Sewing Bee

Sometimes silence can be a powerful weapon, of course so can a sharply pointed stinger at the end of an agitated bee. In this case, the silence of a character comes through loud and clear with his infernal buzzing and inclination to stinging. While given a variety of different names, Buzz-Buzz, Spike, Hector and Claudius, his heart and soul never wavered throughout his various performances.

Every character in the Disney catalogue had their own unique traits that made them immediately identifiable to audiences. The minor differences, including the aliases, can easily be dismissed as the handiwork of the various artists and animators who brought Buzz-Buzz to life. What cannot be dismissed is the constant thorn this little bee was in Donald Duck’s side. Between 1949 and 1952 Buzz-Buzz terrorized Donald in no less than six cartoons and, in a singular incident, Pluto too.

While the typical retributive sting in the bum, among other locations, could be felt in five of the Donald shorts and Pluto’s solo appearance (Inferior Decorator, Bubble Bee [Pluto], Honey Harvester, Slide, Donald Slide, Bee at the Beach, and Bee on Guard), Buzz-Buzz and Donald’s last appearance together threw the formula right out the window. In Let’s Stick Together the pair have, apparently, put aside their differences in order to muse over some of their previous pickles and fonder memories.

Today, Buzz-Buzz keeps as busy as a bee can be with his work inside of the Magic Kingdom. Tucked away in the Judge’s Tent of Mickey’s Toontown Fair are small friend offers a small service, hat stitching. Buzz-Buzz can be found perched upon the sign for the Blue Ribbon Sewing Bee Hat Stitching station. Though it appears he has slimmed down since the 1940s and 1950s, perhaps he has begun to lay off the honey or, then again, maybe we have simply been taken in by the handiwork of the wonderful Disney artists again, there is no doubt that our friend Buzz-Buzz is still larger than life, even if he can’t say a single word.