Tombstone Picnic, the "Lost Ending", is a cartoon short of the Bendy cartoon series, officially released on January 7, 2019. It is the first cartoon created by the developers of Joey Drew Studios Inc.
In-universe, it is written and directed by Joey Drew, produced in 1929 since after the beginning establishment of Joey's animation studio, to coincide with Halloween. The cartoon was made in the early days of the studio whose ending (after the scene where Bendy sees the unknown figure) has not been seen since the cartoon's first run in 1929 and no copies are known to exist.[1]
Characters[]
- Bendy
- Boris the Wolf
- Skeleton
- Unknown Shadow (confirmed to be Henry Stein)
Plot[]
The cartoon starts with Bendy walking in a field carrying a picnic basket. An arm pops up from the ground and grabs his ankle. He then struggles for a few minutes before the skeleton rises from the ground. The skeleton first winks at Bendy after letting him go, then goes back to its grave by pulling the ground over it like a blanket. Bendy becomes a bit confused.
He then looks back to see Boris eating one of his sandwiches. He angrily rolls up his "sleeves" then goes towards Boris, and tries to get his attention. Boris then grabs the picnic cloth and wipes his mouth while Bendy trips off the screen. He continues eating the sandwich while Bendy is trying to get his attention. Bendy then gets an idea to pull a prank on Boris. Bendy sneaks as he grabs a bottle of soda/champagne from the basket then shaking it and aiming it at Boris. Boris then becomes aggravated by Bendy's prank. Bendy then runs away, while the basket landed on Boris' head with raining several sandwiches. Boris then continues to eat.
The camera cuts to Bendy running away to the cemetery and hides behind a gravestone. He checks on a side with the skeleton on the other and checks the right side. Both see each other and Bendy gets frightened, then runs away. Bendy stops at a huge rock panting, while the shadow of an unknown figure covers him. Bendy nervously smiles at the figure, while the cartoon itself later ends by the projector's interruption.
With the other half ending up lost, what really happens next during Bendy's encounter with the unknown figure (later revealed by animator TimetheHobo to be Henry Stein) is currently unclear.
Trivia[]
- The animation shorts seems to be based off two Mickey Mouse shorts, "The Picnic" and "Orphan's Picnic". It may be also based on Felix the Cat short "April Maze".
- From the game's ending credits prior to update patch 1.3.1 in Chapter 3's first release for Bendy and the Ink Machine, the cartoon's title reads as "Graveyard Picnic".
- When the camera moves to the left where Boris is eating his sandwich, the top right edge of the picnic blanket magically rolls flat by itself, which happens to be an animation error.
- The skeleton character looks like is inspired by a skeleton in Disney's cartoon film "The Skeleton Dance.
- In Chapter 2 of Bendy and the Ink Machine, one of the scene clip appears in the projection screen from the recording studio when turning the projector on from the projection booth, but it is mirrored.
- Five more scenes can also be seen inside the maze on Level 14 from Chapter 3, but most of them are mirrored and one scene is seen in four different places.
- There are also three more scenes in the game files, but are not used in-game.
- This is the second longest cartoon short so far (the first being "Tasty Trio Troubles"), totaling 1 minute and 21 seconds.
- Sammy Lawrence is apparently the one who composed the music for the cartoon according to a note in Joey Drew's apartment.[2]
- The animation short was actually first released on August 11, 2017 and featured in Chapter 3's reveal trailer for Bendy and the Ink Machine as a first part on theMeatly's YouTube channel. On the unknown date of 2018, theMeatly removed the rest of the Bendy-related videos, including the Bendy and the Ink Machine: Chapter 3 reveal trailer where it include the Tombstone Picnic short. The animation short was finally re-uploaded in Joey Drew Studios Inc.'s channel.
- The music appears to have been inspired by the archaic "Ragtime" genre of music(in reference to its ragged rhythm patterns).
- According to former Bendy animator, TimetheHobo, the mysterious figure at the end of the animation short is Henry who has entered the cartoon world.[3] In light of this information, this may imply that the other half was removed deliberately out of protest, due to the repercussions of Henry Stein's departure in an attempt to disavow all knowledge of his involvement.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ "The infamous 'Lost Ending' Bendy cartoon from the early days of the studio. The ending has not been seen since the cartoon's first run in 1929 and no copies are known to exist. #Bendy #BATIM #BendyandtheInkMachine #vintagecartoon" - Bendy. January 7, 2019. Twitter.
- ↑ File:JoeyPapers.png
- ↑ "TP was indeed intended to end with Bendy seeing someone’s shadow before it cut off, but TP was also the only toon to break the fourth wall in-universe. The shadow Bendy saw was Henry entering their world. It was the first hint to the ending of chapter 5, when it was revealed Henry was no longer in the real world. " - TimetheHobo. November 25, 2020. Tumblr.
| 1929 cartoons | Little Devil Darlin' • Sheep Songs! • Tombstone Picnic | |
|---|---|---|
| 1931-1937 cartoons | Haunted Hijinx • Cookie Cookin • Hellfire Fighter • Sent From Above • Snow Sillies • The Butcher Gang • Tasty Trio Troubles • Nightmare Faire | |
| Cartoons of unknown date |
Cheap Seats • Hell's Kitchen • The Dancing Demon • Train Trouble • Hell in a Hand Basket • Siren Serenade • Showbiz Bendy • The Devil's Treasure • Demonic Tonic • Rosemary's Babysitter • Construction Corruption • Floating Demon • All Washed Up • The Horror House • Black Sheep • Close Call • Fishin' Flummax • Mining My Own Business • The Ghost Demon • Tree of Doom • As Above so Below • Bedpans and Bedlam • Bacon Soup Ad • Cowboy Bendy | |
| Noncanonical shorts | The Original Sample • Bendy VS Cuphead | |