Category: Bugs Bunny

Anything that had an appearance by the world’s favorite rabbit.

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What’s up, Doc? A salute to Bugs Bunny

Our documentary begins with Friz Freleng telling us of the first Looney Tunes character, Bosko. Bob Clampett tells us how they ended up in Termite Terrace and why they named it that. Tex Avery tells what it was like working for Leon Scheslinger. The narrator says that although the cartoons were great, they wouldn’t come close to touching Disney until they created our favorite bunny of all time, Bugs. It then plays “A Wild Hare.”

We are told about what inspired Bug’s habits of chewing on a carrot and declaring war. It’s also discussed that Proto-Bugs was very different from the one we know today. ( By that, I mean Classic Bugs) He was extremely hyper.  Pretty much Daffy Duck in a bunny suit. Mel Blanc explains how he came up with a voice for Bugs, and we are also told that it took a while to give Bugs his name. “A Corny Concerto” is talked about being a Fantasia parody, and how Tex was the anti-Disney. “The Heckling Hare” is shown next and we learn that Clampett took over Avery’s unit when he left for MGM. Seeing as how he would later leave himself, we’re shown Clampett’s last short with WB, “The Big Snooze.”

At this point in history, Bugs was now the #1 cartoon star in America. Chuck Jones says he was always concerned with his character. He established the fact that Bugs is a pretty easy going guy. Get him angry and it’s your funeral, however. Friz says that even with that, they still needed him to be fun to watch and listen to. After showing “Hair raising Hare” Friz tells about how he thought Elmer was an idiot. That’s why he created Yosemite Sam. We are then shown Sam’s debut cartoon “Hare Trigger.” We also are told that one thing that makes Looney Tunes so great is that they are fun to hear as well watch.

After mentioning the not talked about enough Treg Brown and Carl Stalling, we learn that many live action stars helped model for Bugs. It also sings praise to some of Treg’s greatest sound effects. From the *zrp* of a character running off, to the *fweefweefweefweefwee* of a character spinning, to the *hubbida hubbida* of something going up and down fast. No doubt that his most famous was the *bay-whoop* for irising in and out. We also learn that Mike Maltese, Tedd Pierce, and Warren Foster were the silhouettes that appeared in many shorts.

Then we learn of the man himself, Mel Blanc. His debut in “Picador Porky” and Clampett telling us of his supposed carrot allergy. They say that he was almost every main character. Except Elmer, played by Arthur Q. Brian. They even mention how Elmer was modeled after Bryan for a few shorts. (Not the only time that kinda thing happened. Remember “Wackiki Wabbit?” the castaways were caricatures of Mike and Tedd, the guys playing the two. Thanks to SuperJNG18 for this tidbit.)

Finally we are left to wonder Bug’s future. Personally, I think he will continue to be the king of cartoons. For as long as the human race shall live. (Even if people think otherwise.)

Personal Rating: If you’re a historian, (like me) it’s a 3. Otherwise, it’s a 2.

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Wideo Wabbit

“About time television discovered my talents.”

Bugs is having a relaxing day when he sees an interesting ad in the paper. A TV studio is looking for a rabbit and luckily for Bugs, he is just what they were looking for. They sit him on a stepladder (that unbeknownst to Bugs has a 10,000 volt charge in it,) telling him that unlike the others in showbiz, he starts out on top.

Secretly, a hole is opened above him. We see that the show Bugs is on is “The Sportsman Hour!” With our special host, Mr. Elmer Fudd! YAAAAAAAY! He tells us that he is going to demonstrate how to catch a wabbit. He gives the signal and the volts shock Bugs up on stage. Angry about being shot at, Bugs runs with Elmer in hot pursuit. Elmer chases him into another studio where Groucho (Bugs) is the host of our favorite game show: “You Beat Your Wife.” He asks Elmer whether or not he has stopped beating his wife. Trapped, Elmer muddles it over while Marx makes his exit. Noticing the tail, he gives chase once again.

The next hiding spot is in Studio T, “Liverace.” Bugs is playing Hungarian Rhapsody 2 and notices Elmer. He identifies him as his brother George, and asks him to take a candelabra to their mother. Elmer realizes they’re fire crackers pretty quickly, but can’t stop the inevitable. Eventually Bugs, (in another disguise) tells Elmer they’ve been waiting for him. He forces him to put a costume on and to sit atop a stepladder. Bugs now playing the hunter, gives the signal to shock Fudd into jumping up. Now wearing a rabbit suit, and receiving bullets rather than applause.

Personal Rating: 3

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Duck! Rabbit, Duck!

“I’m a wed hot spowtsman aftew wild game.”

The final in the hunting trilogy and it does not fail to disappoint.

The first one took place in summer, then autumn, so logically it’s winter now. Daffy is burning all the duck season signs and sends Elmer off to get some wabbits. Bugs tells Elmer that he can’t be shot unless Elmer has a fricasseeing wabbit license. Daffy writes up the document. He just needs a little help spelling fricasseeing. Bugs helps. “F-r-i-c-a-s-s-e-e-i-n-g-d-u-c-k.” Daffy gets shot and reads the document and admits to being the goat. Elmer shoots him upon reading Bug’s goat season sign.

Daffy calls Bugs a dirty dog. Bugs declares him a dirty skunk and Elmer shoots him upon seeing the dirty skunk sign. Daffy can’t believe what a pigeon he’s being and Elmer shoots him upon sight of the corresponding sign. Daffy takes Elmer away to talk some sense in him and Bugs uses the time to build a snow rabbit. Realizing he should shoot wabbits, Elmer rushes out and obliterates the sculpture. Bugs appears in an angel outfit to complete the illusion. Daffy claims that if Bug’s is dead then he is a mongoose.

Another shot later, he tells Elmer to listen to him and not anymore signs. Bugs puts on a bill and Daffy tells Elmer to shoot the duck. *BANG* Daffy breaks down and Bugs disguises himself as a game warden. He tells Elmer it is really baseball season and sends him off after a baseball. Alone, he asks Daffy what season it REALLY is. Daffy tells him it is obviously duck season and gets shot by many hunters.

Personal Rating: 4

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Hillbilly Hare

“Ya’ll care to practice with me for th’ square dancin’ tomorrow?”

When you as many enemies as Bugs Bunny, you feel the need to take a vacation every once in a while. Bug’s is relaxing in the Ozarks where he angers a hillbilly known as Curt Martin. His family is in a feud with another called the Coys. So he declares war when Bugs notes that he is very coy. His gun takes to long to fire however, giving Bug’s an easy chance to tie a knot in his gun. Curt unties it just for it to fire in his face. This act was spied by his brother, Pumpkinhead who also decides to kill Bugs. He doesn’t fare much better as Bugs switches the gun around to face back at its owner.

The main gag of this short starts with Bugs disguising himself as a woman and asks the smitten men to practice square dancing with “her.” While dancing, Bugs switches places with the caller and directs the boys into hurting each other pretty bad. They are obviously aware of whats going on, (as evidenced by their faces) and yet they continue to obey. Is that one of the hillbilly commandments? (“Thou shall not wear shoes”, “Thou shall always hate some other family”,” Thou shall never disobey a square dance”?) Bugs makes them walk into a hay baler, a pig pen, and finally off a cliff.

Personal Rating: 4

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Rebel Rabbit

“Rabbits are perfectly harmless.”

Bugs finds a sign in the forest that says foxes are worth $50.00. A bear is $75.00. A rabbit is only 2 cents. This bothers Bugs, who goes to Washington D.C. to complain. ( I don’t really get it. Are these paid for killing animals who are pests? Or do you just get paid if you kill an animal? Pretty mean if you ask me.) The game commissioner tells Bugs the reason for this is because rabbits are harmless. (Even in real life that’s wrong. They have sharp teeth and claws.) Obviously, this guy had no idea who Bugs is, and he is going to pay for it.

To prove rabbits are worth more than they think, Bugs is going to make Earth hell. He starts small by breaking someone’s kneecap and painting stripes on the Washington Memorial, but quickly moves on to turning off Niagara falls, filling in the Grand Canyon and sawing Florida off of the country. A meeting is held where Foghorn is a man suit demands Bugs be caught. (He talks just like him. Bugs even says his “That’s a joke” line. The fact McKimson directed this proves this is not just a coincidence. And I like it.) Bugs is declared a threat, and he is now worth one million dollars. Unfortunately, he is also now in Alcatraz for his crimes to the world. Or at least the Western hemisphere.

Personal Rating: 3

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Hare Do

“I have more fun than people.”

For this round of hunting, Elmer has a “wabbit detector.” It picks up Bugs who gives clues to Elmer to where he is and leads him off of a cliff. Bugs runs and catches a cab saying that only early risers can catch him. Elmer the driver mentions that he got up at a quarter to five. (Yes, he actually got one on Bugs this time.) Bugs runs into a theater to hide.

He clambers over people to get a seat, repeats to get a carrot, repeats to go back to his seat, and repeats when Elmer chases him. Elmer clambers over the people and an old woman (Bugs) beats him for this repeated gag. When Elmer tries to fight back, he gets thrown out. Elmer comes back in, finding  a message on the screen that informs him that he is wanted at the front. When he goes to retrieve the message, Bugs throws a pie in his face.

The chase resumes and Bugs hides in the men’s room. After Elmer runs in Bugs switches the signs and calls the usher. Fudd is again thrown out. He comes in again, but gets caught in stampedes of people leaving the intermission to smoke and returning to the film afterwards. Bugs is the one changing the sign and his fun ends when Elmer escapes. He chases Bugs to another theater where Bugs plays usher and gets Fudd to sit down. Thanks to the sunglasses on, Fudd is unaware that Bugs places him on a unicycle that leads into a lion’s stomach. The lion gets lunch and Bugs gets applause. A happy ending for all.

Personal Rating: 3

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Wackiki Wabbit

“Ah! White man!”

Don’t let the title fool you. There is no Fudd in this short.

Our main characters are two castaways. Let’s call them Fatty and Slim. They must have been afloat for days because they are trying to eat one another without the other one noticing. That is until they spot an island. They arrive and explore their new locale. They spot Bugs and immediately declare him food. (It’s official. They’re gonna starve.) Bugs runs and they find him doing a tribal dance. He spouts some long gibberish which translates to “What’s up, Doc?” Then he says something short which is translated as a huge saying. Slim thanks him and his words get translated into Bug’s dialect. (“Did you say that?” Fatty asks.) Bugs dances and they join in allowing him to escape.

Consulting their book on the Sea Islands, (as opposed to the numerous land ones.) they learn that the natives dive into water to retrieve coins. (No, I don’t know where they got the book.) After they toss a coin into their cauldron of water, Bugs steals the whole thing. Luckily for them, he uses it as a bath and doesn’t notice what it’s intended for until he joins in their singing of “We’re gonna have roast rabbit!” He goes to his tree house and attaches a chicken to some strings. He freaks out the men by making it look like the chicken is scolding them. However the strings tangle causing the puppet to reveal Bugs. They pull on the strings bringing Bugs with it.

He runs and takes the chicken meat with him. The men break down and cry. Then to their luck, a boat arrives. They are so happy they fail to notice Bugs has switched places with them, until the boat vanishes over the horizon. They see each other as food before chasing each other into the hills. (Personally, my money’s on Slim) I’ve heard a rumor this short was based on a real experience of Jones where he was shipwrecked. Anyone know if that’s true?

Personal Rating: 3

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Acrobatty Bunny

“Iron bars do not a prison make. But they sure help, eh doc?”

Wow! a new record of people visiting? More than 10? You like me! You really like me!

The first Bugs Bunny short directed by Robert McKimson begins with the circus coming to town. All the noise disturbs Bugs who is sleeping underground. (For the record, elephants wouldn’t make that much sound.) A lion’s cage is put right over Bug’s rabbit hole. The lion investigates the hole, causing more distress for Bugs. Bugs goes up to see what the deal is.

The lion (dubbed Nero by Bugs) begins to chase the rabbit. Bugs leaves and renters the cage to confuse the feline who is now on the outside and locked out. Nero tries to use an elephant to break back in. Bugs unleashes a wind up mouse which sends the pachyderm into hysterics and uses the lion to bat at the mouse. Bugs dresses up as an operatic circus clown and urges Nero to laugh. No sooner does he, when Bugs smacks him with a mallet.

The chase continues into the big top and onto the trapeze. In the end, Bugs tricks Nero into climbing into a cannon just as Bugs lights the fuse. Dazed and confused, Nero is taken advantage of by Bugs who uses the lion as a new act. A hula dancing lion.

Personal Rating: 3

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Case of the Missing Hare

“Look Doc! Do I go around nailing signs over your house?”

So this cartoon begins with a magician nailing signs everywhere to advertise his show. (At least, I think so. He does it very subtly.) The magician’s name is Ala Bahma. He is in the middle of nailing a sign over a tree. Bugs burst out. Apparently he lives in a tree now. (I guess Ala nailing a sign over a hole in the ground would be a little TOO weird. Even for a cartoon.) Ala is a jerk and quickly nails a new one. When Bugs complains, Ala throws a “blacksberries” pie in his face and leaves laughing. Bugs is not amused.

Later at his show, Ala prepares for his first trick: pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Cue Bugs. He pulls himself out of the hat, and steals Ala’s applause. He tells Ala to tempt him with a carrot. Ala tries to do so, but Bugs hits him over the head with his hammer. Later, Ala nails his hat shut so Bugs can’t bother him any more. His next trick requires a young boy’s assistance. Bugs comes up (dressed up in a Pinocchio like get up,) and Ala explains the trick. Bugs will be in a basket and Ala will seemingly stick swords into him. While doing so, Bugs appears to squeal in pain in the basket. (One of the greatest Looney Tunes moments ever.)

Ala finds Bugs is the one handing him the swords, so Ala prepares to murder him and Bugs plays “red light green light” with him. To finish off, he gives him an exploding cigar. The magician is dazed and in a sense of poetic justice, Bugs hits him in the face with another “blacksberries” pie.

Personal Rating: 3

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Homeless Hare

“Well toodles, do I get my home back or do I have to get tough?”

Sorry for lack of updates last week. It was my birthday and I did not feel doing my mediocre, tiny blog posts that I call “working”. But now I’m back, and ready with a new short!

At a construction site, Bug’s house is accidentally dug up. Despite asking very politely to put his home back, the worker dumps ‘im into a pile. The worker (who Bugs dubs Hercules) laughs until Bugs drops a brick on his face with a note that declares war. Hercules hops in an elevator and tries to reach Bugs who is controlling the elevator and he ultimately sends Herc into a vat of wet cement.

Bugs dresses as a foreman and demands that Herc build a huge tower. At the top Hercules is balancing on a thin board balanced by a pile of bricks. Bugs takes great delight in removing them one by one. (Best scene of the picture, right there.) Herc gets his revenge by swinging an I beam into Bugs’ face, which sends him on a dazed walk where in the classic cartoon way, he is saved by various machinery before falling into a rain barrel.

Bugs devises a clever plan, and drops a red-hot rivet which travels along a complex path before landing on a rope, burning said rope, and dropping a huge piece of machinery on Hercules. He concedes defeat and agrees to give his home back. The building gets built still, but now it’s built around Bugs rabbit hole.

Personal Rating: 4