The Early Worm Gets The Bird (1940)

The Early Worm Gets the Bird is a 1938 produced, 1940 released Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery. The name is a play on the adage "The early bird gets the worm."

The story starts in the house of The Blackbird family. Three birds are seen praying. Their Mammy tells them goodnight, and the three birds go to sleep. But then, one of the birds wakes up and reads "The Early Bird gets The Worm". He wakes his brother up and tells him about the story, but he doesn't care. Mammy then notices the children are not asleep, so she comes in and throws the book out the window. Then, she tells them about the fox, who eats birds. The birds go to sleep, but one still wants to get the worm. The next morning he sneaks out to catch the worm. The worm then reads the book, and decides to look for the "early bird". They both find each other, and run away from each other. Once the bird realizes that was the worm, he chases after him. After a few gags Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd style, the fox appears and holds up two signs. One says "The Villain" and the other "As if you didn't know". The fox then chases the bird, then the bird stops, and, not realizing the fox is a fox, he tells him about the fox. Once he realizes the fox is right there, he gets captured. The worm saves him, however. The bird then returns home. Then, Mammy comes in and asks the three birds what they want for breakfast. Two say worms, but the third says he doesn't want worms. The worm pops up and says he doesn't, either, then covers his mouth, followed by the iris out.
Availability
The cartoon has not been officially released on DVD. However, it was included in the Golden Age of Looney Tunes LaserDisc/videocassette series. Additionally, it can often be found on low-quality VHS tapes and DVDs of various public domain cartoons, since the copyright on this film has not been renewed.

From publicdomainmovies.net