The Bears are characters featured in the 1947 Disney featurette Bongo, a segment from the film Fun and Fancy Free. They are grizzly bears living in a forest whom Bongo encounters during his relationship with Lulubelle.
Background
Physical appearances
Most of the bears seen in Bongo consist of various identical generic bears having black noses, black claws, and black pupils in their eyes. However, to give them a distinguished appearance, they have distinct shades of brown - consisting of maple, chestnut, cinnamon, or dark brown, all over their bodies as well as bright undersides located below their heads. In addition to containing several adult bears, there are also bear cubs who occasionally have brown shades like the adults, albeit only smaller.
Appearances
Fun and Fancy Free
During Bongo and Lulubelle's relationship, various adult bears and bear cubs approach them and are gathered to see their romance. However, this was disrupted when a big bear named "Lumpjaw" came and started to terrorize the other bears. Lumpjaw not only scares the other bears but also the other animals as well. Later when Bongo sees Lulubelle being Lumpjaw's love interest, the other bears are gathered to see their relationship while Bongo cried that he was replaced. The narrator then tells Bongo not to leave, telling him to listen to the bears singing about their relationship. During Lulubelle's relationship with Lumpjaw, the other bears dance together during "Say It with a Slap" where the male and female bears begin their relationship while Bongo watches along. As the bears slap each other for their relationship, they dance altogether in the forest in a hoedown, but not before the narrator tells Bongo that the way the bears show their relationship is called a love slap while Lulubelle is being affectionate with Lumpjaw. Bongo becomes brave and then tries to get Lulubelle's attention, but is slapped away by Lumpjaw, causing all the other bears to retreat again.
As Lumpjaw attempts to get Bongo out of his way, only for the latter to push him out, Lumpjaw crashes into a tree where the other bears are clinging onto, which he crashes into. In a fit of rage, Lumpjaw shoves the other bears out of his way in an attempt to replace Bongo to be Lulubelle's love interest while chasing him across the forest and attempting to hit him with a tree which he uses as a weapon. Just as both Bongo and Lumpjaw fall into a river, the other bears watch worriedly. However, Bongo finds himself safe after getting his hat caught on a branch on a waterfall. Bongo returns to the spot where Lulubelle and the other bears are present just before they all celebrate that Bongo is safe after all. Bongo does the love slap technique towards Lulubelle like what the other bears did earlier, ending the story.
Trivia
- According to the book adaptation of Bongo included in the Walt Disney's Story Land book, it is said that in the end of the story that the other bears showed Bongo looking for the best food to eat as well as a honey tree with honey and that they found a cave suitable for him; this, however, did not occur in the actual featurette itself.
- In real life, bears are typically solitary animals, unlike the ones seen in Bongo.
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