User Reviews

This was a Columbia/Screen Gems cartoon that I just saw on Daily Motion as linked from the Cartoonz for You site. It's the second one starring the Fox and Crow. In this one, the Fox is attempting to chop trees. The first one happens to house the Crow. Nothing can persuade the Fox from chopping his tree, not poetry nor singing. So the Crow tries various ways to trick him like taking the sharp axe head away, tying the saw handle to Fox's tail causing him to fly backwards, and having a toy mouse scare the Fox's elephant from knocking anymore trees (that last gag I remember seeing in a Tweety and Sylvester cartoon). Finally, the Fox builds some tracks and runs a train to attempt to smash the tree. Is this the end? Well...I'll stop there and just say what a very funny sophomoric effort for the studios' new stars this was. And the print I watched was perfect so half of me wonders if it was a restored one. One more thing, since Mel Blanc had by this time an exclusive contract with Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons), he was unavailable to return as the voice of the Fox and Crow. Instead, Frank Graham and Paul Frees, respectively, became the leading voices for the rest of the characters' lives. And what fine replacement voices they turned out to be! So on that note, I highly recommend Woodsman, Spare That Tree.

This is a cartoon in the Fox and Crow series produced by Columbia studio. There will be spoilers ahead:

This is the second short in the Fox and Crow series and it's a great one. Fox runs a lumber yard and he's working, out to chop down a tree. Through pure chance, he picks Crow's tree. Crow consults his "Ency-Crow-Pedis" (a running gag throughout the cartoon) and it advises him. It's a highly interactive and snarky book.

Crow tries all sorts of ways to make Fox stop trying to take down the tree-reciting poetry, singing, mayhem inflicted on Fox in various colorful and potentially damaging ways (the gags with the piano and crosscut saw are great) but nothing will dissuade Fox from taking this specific tree.

As things escalate, Fox's attempts grow more complex and outrageous. He tries to have an elephant uproot the tree, with unfortunate results. Finally, he lays track and aims a train at the tree. The closing gags are beautiful, so I won't spoil them here.

This cartoon deserves to be more widely known. Most recommended.