MGM had been distributing cartoons for nearly a decade in the 1930s by contracting with independent animated companies to make its cartoons. At the time Hollywood's biggest studio never originated any in-house animation. That all changed in the late 1930s when MGM created its first bonafide original cartoon character in the form of Barney Bear in June 1939's "The Bear That Couldn't Sleep."
MGM set up shop for its new cartoon department in March 1937, but it experienced a rocky beginning before the studio finally rolled out its new cartoon character, Barney Bear. The animated bear was a cross between actor Wallace Beery and one of its creators, Rudolf Ising, a pioneer in early animation. Ising was one of Walt Disney's original hires in Kansas City, and he helped launch Warner Brothers' Merrie Melodies in 1931. He and fellow artist Hugh Harman went independent a few years later and created 1935's 'The Plantation,' the first Technicolor three-strip cartoon after Disney's exclusive agreement with the company expired. MGM later contracted the pair to produce its 'Happy Harmonies' series, only to get fired in 1937 for going over budget. The head of the new MGM cartoon department, Fred Quimby, decided to rehire the two in October 1938, where Ising came up with Barney Bear.
"The Bear That Couldn't Sleep" introduced the public to Barney Bear, who appeared in 26 of his own cartoons from 1939 to 1954. His first appearance was outfitted with wrinkled clothes, six eyebrows and shaggy fur. In the inaugural cartoon the bear is preparing for the long winter in his underground hut when a series of disturbances continuously interrupts his sleep, including locking himself out of his own house. The red-eyed bear fails to get a wink of sleep throughout his hibernation as the warm weather rolls around. The success of the Barney Bear series assured MGM would continue to finance its own in-house team of animated artists. The cartoon department soon created its most popular series, 'Tom and Jerry,' under the creative geniuses of Joseph Barbera and William Hanna.