Alf, Bill and Fred

"Alf, Bill and Fred" is the name of a short animation directed by Bob Godfrey and written by Stan Hayward in 1964. Its synopsis in Halliwell's Film Guide simply states "A man, a dog and a duck enjoy bouncing together.

The plot and the moral are both very simple. The three titular multi-species characters are friends who like to bounce a lot. Bill - the man - suddenly inherits a lot of money and starts spending it with reckless abandon (on, amongst other things, a tin of peaches). He abandons his old friends and becomes increasingly hedonistic.

Meanwhile, the dog and the duck continue bouncing.

Eventually, Bill accidentally bounces out of a window in a very tall building. He loses his memory and goes back to his old friends. They set up a business together selling happiness to people.

The moral of the story is stated to be: "It is easier to sell happiness than to buy it because most people are stupider than you are!"

tyle

The cartoon is drawn in a similar style to the Pink Panther cartoons, notably in the character of the moustached Bill, who closely resembles the character usually foiled by the Panther. The cartoon also uses the technique of cross-cutting with amusingly random pictures to make various points (such as the things Bill can buy).

It is also reminiscent of other Bob Godfrey animations such as Roobarb.

External links

*imdb title|0057832