1578067299.
- ā Chuck Jones spelled it "Junyer"
- ā Furniss 2005, p. 81.
- ā Weinman, Jaime J. (13 May 2006). Gettin' Frisky. Something Old, Nothing New.
- ā McCracken, Harry (1991). An Interview with Maurice Noble. Animato No. 21.