The House of Tomorrow is a 1949 animated theatrical short directed by Tex Avery. It was part of a series of cartoons Avery did satirizing technology of the future which included: The Car of Tomorrow, The Farm of Tomorrow, and The T.V. of Tomorrow. These were satires of live action promotional films that were commonly shown in theaters at the time. The film is a straightforward narrated showcase of appliances said to be found in a typical house in the year 2050, roughly a hundred years after the cartoon was made, each one actually an outlandish joke. Most of the time the inventions following a similar pattern of being made for each member of the family ending with a fatal version for the "mother-in-law".
Plot
The cartoon starts as the narrator presents the audience "The House of Tomorrow", completely "pre-fabricated and ready to set up". The narrator's voice is provided by radio actorFrank Graham.
The narrator presents the doors for each member of the family: one for Fido, Junior, the Mother, the Father, and the mother-in-law.
Inside the house, the narrator talks about the thick carpeting. The butler gets into the carpet and he sinks deeply inside it.
The narrator then presents how to get moisture in the room. Just pressing a button reveals a rain cloud that floats across the room.
Next is the trophy room"where it contains many rare exhibits of the hunt". The trophy of an elk shows that it was killed June 8, 1925, a ram was killed April 20, 1933, a tiger was killed September 3, 1942, and a champagne bottle was killed New Year's Eve.
Next is for those whose house has that "too-rich appearance" and if those "mean tax assessors knocks on your door". With a press of a button, the house will look poor.
Next, the narrator presents a machine that helps parents answer Junior's many questions. The father's voice on the machine.
Next, the narrator presents a three screened television set for each member of the family for the housewife, kiddies, and the tired businessman.
The narrator presents medicine cabinets for the father, mother, Junior, and the mother-in-law.
The narrator presents an "auto-electric shaver" that literally takes everything ; mouth, nose, and hair.
The narrator then presents a new toaster that lets people pop up instead of the toast.
The narrator shows an "auto-matic orange-juicer" that removes all the seeds from the juice, by throwing them into a spittoon.
The narrator presents a frying pan that contains a small mallet to prevent the frying bacon from curling-up.
The narrator presents a modern stove that has a clear view door to let people look into their oven. A live roasted chicken screams and uses the blinds to cover itself.
The narrator then presents a device that helps remove the burps from the radishes.
The narrator presents a pressure cooker that lets people simply put in their steak, peas, carrots, eggs, and tomatoes. As the cooker is turned on, it explodes within seconds, sending the food high up in the air, along with the now soot-covered wife.
The narrator presents a refrigerator that helps clear of mystery of how the light goes on and off when one is closing the door. It has a small window that shows a little creature turning off the refrigerator light when it's closed.
The narrator then finishes the tour of the house. Suddenly, a title card pops out of the screen:
The short ends with the shot of the woman in the TV set for the tired businessman.
