The Lion's Busy is a seven-minute Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...

cartoon released in 1950 by Friz Freleng

Friz Freleng

Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....

. It features Leo the Lion and Beaky Buzzard.

The title is another play on a telephone line, as with the earlier entry, Hold the Lion, Please

Hold the Lion, Please

Hold the Lion, Please is a 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon, first released on June 13, 1942, distributed by the Vitaphone Corporation and Warner Bros.. This skit is Bugs Bunny's tenth appearance and Chuck Jones' 39th Warner Bros...

.

Leo the Lion (who previously had appeared in Hold the Lion, Please

Hold the Lion, Please

Hold the Lion, Please is a 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon, first released on June 13, 1942, distributed by the Vitaphone Corporation and Warner Bros.. This skit is Bugs Bunny's tenth appearance and Chuck Jones' 39th Warner Bros...

) returns, however Leo is much smarter in this cartoon and talks with an Irish/Scottish accent.

Synopsis

Leo the Lion and his friends are celebrating his tenth birthday during which he reads a book he receives from Beaky that lions generally do not live longer than ten years. The ensuing animated sequence centers around Beaky attempting to eat the lion, regardless of the fact that he has not yet died. In conclusion, Leo takes a rocket to the moon where Beaky is waiting for him. Leo then traps himself in a cave for many years, and by the time he agrees to surrender to Beaky, both he and Beaky have both become so old that they can only eat marshmallows. 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).

Rebroadcast

This was aired as part of the Modern Madcaps

Modern Madcaps

Modern Madcaps is an animated film series produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios animation division between the years 1958 and 1967. The series featured assorted characters that later became part of the Harvey Comics library.- List of shorts :...

 series of shorts in The Harveytoons Show

The Harveytoons Show

The Harveytoons Show is a television series presenting theatrical animated cartoons produced from October 1950 until March 1962 and produced by Famous Studios, featuring Harvey Comics characters and series including: Casper the Friendly Ghost, Little Audrey, Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hare, Baby Huey,...

, in season 4, episode 51.