Draft:The Owl Who Gave a Hoot

The Owl who Gave a Hoot was a 1967 animated film produced by John Sutherland sponsored by the Office of Economic Opportunity. Unique to many of Sutherland's animated films, the one contains saxophonists providing background music to give it an jazz theme.

Plot

In a city full of anthropomorphic animals, the ghetto area is seen full of buildings that have gone bankrupt. A group of animals are seen sitting by the steps of a condemned tenement. One of the animals, named Freddy Fox, remarks to the others that it was so quick where they were ruined whereas before they were raking in cash. The film flashes back to when they were in business. A bear who is the slumlord of the tenement is leasing a room to a family of pigeons. The slumlord's extolling of the room is exaggerated, showing a window is without glass panes facing a brick wall, "central heating" (in actuality a wood stove) and doors that fall off their hinges. The bear says rent is $100 a month and demands first month's rent in advance. Mr. Pigeon says he only has $50 on hand, to which the bear grabs it and says when he gets the rest "I will turn the water on, and that is a promise". As soon as the bear leaves, Freddy Fox enters with a television set that has "great color" (a drawing of the NBC peacock taped to the screen) intended for the former tenants, but then turns his attention to offloading it on the Pigeons. Mrs. Pigeon protests that they decided to forgo buying a television set until they could afford payment in full, but Freddy Fox smooth talks then to saying it can be left on approval for only $5 a week and claims "your old pal Freddy can get you anything". When Mrs. Pigeon says her family needs furniture, Freddy refers them to Bull Dozer's furniture store. It is owned by a bulldog whom does a bait and switch on the Pigeons. When Mr. Pigeon says he saw the store ad for a furniture set for $149, Bull Dozer shows some rickety furniture and upsells the Pigeons on another set for $39.50 down and $5 a week. The Pigeons go into Dozer's office to sign the contract, then Dozer is seen secretly shaking hands with Freddy in exchange for 20% of the profits. In the present, the bankrupt animals are again singing of their woes and add that people had to eat no matter what and showcase a pig named Butch Porker, remarking how he was good at hooking people. Flashing back to when his grocery store was open, Mr. Porker is shown taking in spoiled and stale items from the Uptown Market, confident they will sell in this part of town. Mrs. Pigeon requests a head of lettuce and two pounds of meat, to which Butch Porker uses spray to mask wilted lettuce and rigged weights to gyp her, as well as extending credit to her and padding the bill with food she claimed she never ordered on credit. Returning to the present, the con men sing "those were the days that were golden for us; when we could take them and no one would fuss", then showcase the chicanery of Horsepower Harry and Lion Lou. The Pigeons are shown at Horsepower Harry's car lot, asking about a cheap car that was advertized for $300. Horsepower Harry shows them the car, a hearse, but says "you wouldn't be caught dead in this" and upsells them to a jalopy "formerly owned by an old lady who only drove it to church for Christmas and Easter", saying it can be theirs for a 48-month loan of $10 per week. Mr. Pigeon says the bank rejected his application for a car loan, to which Harry refers them to Lion Lou a moneylender whose office is decorated with signs such as "Die Now; Pay Later" or "Our Interest is in Your Property". Lou approves a loan for the Pigeons using their refrigerator and washing machine as collateral. When Mr. Pigeon looks over the loan agreement, Lou says not to bother as "the light is bad" in his office and that "your old pal will fill in the blanks; go and get your car!" The Pigeons then drive the car, where it falls apart right on the street. A couple of weeks later, a policeman shows up with Lion Lou to repossess their refrigerator. Mr. Pigeon protests that the interest rates were double what Lou touted, Harry would not fix the car as promised and now his employers has ordered his wages garnished. Lou shrugs it off as "Don't blame me, blame the system". The grifters then remark all that changed when a street sweeper named Mr. Owl and his wife moved into the ghetto. The bear who owns Happy Haven Arms is showing a decrepit tenement to Mr. Owl, who stubbornly says he wants this place fully renovated or the slumlord can forget about signing Mr. Owl as a tenant. Freddy Fox regards the time he tried to con, er, sell his wares to the Owls, where Mrs. Owl is shown telling him off and says he has another thing coming if he is going to leave anything in her home on approval. "Get out of here, Mr. Peddler and take that piece of junk with you!" Bull Dozer says he had a real problem with that couple as well, as Mr. Owl is shown demanding the exact same furniture set advertised and he is not interested in any bait & switch. Mr. Owl decides not to buy any furniture when a sofa cushion deflates like a balloon. Butch Porker then says how Mrs. Owl was in his store but made no purchases when she said she saw the same wares for less and/or better quality in other grocery stores in town. Mr. Porker says he offers credit, but Mrs. Owl walks out and yells "you keep your credit!"