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.

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.

This is a ComiColor short from Iwerks studio. There will be spoilers ahead:For a period of time in the 1930s, Ub Iwerks ran his own studio after he briefly struck out on his own away from Walt Disney. Iwerks studio produced some technically nice cartoons, but all too often, there was entirely too little in the way of plot or story and the shorts suffered for the lack. This short is an exception.This is the old fairy tale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, with some nice little additions to the basic storyline. First of all, Goldilocks is playing hide and side with her dog when the short begins. Right away, she comes off as a bit of a brat. Come her turn to hide, she sneaks off and finds the house of the Three Bears, who have just about everything in threes-three entrances to the yard, to the house, three radios, cuckoo clocks, three cats, "Three Blind Mice" playing on all three radios with slightly different voices and so on.By and by, the basic story asserts itself and Goldilocks, eats porridge, wrecks two beds and occupies the third and then the bears are introduced and return home. They discover their lovely home has basically been wrecked, investigate, find the perpetrator and a chase ensues. The animation is great and the gags are very good for an Iwerks short.Goldilocks eventually manages to get out of the house with bears in full pursuit and the dog reappears in the short. The ending is unexpected and hilarious, so I won't spoil it here.This short is available on DVD and online and is well worth looking for. Most recommended.