The Busy Barber
The Busy Barber, also known as Busy Barbers in some reissues, is a short animated film by Walter Lantz Productions, starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.[1] It is the 64th Oswald short by Lantz and the 116th in the entire series.
| The Busy Barber | |
|---|---|
 Oswald stealing a tiger's tail for a barber pole. | |
| Directed by | Walter Lantz Bill Nolan |
| Produced by | Walter Lantz |
| Story by | Walter Lantz Bill Nolan |
| Music by | James Dietrich |
| Animation by | Ray Abrams Fred Avery Bill Weber Jack Carr Charles Hastings |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date | September 12, 1932 |
Running time | 6 minutes |
| Language | English |
Plot
Oswald opens a barber shop. A hippo and its mother are walking along while the hippo sucks on a lollipop. A dog steals the hippo's lollipop, causing him to cry. The mother takes the barber pole and gives it to her son to lick. Oswald notices his barber pole is gone. He finds a tiger sleeping on the ground. Oswald finds the tiger's tail a good substitute. The rabbit then picks up a saw and cuts the tail off the big cat.
Oswald returns to the location of his shop, and sticks the tail on the street just in front. In no time, customers start to come inside. The first one is a bloodhound who comes for a haircut despite not having too much hair. After receiving the service, the bloodhound attempts to leave without paying. This patron, however, gets grabbed by the cash register which appears to have a mind of its own and shakes every cent it could get.
Next to come in is a small fuzzy spaniel. All Oswald wants to is trim the length of its hairs. As a mistake, he shaves too much on the little dog's rear, making it bald in that area. Nevertheless, the spaniel shows little emotion, and therefore leaves the shop quietly.
The third visitor is a rat who doesn't seem to need any service. However, Oswald takes off the rat's nose and puts in a lightbulb. To the rat's amusement, the rabbit lights up the bulb by inserting the rodent's tail into a socket. The last client was a hippo who wants a shave. Although, the hippo's beard keeps growing back quickly, Oswald completes the task in three different methods.
Things are going well for Oswald until the tiger, which awakened already, walks into the shop. The tiger is pretty annoyed about what it lost earlier and is seeking vengeance. When the rabbit tries to flee, the big cat nabs and swallows him, although Oswald is able to crawl his way out. Understanding the tiger's disgruntlement, Oswald finally picks up the tail and puts it back on the striped beast. The tiger is then overjoyed and runs off peacefully, no longer wanting to wreak havoc. Relieved of his trouble as well as feeling happy for the big cat, Oswald simply laughs.
References
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 115–116. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.