Although there are many cartoons in the Terry Bear series, most share the same premise that boys will be boys, and trying to control them only sends things out of control. The Terry Bears are two brothers and their Dad, who they call "Papa." The two cubs are typical youngsters: sweet, curious, and prone to mischief. Papa is gruff and stocky with a quick temper, but he's never ugly and seldom yells at the boys, getting his laughs instead with the annoyed deadpan known as the "slow burn." Papa loves his cubs and would be much better off if only he softened his attitude and learned to enjoy them more. But since Papa expects trouble, it's a safe bet that he'll be in it deep when it comes. This camping trip offers a perfect example. When the boys make ready to cook at the campfire, Papa butts in and begins a condescending lecture on fire safety. "You've got to be very careful around fire," he intones, "'cause if you're not, you're liable to get burnt." Truer words were never spoken, because by talking down to his kids, Papa has positioned his bear backside directly over the campfire! Soon Papa's doing a "slow burn" for real. When his rump catches fire, he stops his lecture, looks up and utters a muted "ow." A wickedly funny pause gives the campfire added time to punish him for being such a "buttinsky," then Papa hollers a much louder "OWWW!" and high-tails it out of there with his fanny on fire. As of this writing, this cartoon, along with virtually everything else from the Paul Terry studios, is nearly impossible to see or acquire. That's a shame, because this studio has a huge catalog that includes Heckle and Jeckle, Mighty Mouse, Tom Terrific and the ever-popular Deputy Dawg.
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