[3] In the short, Papa Bear tries to feed his starving family by having them act out their roles in the traditional fairy tale from which they derive their name.

Purcell and Liepien, in Parallel Curriculum Units for Social Studies, Grades 6-12, recommended this film as part of the study of the sociological implications of humor;[4] Steven Case, in Toons That Teach, also mines this work for pedagogic value.

The Bear Family made several appearances in Warner Bros. 1990 animated series Tiny Toon Adventures, all in Season 1: The entire Bear Family appears in a painting on the bedroom wall in the Animaniacs episode "Nighty-Night Toon".

Papa Bear attempted to lie about donating all of his "profits" to charity, but Wakko used his garage door opener (which he repaired after accidentally breaking it earlier) to expose his money, and his customers (including Batman, Buster Bunny, Babs Bunny, Dizzy Devil), and especially an old woman who he rudely refused her a refund (a penny) and threw into a tree earlier in the episode, got their refunds by force, leaving Papa Bear broke, and so he caved in and sold his garage to the Warners for 26¢ (even though the actual value was $20,000) as it was attached to his house.

Here, while ill-fated and unlucky as usual, Henry is depicted without his short temper or abusive nature, due to the show being aimed towards preschoolers.