User Reviews

While not one of my favourites, Ub Iwerks was responsible for a lot of interesting work. Especially when working with Walt Disney, his oldest friend and one of his best, and co-creating one of animation's most famous characters in Mickey Mouse. His career since opening his own studio had interest value but the quality was variable, often being successful in the animation and music but wanting in the story and variable in gags, lead characters and tone.

1933 to 1936 saw twenty five cartoons, mostly based on famous fairytales and familiar stories, as part of Iwerks's "ComiColor" series. The "ComiColor" series is very much worth watching and interesting, as is the case with many series some cartoons are better than others but there are no real animation nadirs. 1935's 'The Three Bears' is decent enough but not great.

'The Three Bears' is slight in the story department with not always enough content for the short length and is too saccharine, especially in the first half, and lacking tightness and variety.

One of the biggest problems is Goldilocks herself, instead of being a character to root for she is an annoying brat and that is quite a big problem. It does adhere faithfully to the famous original story which is nice, but this can come at the expense at the same time of having much new.

However, 'The Three Bears' is certainly worth the watch. It isn't too dull and doesn't feel too stale.

There are a few amusing moments that aren't too corny and never repetitive, the highlight being the ending, and there is a genuine likeability and charm. The bears fare far better and have cute and amusing personalities.

Furthermore, the animation is great. Meticulously detailed, fluid in drawing, vibrant in colour and often rich in imagination and visual wit. The music is cleverly and lushly orchestrated, is infectiously catchy and adds a lot to the cartoon. Along with them, the hilarious ending makes the cartoon worthwhile.

In summary, decent. 6/10 Bethany Cox

There is a lot to dislike about this Ub Iwerks produced cartoon. Most importantly, it's filled with very sappy music that is so saccharine-sweet that you want to scream. Then, they made Goldilocks so repellent that you couldn't help but root for the three bears to maul this little creep!

When the film begins, Goldilocks is playing hide and seek with her dog. While hiding, she discovers the Three Bears' house and proceeds to go inside and destroy almost everything. These were not mistakes--Goldilocks is some sort of sociopath in this cartoon. The bears return and try to maul her (can you blame them?) but in the end she manages to escape thanks to some skunks.

Sicking music and a bratty main character who never gets her comeuppance...what a stupid film. Compare this to the brilliant Bugs Bunny cartoon where he tangles with the Three Bears and you'll see why I rate this one so poorly. Not fun to watch despite some decent animation.

Among Iwerks' non Disney work, Jack Frost(1934) is more popular among viewers, perhaps because of its seasonal appeal, and yet The Three Bears(1935) is crafted with the same expertise. This is a hip version of the favorite children's bedtime story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilock's actually is not given a name in this film, and was not called thus in the earliest incantations of the story, but we'll use it here, nonetheless. She is shown dancing, the bears dance, and while she listens on the radio to a jazz version of "Three Blind Mice" complete with lyrics, 3 animated blind mice dance as well. The bears are given extra emphasis with their somewhat countrified vocabulary. The plot begins with Goldilocks playing hide and seek with her dog. She wanders off, enters the 3 bears unoccupied house and finds 3 of everything inside. There are 3 umbrellas, 3 pianos, 3 fish, etc. Then the familiar routine gets under way with the porridge then the beds. The ending is very funny and original. The music is a real highlight, with Carl Stalling at the helm. He had worked with Disney earlier as well, and of course later would move to Warner Brothers and do the Daffy, Porky & Bugs Bunny cartoons. This film must have been well preserved as the version viewed, a dollar DVD, had very good (non faded)color. In fact this would appear to be the 1st color movie edition of the famous tale that has been filmed over a dozen times. The story's popularity(it's origins going back long before it's first printing in 1831 by way of oral tales)is still high with many books in print as of 2009, e.g. James Marshall, Jan Brett, Little Golden Books, etc. Even the Flintstones had an encounter with the story in the Hanna-Barbera's cartoon series record album entitled Goldi Rocks and the Three Bearosauruses.

The Three Bears (1935)

** (out of 4)

Goldilocks stumbles into the home of the three bears and I think you know the rest. Ub Iwerks made a lot of these fairy tale adaptations where he took familiar stories and then added his own twist to them. Like so many others, this one here features some very good animation but the stories are just so lacking that it's hard to get too involved in them. The biggest problem here is that Goldilocks is rather annoying and I'd argue mean as well. She really does a number on the bear's home so it's hard to care or feel too much for her. Even the three bears are rather bland and forgettable. The one saving grace is the animation but even that can't completely save this one. It's mildly entertaining at best.