That is the question in this cartoon from 1967 "The Bear That Wasn't", which will have its 50th anniversary next year. If you look at the names who worked on this one and know a bit about cartoons, you will certainly recognize the likes of Chuck Jones, Maurice Noble, Frank Tashlin and Paul Frees, especially Jones of course. This is long after the time you could call his prime and this 10-minute movie (fairly long for a carton) is from the time when he won his Oscar. It is about a bear who wakes out of hibernation, but everybody (all humans) just think he is a bearded guy. Well good for them I guess, because they would be really scared otherwise. This joke, however, is not enough to make for 10 minutes, no matter how many times they repeat it. I personally did not find this an entertaining or funny watch and I have seen many better from Jones. Thumbs down from me. The best thing here may be Frees' narration, but overall I don#t recommend checking it out.

Whatever kids are supposed to glean from this unconventional way of saying "be yourself," it's liable to be over their heads in delivering any sort of message. The appeal seems targeted for the '60 rebels who were activists on college campuses.Nice modern animation, some bright colors, an abstract look--and an ultra-silly storyline make this one of Chuck Jones' lesser cartoons of the era.Whatever satire existed in the original work has been made senseless by this cartoon. Viewed as the way nature has been disturbed by the invasion of man's industrial society, some adults may approve of it.Not my idea of a truly entertaining cartoon for all ages.

Ever wonder how the psychedelic, existential mindset of the 60s transferred itself to the next generation? Well, this cartoon is your answer. Starting with the existential title "The Bear that Wasn't", kids and viewers of all ages are taken on a mind trip where self-identity conflicts with social identity, and modern-day bureaucracy and hierarchy are satirized and exposed. All of this is done through some of the most beautiful and artistic animation of Chuck Jones, with its use of autumnal colors, shapes, shadows and outlines, all set to a Sergio Mendes-esquire mid-late 60s jazzy score, with its own psychedelic overtones. Not to mention the unusual length of this 'cartoon'--10 minutes. There all other tasty little tidbits of that time period too -- the Bear has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth for most of the cartoon while he is bewildered at what is happening to him.To think that little kids might have been zoned in to this in front of the TV on Saturday morning, while eating their breakfast cereal. What could they possibly be thinking after watching this? They say the 1960s counter culture was largely influenced by the fact that college campus theaters would show European new wave films, and so here were all these college kids innocently going to the campus theater, just cause it was there, yet being exposed to these radically artsy subversive films. This helped sow the seeds of a counterculture and the era which brought the widest and most pervasive critique of the society and everything about it, its values, norms, etc.

'The Bear That Wasn't' is a fine little cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Frank Tashlin, both seasoned animators who by the 1960s were at MGM having spent several years at Warner Bros. honing their craft on Bugs Bunny and the like.The phrase 'To thine own self be true' could have been coined for this film. The bear who hibernates and awakes in the midst of an industrial estate could be forgiven for wanting to blend in with the crowd, but to celebrate individuality, however illogical it may seem, is more important to him.The bear is a character we can empathise with, even given the difference in species ... and perhaps this fable proves that with progress, truth does not automatically follow.Well drawn and tightly written, it can be found as an extra on the 3rd volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection.