Rah Rah Ruckus (The Beary Family)

Rah Rah Ruckus
"Stop! STOP" Charlie (and everyone else's) reaction to this short
Directed by: Paul J. Smith Written by: Cal Howard Release date: June 1, 1964 Franchise: The Beary Family Prequel: "Goose is Wild" (previous short) Sequel: "Roof Top Razzle-Dazzle" (next short)

Rah Rah Ruckus is a Walter Lantz cartoon starring the Beary Family and is the sixth cartoon to feature them, it was released on June 1, 1964.

Plot

An exhausted Charlie returns from work hoping to get some rest. However, Bessie informs him that their children, Junior and Suzy, have become school cheerleaders who (rather noisily) practice their routines at home.

Why It's a Ruckus (and not a Good One)

1. This cartoon is a torture episode for Charlie from the start to finish, since Suzy and Junior keep annoying him with their loud cheerleading routines.
2. The cartoon marks Flanderization for the Beary Family (minus Charlie);
   • Bessie was redesigned from a typical attractive sitcom mother to a stereotypical nagging housewife who beats up Charlie for things he didn’t do since he was trying to have peace and quiet.
   • Junior Beary went from just being a lazy teenager who enjoyed reading comic books, to just a generic dimwitted character who only makes things worse to his dad.
   • Suzy Beary went from a sweet kind girl that truly cared about her family as well as her pet to just an annoying whiny brat that gets upset for the littlest of things. She also blames Charlie for destroying her baton and makes Bessie berate him for nothing he did.
3. Pointless running gag of Charlie getting hit by Suzy's baton.
4. Sluggish pacing such as in one scene where the entire family gets stuck in Junior's megaphone one at a time and trying to get each other out.
5. The cartoon reveals that Suzy's in high school even though she looks way too young to be in high school.
6. Bad animation done by Les Kline, with the characters looking more off model.
7. Plot Hole: Why can’t Suzy and Junior go outside to practice their cheerleading skills rather than indoors so they won’t annoy Charlie.
8. Bad Ending: It makes you think that Charlie will have a happy ending when he puts some of his chair's stuffing in his ears so he can stop hearing Junior and Suzy, but instead Junior and Suzy are too loud that it causes the stuffing to fall out of Charlie's ears and Charlie gets his chair destroyed ending the cartoon.

Redeeming Qualities

1. Charlie is the only likable character on this short.
2. Decent animation done by Al Coe.
3. Some funny moments such as Junior using Charlie as a record player after getting his head stuck in Junior's megaphone.

Trivia

• This is the first short in the series not to have Goosey, who has disappeared from the cast for unknown reasons, Suzy would later disappear from the series after "Davey Cricket" in 1965.
• This is the first short in the series where Bessie was redesigned.
• This short has the "Dig This Crazy Hi-Fi" meme.

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