The Lion's Busy

The Lion's Busy is a 1950 Looney Tunes short directed by Friz Freleng.
== Title ==
The title is another play on a telephone line, as with the earlier entry "Hold the Lion, Please".
== Plot ==
Leo the Lion and his friends are celebrating his tenth birthday. Eventually, a present falls on his head, causing him to threaten to find who dropped the book and scare away the invitees. He opens the present from Beaky and reads from it that lions generally do not live longer than ten years. Leo counts the candles on his cake a few times, eventually realizing that there are indeed ten candles. Beaky says that is ten and that Leo won't get any younger. However, Leo thinks he won't get older either and dances like a child, until Beaky throws a banana peel and Leo falls off a cliff.
Beaky takes advantage of making Leo think he will not last longer than ten years in attempt to eat him. After Leo falls off the cliff, Beaky tries to make a sandwich using Leo's tail, and offers it to Leo. After the lion lands and the buzzard attempts to place Leo in a frying pan, Leo grabs a whip and attempts to smash Beaky. Beaky flees to a treetop and Leo climbs up in pursuit, only for Beaky to place oil to make Leo fall off again. Leo tries again, and Beaky makes it down to the ground to ax the tree down. Leo then takes a rocket to the moon to escape from Beaky, only to land where Beaky is waiting for him. Leo then traps himself in a cave for many years. Eventually, he agrees to surrender to Beaky, but both he and Beaky have both become so old that they can only eat marshmallows. Beaky offers some marshmallows to Leo.
== Availability ==
lt vs14.jpg|(1984) VHS The Looney Tunes Video Show Volume 14
LTCE VOL 6 SUPPORTING PLAYERS.jpg|(2000) VHS Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 6: Supporting Players (Blue Ribbon)
LTPC VOL 2 Blu Ray.jpg|(2012) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, Disc 2 (restored with original titles)
LTPC VOL 2 DVD.jpg|(2012) DVD Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, Disc 2 (restored with original titles)
=== Streaming ===
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2023) (restored with original titles)
lt max.jpg|Max (2023 - ) (restored with original titles)
== Notes ==
* Leo the Lion (who previously had appeared in "Hold the Lion, Please") returns in this short, this time speaking with an Irish accent.
* In this short, Beaky Buzzard is voiced by Mel Blanc due to Kent Rogers's death in 1944. Beaky's voice sounds more like Cecil Turtle compared to his previous two shorts.
* This is the only cartoon to pair the dimwit characters Beaky Buzzard and Leo the Lion. In this cartoon, Leo is shown to be dumber than Beaky. Beaky appears to be much smarter in this cartoon than in his earlier outings, and seems to move incredibly fast (asking Leo "What kept ya?" when the lion arrives on the moon, presumably having outrun the buzzard).
* This is the only Beaky Buzzard short that was directed by Friz Freleng, as "Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid" and "The Bashful Buzzard" were both directed by Bob Clampett, and "Strife with Father" (which was Beaky Buzzard's final short) was directed by Robert McKimson.
* Bugs Bunny makes a cameo as a background character with other jungle animals in the beginning, albeit with his head superimposed on a small grey rabbit's body.
*Despite still being under copyright, this cartoon is frequently seen on public domain collections on YouTube and on a few gray-market public domain DVDs.
*This cartoon was shown in theatres with Chain Lightning during its original release.
== Gallery ==
TheLionsBusyCredits1.png
TheLionsBusyCredits2.png
Happy Birthday leo pic.png
E1CEFBBE-AA9C-4C59-A7B7-86171A857749.jpeg
Thelionbusy4.jpg
The Lion's Busy Still.JPG
Thelionbusy3.jpg
TheLionsBusy.png|Lobby card (preliminary sketch)
== References ==
 
Category:1950
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Shorts
Category:Looney Tunes Shorts
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Hawley Pratt
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Paul Julian
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues