Category: Friz Freleng

Isadore Freleng was responsible for more Oscars won than any of his co-workers. Here’s anything he directed.

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Rabbit Transit

“Lets agree not to cheat.”

(Note: Every time Cecil was used, he was with a different director. I don’t know. I think it’s fascinating.)

At an animal sauna (geysers) Bugs is reading the classic fable, “The tortoise and the hare.” He finds it ridiculous that a hare got bested by a tortoise. Yeah, Cecil is there too. He says he can beat Bugs. (This short forgets about the past two races. Shame, I was liking the continuity.) So a race is held to prove it.

Cecil is planning to cheat, but Bugs gets rid of almost all of his tricks. He did not however get rid of his rocket powered shell. Easily outrunning Bugs, he has time to send him a postcard. Feeling guilty Bugs sends a gift back. When Cecil gets it, Bugs jumps out and is in the lead again.

Cecil charges, but Bugs takes the shell for himself. It breaks down, and Cecil fixes and takes it back again. Bugs, however, puts water in it shorting it out. Soon, they are near the finish line and Cecil throws the race. Bugs boasts about how fast he was going, a 100 easy! Cut to the cops standing near a 30mph sign. Bugs swears revenge at the toitle as he is arrested. Iris out.

Personal Rating: 3

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Little Red Riding Rabbit

“Hey grandma! That’s an awfully big nose for you… ta have!”

Just like the original story, we open with Red going to her grandma’s house. She is an annoying, loud, bobbysoxer, who is obsessed with getting the story right. She is going to give her grandma a rabbit and as to be expected, a wolf makes it there first. (Grandma is not home.)

When Red arrives, the wolf kicks her out because all he wants is the rabbit. He chases Bugs through a great gag involving lots of doors. After this, Bugs decides to be helpful and show where he is hiding. Throughout this whole cartoon, Red keeps coming in to say her lines only for the wolf to throw her out again.

In the climax, the wolf is dangling over a pan of hot coals, and just as Bugs is about to make him fall, Red comes in again. Fed up, Bugs switches her with the wolf. Now the two are pals. It looks like a beginning to a beautiful friendship.

Personal Rating: 4

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The Hare-Brained Hypnotist

“Who’s the comedian in this picture anyway?”

Typical start. Elmer is hunting and he reads that animals are dumb* and can easily be hypnotized. He bumps into a bear and unlike most people (or his past self) he does not freak out and uses his new found knowledge to get the ursine to believe he is a canary. It actually works and the bear flies away.

Bugs pops up and Elmer immediately tries his new skill but just ends up with a balloon lookalike. He does not notice he is floating away until the bear flies by. He shoves his gun into the hole and a tug of war ensues. After this, Elmer breaks down and Bugs agrees to let him have a try at the hypnotism thing. However, Bugs hypnotizes Elmer instead and has him believe he’s a rabbit. Guess who Elmer takes after?

He acts like Bugs, while Bugs begins hunting Elmer, so he can snap him out of it. It climaxes with Elmer hypnotizing Bugs at last, but Bugs laughs because he can’t be hypnotized. Noticing the time, he flies to the airport. He is a B-19 after all.

* I will never type this again

Personal Rating: 3

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Bugs Bunny Rides Again

“This town aint big enough for the two of us!”

You’d think with a title like that, it would be Sam’s second appearance. However, he appeared in the Bugs Bunny cartoon made before this one. Of course, he was a pirate there, so we can forgive that. (Besides, how could the animators have guessed it would arrive first?)

Plot time! Sam comes into western town and dares anyone to challenge him. Cue our hero! Bugs initially runs away, but eventually gets Sam to keep walking over lines until he falls off a cliff. The chase continues on horses until Bugs notes they are not getting anywhere. They play cards to see who leaves town, and even though Sam loses, Bugs hops on the train when he sees all the scantily clad women on there

Personal Rating: 4

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Tweety’s S.O.S.

“Hello, breakfast.”

 

This short begins with Sylvester digging through the trash. He can’t bring himself to eat what he finds, and he goes down by the pier to mope. As the title promises, he soon spies Tweety and, of course, he gives chase. However, Granny is also on the boat and she wont let the cat hurt her bird, BUT… she has a weakness. Without her glasses, she is blind. Sylvester kicks them under a couch and almost catches his meal, but Tweety gets the glasses just in time.

The ship begins its cruise and Sylvester paints a bad drawing of Tweety on Granny’s glasses so he can chase him round the ship. After a while he is found with his head over the side. Tweety asks if he lost something and he did… his lunch. Tweety tries to give him a snack, but it causes the cat to run to the sick room to down some antidote. The chase resumes, which ends up with Sylvester in the boiler.

He corners Tweety who holds up a picture of a boat and rocks it, causing the putty tat to get nauseous again. Tweety beats him to the sick room (Look, Hawley Pratt!) and switches the antidote with nitroglycerine. This gives Sylvester a new weapon and he would have caught the bird if Granny had not shown up. She hits him with her umbrella which causes him to sail into the sky. He lands on the captain ko-ing them both. Tweety and Granny then take over the ship.

Personal Rating: 3

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Speedy Gonzales

“There is only one mouse who can get that cheese, and that is Speedy Gonzales!”

No, really. That is the name of the cartoon. It was not the only one of its kind. There were other shorts that were not the characters first appearance but named after them anyway. (“Tweetie Pie”, “Hippity Hopper”, “The Daffy Duck”, “The Foghorn Leghorn”…)

Anyways, some mice stare at a cheese factory. Why don’t they go in? Oh, its just the fact that Sylvester is guarding the place and has killed everyone who tried to get past him. The mice decide that if someone was fast enough, they could eat. They ask Speedy and he agrees. He races to the factory, and Sylvester learns that this is one fast mouse. He tries mousetraps, but Speedy runs so fast they just fly onto the cat.

He dresses like a catcher but only catches a baseball. (After he throws it away it is shown Speedy was in there.) He even plants a mine field, but the mouse (who technically is the bad guy in this episode, Sylvester is just doing his job and Speedy is stealing) tricks him into running into it. In the end Sylvester tries to blow up the cheese…only causing it to rain down on the mice.

Personal Rating: 3

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Lumber Jerks

“It seems like they are bent on the destruction of our forest.”

For unknown reasons, the gophers are more like tree squirrels in this short. They are gathering acorns for the winter only to find their tree is gone. A quick search later and it is found among many others in a river. They try to paddle it back to shore but wind up going down a waterfall and ending up at a sawmill. Narrowly avoiding being sliced they notice where they are. Its the sawmill from hell!

They are turning trees into sawdust and then mixing with glue and water to make fake logs, and sharpening whole trunks into toothpicks. Finding their stolen property (now a chest of drawers) they siphon the gas from the delivery truck and catch up to it.  We see that they have built a new tree out of furniture which is much nicer than the old one because they have television. Really enjoying it, they think that they will enjoy it more once they have electricity.

Personal Rating: 3

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Canned Feud

“They forgot to put the cat out.”

Sylvester’s owners are leaving on a vacation for two weeks, but forget to put him out. He tries the doors (which are all locked from the inside) and every cupboard. He is relieved to find cans of sardines, salmon, and tuna. Plus one can of herring. Needing a can opener, he realizes that a mouse has it and will not give it to him. This leads to Sylvester trying to get it. (With him getting hurt every time)

This mouse is such a dick. I don’t think Sylvester ever did anything to him. Plus, if he’s well fed, he won’t try to eat the mouse; the little pus bag. Ultimately, Sylvester shoves tons of explosives into the mouse’s hole and finally gets the tool. But what’s this? There is now a lock on the cupboard. That dickwad of a mouse has the only key. With this, our favorite feline faints. (Try saying that three times fast)

Personal Rating: 3

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Bugs and Thugs

“Jiggers! The cops!”

It’s rabbit season, but Bugs is a city dweller, so he’s in no danger. That all changes when a mysterious car stops at the bank Bugs is at. Mistaking it for a taxi, Bugs hops in and soon finds out its the getaway car of Rocky and Mugsy! (The latter of whom is making his first appearance.) Figuring out they are crooks, Bugs tries to call for help, but fails and now has to stall the crooks. When they get to the hideout, Rocky tells Mugsy to let Bugs have it. In the other room, Bugs asks to be given “it”, with “it” being the gun.

To survive, Bugs imitates the cops, causing the crooks to hide in the oven. Still pretending, (Even though he could now leave. Classic Bugs) he tells himself that if they were in the oven, he would not turn on the gas or throw in a lighted match. After his charade, the real police arrive causing the same dialogue we just heard. The crooks beg to be arrested, and Bugs goes back to the city as a detective.

Personal Rating: 4

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Puddy Tat Twouble

“This is what I get for dweaming of a white Christmas.”

This short starts with Tweety singing his theme song. After the intro, we see it’s winter and Tweety has been spotted by Sylvester and an orange cat. They both grab the bird, but there is not enough for the both of them. They fight and eventually end up in a basement. Tweety sees a toy dunking bird and mistaking it for a real bird, tries to make friends, Orange makes the same mistake and eats the toy.

The two putty tats fight and they end up outside again. They see a hole near a sign that says “thin ice,” with Tweety’s hat beside it. In reality he is picking a circle around the cats and they fall in the water. (“thin ice,” my butt.) We end with the cats both suffering from colds. Probably dreaming of the cream of Tweety they don’t have.

Personal Rating: 3