One summer day, Bing Crosby, his wife Kathryn and their two youngest children Mary Frances and Nathaniel are camping out on a fishing trip.
The story proceeds pretty much in the traditional fashion, including when the Bears go out for a walk in the woods to let their porridge cool, Papa Bear (who is drawn and animated to resemble Bing) sings a song about The Human Race in which he derides the workaday world and people who don't take time to stop and smell the flowers, telling his youngest son, he'll understand when he's older.
Papa Bear's best friend, the Bobcat (named for the swing band headed up by his younger brother in the 1930s and 1940s and who was supposed to play the part, but couldn't due to other commitments), is a loudmouthed and bigoted braggart who has no trouble telling his decidedly unpopular opinions to anyone who would listen.
After relaying to the Bears the fact that she was wandering alone in the forest and got lost, Goldilocks – in an homage to MGM's The Wizard of Oz moves in until such time as everybody can figure out how to get her back home.
The Bobcat, however, has been eavesdropping at the Bears' window and is about ready to throw up at all the sappiness – not to mention the fact that Goldilocks – cub or not – is still a human and, therefore, not to be trusted in the forest.
Walking over to the site of the accident, followed timidly by the now somber crowd, and nobody knowing yet if Goldilocks is going to be alright or not, Papa Bear chastises the group for their reckless behavior, especially the Bobcat.
In another homage to MGM's classic 1939 musical, Mary quips that she hopes it's somebody they know (referencing both the dual roles performed by the rest of the cast as well as setting up the intended second episode featuring Frank and Nancy Sinatra which was never filmed).
In an homage to The Brady Bunch then in the middle of their second season – the Lynx moves back into the now-larger den with the cubs, the Bobcat brings the Fox kits, they become a blended family and everybody lives happily ever after.
Veteran animation producers David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng also assisted and the production starred Bing Crosby, America's longtime favorite crooner.
Carothers, the men relate that two lines of dialogue, one in the beginning where Bing volunteers to tell the first story and one in the end where Mary Frances hopes that the live baby bear's parents are somebody they know, was supposed to indicate that this special had been intended as the pilot for an entire series of fairytales starring major entertainers and their families, both past and present, and retold with a similar emphasis on positive values, validations and motivations.
However, after this special aired around Eastertime and garnered a moderate to low viewership, the series was shelved, especially after a subsequent telecast later in the season attracted an even smaller audience.
Of notable interest, the adult world of television had just recently been turned on its collective head when All in the Family had premiered on CBS back in January as a mid-season replacement.
Most of the rest of the Pink Panther cartoon voice cast such as Don Messick, Avery Schreiber, and Daws Butler were also featured in minor roles as other animals.
The three songs in the musical followed along a path created by a groundbreaking series of box set 45 RPM children's records produced by Playhour and released beginning in 1968.
The songs "Take a Longer Look" and "The Human Race" were re-recorded on February 19, 1970 with Jimmie Haskell and his Orchestra at A&M Studios on La Brea Avenue in Hollywood for possible release as a pop single.