When people think of Looney Tunes they immediately think of Bugs. Not me. Porky was the first star, and is my personal favorite character. (Sorry, Daffy) It’s hard for me to realize Porky even is a pig. He acts like/interacts with many people. Porky got his start as a background character in “I haven’t got a Hat.” He took over from Beans (who the animators thought would be the star) and went on to establish many wonderful roles for Warner Bros.
Duck Amuck
“Ain’t I a stinker?”
Isn’t that just typical? I finally talk about one of Daffy’s cartoons and Bugs manages to sneak in. Anyways, in my opinion this cartoon never starts. Now don’t start, I don’t want to hear it. I just mean that Daffy never gets to play the part he intended to. He is stuck being the butt of the unseen artists jokes. I’m pretty sure that this is the first Daffy short I saw, and to this day, it’s still one of my personal favorites. In fact I’m pretty sure its the number 2 cartoon of all time. ( I cant remember the first. Perhaps “What’s opera doc?”)
Personal Rating: 5
Daffy Duck
Are you getting tired of Bugs? Great, me neither. However, Daffy came over and held a gun to my head and demanded fair treatment and who am I to deny a request? Unlike Bugs, Daffy never had to evolve. He came out full fleshed in “Porky’s duck hunt.” Except for being shorter, he was basically the same as he would be for years.
Once Bugs came around, Daffy became second banana and after 10 years he went from being Bugs biggest fan to Bugs worst enemy. Once 1950 came around he stopped being Daffy and went to being selfish and greedy. I don’t mind. Both work for me and I think Daffy can be just as funny as Bugs. (You can put the gun down now, Daffy)
Triple feature: Blooper Bunny, My Dream is Yours, Two Guys from Texas
“Gosh, I’m so unimportant.”
Everyone loves triple features right? The first one was for Bugs’ fifty first and a half birthday so its kinda after the time of the classic shorts. The other two both came out in 1949. Bugs made cameos in these movies. As for “Blooper Bunny” it’s possibly one of the funniest thing I ever saw. Sorry to leave you with so little info, but I really want you to experience it for yourself.
Personal Rating: (Blooper Bunny) 4
Personal Rating: (My dream is yours) 3
Personal Rating: (Two guys from Texas) 2
The Rabbit of Seville
“Next.”
Now if there’s one thing I love, it’s Looney Tunes set to classical music. Here we have the “Barber of Seville” and unlike other cartoons, where the antics are just set to the music, this one has Bugs and Elmer actually performing along.
If you watch and pay close attention, you will find that in one scene, Bugs has 4 fingers and a thumb. This is because he is drumming out the music on Fudd’s head. As a final note, this cartoon shows us that Elmer may have been bothered about his baldness.
Ballot Box Bunny
“This calls for stradgedy. I’ll fight fire with fire!”
In this short Sam is actually only doing wrong to Bugs. The story goes that Sam is running for mayor and promises rabbit genocide. Bugs is none too happy and decides to run against him. Wonderful gags follow such as handing out cigars, hosting a picnic, kissing babies, and trying to kill Bugs. When all is said and done, who will win and who will lose?
Personal Rating: 4
Elmer Fudd
What is wrong with me? I should have talked about this guy already. Elmer and Bugs developed at pretty much the same time. Elmer evolved from a character called Egghead, (Who I consider to be an entirely different character, even if some people don’t. On this website, they’re wrong.)
Elmer had his first appearance in “Elmer’s Candid Camera.” In this short he was not a hunter, but rather a photographer trying to get a photo of the Proto-Bugs. Needless to say, he failed and that is probably why he has spent the rest of his life trying to get the rabbit. It’s revenge!
Wabbit Twouble
“West and wewaxation at wast!”
Two words to describe this cartoon: friggin, hilarious. It’s one of those cartoons where Bugs does not need to be heckled; he actually wants to bother Fudd, who is camping in the area. In this short, unless you are a imbecile, you will notice that Elmer is fat. This is because for a brief time Elmer was drawn to resemble his voice actor, Arthur Q. Bryan.
Another reason this is great, is that the title and credits are all written in “Fuddese.” The gags are spectacular! One is Bugs tricking Elmer into thinking it’s night and then morning in only 2 minutes. It takes all my power to remind myself that Elmer has not been there for two days.
Personal Rating: 4
My Bunny Lies Over the Sea
“Fore? Three and a half!”
This is a true story. I was once watching this with some friends of mine and they got all mad because the person Bugs outwits in this short is Scottish and they had Scottish ancestry. (They called it an attack on their people) Come on! Its not making fun of Scottish people, it just happens because Bugs took another wrong turn at Albuquerque. Some people are just way too sensitive. The golf gags are fantastic and as usual, I recommend a watch.
Personal Rating: 3
Big Top Bunny
“Am I not magnificent?”
Don’t worry. I know I am. However, this quote is said by Bruno, an acrobatic circus bear at colonel Kornys’ circus, who is angered to find that he will be sharing the spotlight with a rabbit. can you guess who?
Did you say Bugs? Good for you! If it weren’t for Bruno then I would say that this would just be a generic cartoon. Bruno has a great accent and he makes a great antagonist. “Innocent as a newborn baby. Baby rat that is!” says Bugs.
Personal Rating: 3