August 19, 1955 – The Donald Duck Short Film Bearly Asleep is Released to Theaters
“Yes, after we have bid farewell to the summer tourists, and the park is closed for the winter, it is time for our little bear friends to hibernate in their winter cave.”
On August 19, 1955, the Donald Duck short film Bearly Asleep was released to theaters. This is the third of four shorts where Humphrey the Bear is the antagonist of Donald Duck; this is also one of the few Donald Duck shorts filmed in CinemaScope. It was directed by Jack Hannah, with story by Al Bertino and Dave Detiege.
Ranger Donald Duck is waving goodbye to the visitors as they leave the national park. The bears also wave goodbye to the visitors, until Donald calls them all to attention, as it is time for them to hibernate in their cave. Humphrey, however, has been lounging in a nearby hammock, and reluctantly joins the line when Donald kicks him. Donald allows Humphrey to grab a drink of water before joining the bears, then yelps that someone pinched him. Donald throws the glass at Humphrey, telling him to go to sleep, and mutters “I hate bears,” over and over again as he walks back to his cabin.
Humphrey is happy to find a place where he can spend his hibernation
In the cave, Humprey starts annoying all the other bears with his fidgeting and snoring, and they kick him out into the snow. He finds a log to stay in, except that the rabbit living there kicks him out. He then finds what he thinks is another cave, but is nearly run over by a train running at full-speed. Finally, he comes across the ranger’s cabin and, spying the bunk beds, decides to find a way in. He pretends to sleepwalk into the cabin and crawl into one of the beds, but Donald is suspicious of his behavior, and places a lamp underneath the bed. As Humphrey becomes too warm, he “sleep-climbs” up to the top bunk, but Donald places the open flame of the lamp under the top mattress, and Humphrey leaps into the air in pain. Donald then uses a snowshoe to beat Humphrey out of the house before sealing all the exits.
As Humphrey gazes wistfully into the warm building, he finds that his nose is stuck to the glass of the window. He pulls the glass off as he tries to remove it from his nose, and ends up shutting himself back inside the house and placing the glass back in the window. Spying the snowshoe and its painful spike, Humphrey looks for a place to hide as Donald prepares for a shower. Unfortunately, Humphrey hides in the shower and ends up all wet. Donald finally finds Humphrey hiding and searches all over the house to catch the bear, trapping him in the oven. Donald then sends Humphrey flying out again, along with all other pieces of bear memorabilia. Seeing that Donald threw out a bear dressed as a baby, Humphrey dons the outfit and pretends to be a lost baby left in a basket in front of his old cave. The bears take him in, and his snoring once again keeps the entire cave awake through hibernation.
disneydetail 