Alf, Bill And Fred
Encyclopedia
Alf, Bill and Fred is the name of a short animation directed by Bob Godfrey
and written by Stan Hayward in 1964. Its synopsis in Halliwell's Film Guide
simply states "A man
, a dog
and a duck
enjoy bouncing together.
The plot and the moral
are both very simple. The three titular multi-species characters are friends who like to bounce a lot. Bill - the man - suddenly inherits a lot of money and starts spending it with reckless abandon (on, amongst other things, a tin of peach
es). He abandons his old friends and becomes increasingly hedonistic.
Meanwhile, the dog and the duck continue bouncing.
Eventually, Bill accidentally bounces out of a window in a very tall building. He loses his memory and goes back to his old friends. They set up a business together selling happiness to people.
The moral of the story is stated to be: "It is easier to sell happiness
than to buy it because most people are sillier than you are!"
cartoons, notably in the character of the moustached Bill, who closely resembles the character usually foiled by the Panther. The cartoon also uses the technique of cross-cutting with amusingly random pictures to make various points (such as the things Bill can buy).
It is also reminiscent of other Bob Godfrey animations such as Roobarb
.
Bob Godfrey
Roland Frederick Godfrey is a British animator whose career spans more than fifty years. He is probably best known for the children's cartoon series Roobarb , Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk and Henry's Cat and for the Trio chocolate biscuit advertisements shown in the UK during the early 1980s...
and written by Stan Hayward in 1964. Its synopsis in Halliwell's Film Guide
Leslie Halliwell
Robert James Leslie Halliwell was a British film encyclopaedist and television impresario who in 1965 compiled The Filmgoer's Companion, the first one-volume encyclopaedia devoted to all aspects of the cinema. He followed it a dozen years later with Halliwell's Film Guide, another monumental work...
simply states "A man
Man
The term man is used for an adult human male . However, man is sometimes used to refer to humanity as a whole...
, a dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
and a duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
enjoy bouncing together.
The plot and the moral
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
are both very simple. The three titular multi-species characters are friends who like to bounce a lot. Bill - the man - suddenly inherits a lot of money and starts spending it with reckless abandon (on, amongst other things, a tin of peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
es). He abandons his old friends and becomes increasingly hedonistic.
Meanwhile, the dog and the duck continue bouncing.
Eventually, Bill accidentally bounces out of a window in a very tall building. He loses his memory and goes back to his old friends. They set up a business together selling happiness to people.
The moral of the story is stated to be: "It is easier to sell happiness
Happiness
Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources....
than to buy it because most people are sillier than you are!"
Style
The cartoon is drawn in a similar style to the Pink PantherThe Pink Panther (character)
The Pink Panther is the main and title character in the opening and closing credit sequences of every film in The Pink Panther series except for A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau. His popularity spawned a series of theatrical shorts, merchandise, a comic book, and television cartoons...
cartoons, notably in the character of the moustached Bill, who closely resembles the character usually foiled by the Panther. The cartoon also uses the technique of cross-cutting with amusingly random pictures to make various points (such as the things Bill can buy).
It is also reminiscent of other Bob Godfrey animations such as Roobarb
Roobarb
Roobarb is a British animated television programme for children, originally shown on BBC1 just before the evening news. Each cartoon, written by Grange Calveley and animated by Bob Godfrey, was about five minutes long. Thirty episodes were made, and the show was first shown on October 21, 1974...
.