Secret Panel HERE 🍔 https://tinyview.com/mrlovenstein/2026/05/07/off-menu

Upcoming Women Laughing Screenings 

Women Laughing, Liza Donnelly and Kathleen Hughes documentary film about New Yorker women cartoonists past and present, will be screened at a number of venues beginning this Spring and into the Fall. You can see the schedule here.

Please note that three screenings are happening within the next few days:

Portland Museum of Art
May 9, 2026 Portland, ME

The Moviehouse
May 9, 2026 Millerton, NY
Followed by conversation with Liza Donnelly, Kathleen Hughes, Amy Hwang. 

The Church
May 15, 2026 Sag Harbor, NY
Followed by conversation with Liza Donnelly, Kathleen Hughes and Emma Allen.

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Update: Thurber Prize For American Humor In Writing Awarded

Congrats to Shalom Auslander for being awarded the 2026 Thurber Prize for American Humor in Writing … and congrats once again to Emily Flake the (previously announced) 2026 Thurber Prize winner for American Humor In Cartoon Art.

From UPA’s “Bringing Up Mother” (1954)

“Motherhood-It’s the biggest on-the-job training program in existence today”. – Author and humorist Erma Bombeck. Indeed, this is true. And, this weekend, we get to celebrate all who have endured this lifelong “on-the-job training” for us on Mother’s Day.

Continuing a tradition from 2021 and 2025, what follows are some additional classic cartoon shorts that are perfect for Mother’s Day (three of them suggested by Cartoon Research readers).

Mother Hen’s Holiday, Columbia, (1937)

Here is a classic “Color Rhapsody” from Columbia, set on Mother’s Day.

As the short opens, we meet the Mother Hen (voiced by Toby Wing) who is singing about how much she has to do and how tired she is, and we can see why – she is mom to so many little chicks, they almost overflow out of the baby carriage.

It’s soon evident why she is so overwhelmed, as, once back home, the endless number of little chicks causes chaos in the house, creating absolute destruction. However, they then spot the calendar and note that it’s Mother’s Day.

The chicks then decide to do all they can for mom, cleaning and repairing the house. They even bake a cake and feed it to their happy Mother Hen, as the short ends.

Directed by Arthur Davis, Mother Hen’s Holiday features some nice sight gags, particularly during the sequences where the chicks trash the house, all set against lovely backgrounds.

It all has a cozy, classic cartoon tone, and a nice sentiment for Mother’s Day, as one of the little chicks state: “Make every day a Mother’s Day, not only once a year, every day in every way, cheer up mother dear, for everything you’ve done for us, perhaps we can repay, by making every single day a Happy Mother’s Day.”

Horton Hatches the Egg, Warner Bros., (1942) – suggested by Frederick Weigand

Initially published as a book by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), in 1940, the book’s popularity eventually brought it to Warner Bros. as an animation project.

Horton Hatches the Egg tells the tale of Horton (Kent Rogers), an elephant who is tricked into sitting on an egg in a nest when the mother, Mayzie (Sara Berner), decides to rest and go on vacation. Horton endures several challenges: stormy weather, ridicule from other animals, hunters, and life in the circus.

Through it all, the steadfast elephant never leaves the egg, keeping his promise to Mayzie and repeatedly stating (in true Seuss rhyme), “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful, one hundred percent.”

The Warner Bros. artists remained close to the book. In fact, they wrote and sketched ideas for the short, right on the pages as they adapted them. Director Robert Clampett and his team, which included Robert McKimson, Bill Melendez, and Virgil Ross, inserted their unique brand of humor, which includes moments where Mayzie breaks into a brief impression of Katherine Hepburn.

Like the book upon which it is based, Horton Hatches the Egg is an innocent, endearing tale about nurturing and loyalty that is perfect for Mother’s Day, “one hundred percent.”

Bringing Up Mother, UPA (1954) – also suggested by Frederick Weigand

In a film noir-style opening, a police car drives slowly through the night street, calling all cars to be on the lookout for a John Smith. The shadow of a figure walking along a street passes by. He narrates: “Yeah, it’s me they want. I’m the guy, alright. But what could I do? She drove me to it. It was the only way out, and I took it.”

What we come to see through flashbacks is that this isn’t a thriller, and that isn’t the talk of a man who committed a crime, but instead a young boy who has run away from home, after his parents bring home his baby brother from the hospital, and the attention he received has shifted.

Don’t worry, there’s a happy ending: the police find John and cheerfully bring him home. But in the flashbacks throughout the short, the audience gets sharply written insight (by Tedd Pierce and director William Hurtz) into the relationship between the young boy and his mother, dating back to his infancy.

This includes a scene where Johnny, wearing a sailor hat and sucking his thumb, is told by his mother that “sailors don’t suck their thumbs.” So, Johnny proceeds to take off his sailor hat. In his full cowboy outfit and playing with his friend (in the role of the horse), Johnny is told by his mother that they’re “going to have a little baby to play with.” “I’d rather have a horse,” replies Johnny.

But when he’s promised a baby sister (which he’s excited for, as there will be a cowgirl in the house) and instead gets a baby brother, that’s when he runs away.

The short has a wonderful, stylish design, by Robert Danko, in everything from backgrounds to characters, that is such a part of all UPA did, and is coupled with great voice work from Jerry Hausner as Johnny, Marvin Miller as the friendly police officer and Marian Richman as mom.

Bringing Up Mother is a great tribute to all mothers and what they deal with while raising one child, with another on the way.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, “Jeepers, It’s the Creeper,” (1970) – suggested by Christopher Cook

There’s a slight Mother’s Day connection here, but a fun one, nonetheless. As Scooby and the gang look to hide from the ghoulish Creeper, Scooby (Don Messick) and Shaggy (Casey Kasem) sneak into in a chicken house. Scooby sits on an egg, which hatches, and the little chick imprints on Scoob, thinking he’s his mom.

The chick even begins barking and spends the remainder of the episode on Scooby’s nose (even when Scooby reveals the real identity of the creeper, at the end).

“Jeeper’s, It’s the Creeper” is an entertaining Scooby-Doo episode that offers a maternal subplot for those who crave classic Saturday morning memories.

Here’s the clip from the episode where the chick adopts Scooby Doo as his mother:

• If this clip isn’t enough for you and you need to see the whole episode – you can wait for it to come around on MeTV Toons – or you can buy the complete series on blu ray – or you can watch a slanted version of it online at DailyMotion.

Feel free to suggest some of your favorite cartoon shorts and episodes for Mother’s Day in the comments, and here’s wishing all a very Happy Mother’s Day.

Hey, friends! I've partnered with the Alzheimer's Association to raise money for a cure someday soon. Help me send Alzheimer's straight to hell! PLEASE consider donating today 👉 https://events.alz.org/fundraisers/lovenstein/cartoonists-for-a-cause

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Thurber Prizes Awarded Tonight In Columbus

From The Columbus Dispatch, May 5, 2026, “Thurber Prize For American Humor To Celebrate Laughter In Literature” [and cartoons!].

The Spill again congratulates Emily Flake for being named the 2026 recipient of the Thurber Prize For American Humor In Cartoon Art. The winner for literature will be announced this evening.

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Latest Addition to The Archives…A Script

A script came this way recently, courtesy of a loyal Spill reader (thank you loyal Spill reader!).