The Early Worm Gets the Bird

The Early Worm Gets the Bird is a 1940 Merrie Melodies short directed by Fred Avery.
== Title ==
The title is a play on the phrase "the early bird gets the worm," "gets the bird" referring to a rude gesture. In addition, it seems to be used metaphorically, as it can also be said that the worm "gets" the bird in the film, with the many tricks he pulls on him.
== Plot ==
Mammy Blackbird is tucking her three children into bed. One little bird named Willie pulls out a copy of a book titled The Early Bird Gets the Worm and starts reading. Mammy scolds him and warns that if he tries to catch that worm, the ol' fox will catch him. Willie is not frightened by his mother's warning and sets his alarm clock so he can have a worm for breakfast. In the morning, Willie sneaks out of his house and tracks down the worm. He finds the worm and goes on a chase. This attracts the fox's attention, who catches Willie and makes himself a blackbird sandwich. The worm saves the little bird by siccing an angry bumblebee on the fox. The fox's bottle of ketchup shatters on his head, and the fox runs off, thinking he is bleeding to death. The worm and bird make amends, and Willie hops back into bed just as Mammy comes in to wake him. While his brothers both ask for worms for breakfast, Willie replies that he does not want any. "Neither does I, Mammy!" exclaims the worm.
== Availability ==
Lt golden 3.jpg|(1992) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 3, Side 10: Politically Incorrect
== Notes ==
* The cartoon was reissued twice, once in the 1943–44 season, evident from red background blue color rings, and once in the 1952–53 season, evident from red background green color rings, with the "THE END" end title.
* The cartoon fell into the public domain in the United States in 1969 when United Artists, the successor to Associated Artists Productions, failed to renew the copyright in time.
* This cartoon has not aired on American television since the 1960s due to the birds being depicted as black stereotypes, although 1995 Turner "dubbed" prints have been confirmed to exist to have aired on international networks and a clip from said version was shown on the King Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution documentary included as part of Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2 Blu-ray release's bonus features.
== Gallery ==
File:King-Size Comedy Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution.mkv 20240607 193919.607.png|Screenshot of the 1995 dubbed version as shown in the King Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution documentary
S-l1200.webp|Production cel
== External links ==
* "The Early Worm Gets the Bird" at the Internet Archive
== References ==
es:The Early Worm Gets the Bird
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:1940
Category:Shorts
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Cartoons directed by Tex Avery
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Berneice Hansell
Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by John Didrik Johnsen
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Public domain films
Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package
Category:One-Shot Cartoons
Category:Cartoons with missing Leon Schlesinger credits
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist