The Goofy Gophers
Encyclopedia
The Goofy Gophers is a 1946 Warner Bros.
Looney Tunes
cartoon
released on January 25, 1947. It stars the Goofy Gophers
with a cameo by Bugs Bunny
at the end (whose voice in this film is sped up). The WB animators, by this time, were now widely using Robert McKimson
's version of Bugs's design.
This is one of the latest-released pre-August 1948 WB cartoons to enter the public domain, as United Artists
(successor-in-interest to Associated Artists Productions
) failed to renew the copyright in time.
speaking dog guarding a vegetable
garden
and falling asleep. Shortly after, he is waken up by some crunching noises, warning him of intruders. Using a rocket that creates a flare in the sky, the dog spots the Goofy Gophers (Mac and Tosh) eating some of the vegetables, so he disguises himself as a tomato vine (his nose looking like a tomato) and poses as the actual plant in the garden.
As morning dawns, Mac and Tosh go about the garden taking up every vegetable that looks interesting, including a real long carrot (that has Tosh whistling as if it were a sexy girl). Mac gathers up the "tomatoes" just as Tosh imitates Bugs Bunny saying "What's up, doc?" While Mac is studying the pumpkin, the dog blows his cover and after asking him if he'd tried the pumpkin, Mac throws it into his face. Mac then asks the dog if he'd had his daily iron, to which after the dog answers no, Mac hits him over the head with a shovel. The dog runs after Mac, but Mac dives into a hole and the shovel prevents the dog from pursuing him.
After gathering up a bushel of vegetables and posing as Southern speaking ladies, Mac and Tosh duck back into their holes. The dog tries digging them out, but Tosh squirts him with a tomato. The gophers then taunt the dog from many holes as he tries to decapitate them with the clippers. While the dog's back is turned, the gophers take the advantage to give him the ultimate "hot foot
" (putting a whole boxful of matches at the dog's foot and setting it on fire), which sends the dog fleeing for the rain barrel to extinguish it.
Next, the gophers pull down vegetables to the tune of a Conga
beat. The dog's first attempt to stop them only results in Mac punching him in the nose, so the dog ducks behind vegetables and disguises himself as the scarecrow. Right after the dog states how his "razor keen mind" aids him, he is pulled into the ground, but kicked out again, along with the scarecrow, dressed as a telegram man from Western Onion
, complete with a note from the gophers which reads "We're vegetarians, you dope!"
Underground, Tosh tries to make choices on certain fruit and vegetables, only to have them turned down by Mac (Mac reminds him strawberries could give him a rash). The gophers then come across a turnip, which has been bobby-trapped by the dog, but the gophers turn the tables on him by having the dog pull himself underground. Straight after, the gophers proceed to steamroll him into the ground and call him "Silly Boy!"
The dog manages to get out of the ground and reaches into another hole for the gophers. Mac, however, stalls him with a hand grenade, making the dog pull out the pin. Spotting the pin on his finger, the dog starts showing it off as if it were a class ring, but while passing over the grenade underground, the grenade explodes and makes him fall flat to the ground, looking worse for the wear.
Later, while the gophers are relaxing eating vegetables, an attractive Southern Belle
gopher (the dog's paw in disguise) comes up, attracting the gophers' lovestruck interest. Mac takes the first opportunity to dance with the female gopher and allows Tosh to cut in. Tosh's turn to dance has him pull off the female gopher, exposing the dog's paw. The gophers then turn the tables on the dog again by tricking his paw into dancing straight into a mousetrap.
That evening, the dog takes a stick of dynamite, puts it into a carrot he cuts in half, and lights the fuse, but Mac cuts the fuse and Tosh fakes the explosion with a blown up paper bag. Thinking he's rid of the gophers for good, the dog celebrates by doing another round of guarding and then falling asleep. The gophers, however, put him on the rocket launcher and aim it for the moon. Next, they shove a stick of dynamite into the dog's mouth, light it, and Mac sets up a camera. As Tosh blows into a bird's whistle, the dog wakes up and poses for a picture, but the dynamite explodes, sending him flying into space and crashing into the moon so that it breaks into four quarter moons, rocking to the closing notes of the tune Rock-a-bye Baby
.
Triumphant in their defeat of the dog, the gophers saw down the "Beware of dog" sign and rejoice. Just as Mac and Tosh gloat that they'll now have no trouble in raiding the garden, their moment of victory is cut short by crunching sounds. The camera reveals it is Bugs Bunny, having just eaten the gophers' stash of carrots, who says "Well, um, now I wouldn't say that," just as a closing iris ends the cartoon.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
released on January 25, 1947. It stars the Goofy Gophers
Goofy Gophers
The Goofy Gophers are animated cartoon characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. The gophers, named Mac and Tosh, are small and brown with tan bellies and buck teeth...
with a cameo by Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
at the end (whose voice in this film is sped up). The WB animators, by this time, were now widely using Robert McKimson
Robert McKimson
Robert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
's version of Bugs's design.
This is one of the latest-released pre-August 1948 WB cartoons to enter the public domain, as United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
(successor-in-interest to Associated Artists Productions
Associated Artists Productions
Associated Artists Productions was a distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. It existed from 1953 to 1958. It was later folded into United Artists. The former a.a.p. library was later owned by MGM/UA Entertainment and then Turner Entertainment. Turner continues...
) failed to renew the copyright in time.
Plot
The cartoon opens in nighttime with a ThespianThespian
Thespian may refer to:* An actor * A citizen of the ancient Greek city of Thespiae* A member of the International Thespian Society, an honor society that promotes excellence in high school theater...
speaking dog guarding a vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
and falling asleep. Shortly after, he is waken up by some crunching noises, warning him of intruders. Using a rocket that creates a flare in the sky, the dog spots the Goofy Gophers (Mac and Tosh) eating some of the vegetables, so he disguises himself as a tomato vine (his nose looking like a tomato) and poses as the actual plant in the garden.
As morning dawns, Mac and Tosh go about the garden taking up every vegetable that looks interesting, including a real long carrot (that has Tosh whistling as if it were a sexy girl). Mac gathers up the "tomatoes" just as Tosh imitates Bugs Bunny saying "What's up, doc?" While Mac is studying the pumpkin, the dog blows his cover and after asking him if he'd tried the pumpkin, Mac throws it into his face. Mac then asks the dog if he'd had his daily iron, to which after the dog answers no, Mac hits him over the head with a shovel. The dog runs after Mac, but Mac dives into a hole and the shovel prevents the dog from pursuing him.
After gathering up a bushel of vegetables and posing as Southern speaking ladies, Mac and Tosh duck back into their holes. The dog tries digging them out, but Tosh squirts him with a tomato. The gophers then taunt the dog from many holes as he tries to decapitate them with the clippers. While the dog's back is turned, the gophers take the advantage to give him the ultimate "hot foot
Hot foot
The hot foot is a prank where the prankster sets the victim's shoe laces on fire with a match or lighter. There are several other versions of the hot foot prank, but all involve using a source of flame near a victim's foot...
" (putting a whole boxful of matches at the dog's foot and setting it on fire), which sends the dog fleeing for the rain barrel to extinguish it.
Next, the gophers pull down vegetables to the tune of a Conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
beat. The dog's first attempt to stop them only results in Mac punching him in the nose, so the dog ducks behind vegetables and disguises himself as the scarecrow. Right after the dog states how his "razor keen mind" aids him, he is pulled into the ground, but kicked out again, along with the scarecrow, dressed as a telegram man from Western Onion
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
, complete with a note from the gophers which reads "We're vegetarians, you dope!"
Underground, Tosh tries to make choices on certain fruit and vegetables, only to have them turned down by Mac (Mac reminds him strawberries could give him a rash). The gophers then come across a turnip, which has been bobby-trapped by the dog, but the gophers turn the tables on him by having the dog pull himself underground. Straight after, the gophers proceed to steamroll him into the ground and call him "Silly Boy!"
The dog manages to get out of the ground and reaches into another hole for the gophers. Mac, however, stalls him with a hand grenade, making the dog pull out the pin. Spotting the pin on his finger, the dog starts showing it off as if it were a class ring, but while passing over the grenade underground, the grenade explodes and makes him fall flat to the ground, looking worse for the wear.
Later, while the gophers are relaxing eating vegetables, an attractive Southern Belle
Southern belle
A southern belle is an archetype for a young woman of the American Old South's upper class....
gopher (the dog's paw in disguise) comes up, attracting the gophers' lovestruck interest. Mac takes the first opportunity to dance with the female gopher and allows Tosh to cut in. Tosh's turn to dance has him pull off the female gopher, exposing the dog's paw. The gophers then turn the tables on the dog again by tricking his paw into dancing straight into a mousetrap.
That evening, the dog takes a stick of dynamite, puts it into a carrot he cuts in half, and lights the fuse, but Mac cuts the fuse and Tosh fakes the explosion with a blown up paper bag. Thinking he's rid of the gophers for good, the dog celebrates by doing another round of guarding and then falling asleep. The gophers, however, put him on the rocket launcher and aim it for the moon. Next, they shove a stick of dynamite into the dog's mouth, light it, and Mac sets up a camera. As Tosh blows into a bird's whistle, the dog wakes up and poses for a picture, but the dynamite explodes, sending him flying into space and crashing into the moon so that it breaks into four quarter moons, rocking to the closing notes of the tune Rock-a-bye Baby
Rock-a-bye Baby
Rock-a-bye Baby is a nursery rhyme and lullaby. The melody is a variant of the English satirical ballad Lilliburlero. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 2768.-Lyrics:...
.
Triumphant in their defeat of the dog, the gophers saw down the "Beware of dog" sign and rejoice. Just as Mac and Tosh gloat that they'll now have no trouble in raiding the garden, their moment of victory is cut short by crunching sounds. The camera reveals it is Bugs Bunny, having just eaten the gophers' stash of carrots, who says "Well, um, now I wouldn't say that," just as a closing iris ends the cartoon.