Animated Revue "Spring"

Synopsis

With the arrival of spring, the animals emerge from hibernation. Rabbits are seen playing jump rope, while a polar bear and a raccoon dog amuse themselves with leapfrog. Meanwhile, a frog and a monkey have a race, one riding a car and the other a bicycle. School term begins, and the monkey gives an arithmetic lesson, but the pig dozes off. Afterwards, everyone exercises in the schoolyard, and birds sing among the trees. The old goat heads to the mountain to clear land, and the old black cat does laundry by the river. She spots a peach drifting downstream and pulls it out, hoping to find Momotaro inside, but instead an ogre appears. The easygoing polar bear goes to the pond for some fishing. In the water, a small fish is eaten by a bigger fish, which is then eaten by an even bigger one, and so on. The polar bear is delighted to land such a huge catch, yet as he carries the fish home over his shoulder, they slip out and drop away one after another. The old goat plays a drum and the old black cat a shamisen, while the pig and the duck dance along. Finally, a big crowd gathers for a sumo tournament, where the champion has to beat five wrestlers in a row. The mouse wins against the squirrel but is then chased off by the black cat. The black cat loses to the bulldog, who gets pushed out of the ring by the duck. The monkey then defeats the duck, the goat, the pig, and the polar bear in turn, becoming the champion. An elephant presents the monkey with a trophy, but the monkey collapses under its weight.