Category: Proto-Bugs

The missing link between Brer Rabbit and Bugs Bunny

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Hare-um Scare-um

“You don’t have to be crazy to do this. But it sure helps.”

Supervision by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton; Story by Melvin Millar; Animation by Gil Turner; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Merrie Melody released on August 12, 1939. (Unusual title card. It appears to be night on an iced over pond. Which I wouldn’t doubt Proto-Bugs doing, but I can’t tell if my guess is intentional.)

If you look at today’s paper, you’ll find that meat prices are rising. You’ll also find Hardaway self inserting himself and advertising his work. (I think. He spells ‘merrie’ “right.”) This angers the man holding the paper, who if the copyright is anything to go by, is named John Sourpuss. I don’t know if the voice Mel’s supplying is the best choice. Makes him sound forty years older than he probably is. He decides that the only thing to do is go out and hunt his own meat. Good thing he has a gun casually leaning against the wall. (That’s not safe.) He takes the dog he was sitting on, and they head out to get some rabbit. We literally barely knew him. (What’s that picture on his wall? A giant parrot in a tricorn stuck in a galleon?)

Being pre-1940 means our rabbit of the picture will be played by Proto-Bugs. He’s kind enough to leave some stamped prints for his pursuers to follow, and crazy enough to have already placed one stamp ahead of his progress. He also plays ‘Guess Who’ with the dog. Smart little feller is able to figure out who it is eventually, and his prize is a log roll down the hill. Coming out dizzy and weak gives P.B. the opportunity to play doctor. You can tell he’s medically licensed because he doles out the best medicine: laughter.

When John finds the hare/rabbit lying in the sun, he decides to salt him up right then and there. (It’ll make his death all the more tasteful.) Proto-Bugs holds out his celery to catch the seasoning, while changing he feet’s fur color for a half second. Jeff can’t follow him into his burrow, because it’s now an elevator. (And yes, Jeff will continue to have those purple rings around his eyes for the rest of the short. This was the moment where I gave up thinking this was another coloring error.)

It’s the dog’s turn again, and Proto-Bugs does something the Definitive-Bugs will become well known for: dressing in drag. Puppy likes what he sees and eagerly accepts the lady dog’s invitation to sit down. When he’s ready to make-out, Proto-Bugs is completely unfazed that the costume is ripped off, and just supports the dog’s choice in mates. Angry, the dog gives chase, but the bunny in cop attire and invisible motorbike pulls him over for speeding. Then he just blatantly reveals who he is and runs off. Song time!

Nope, I’m not trying to be as screwy as him. (I couldn’t compare.) He really does sing a catchy little ditty. The same tune with different lyrics would eventually be sung by Bugs. (This picture is instrumental in shaping up the rabbit we would all come to love and secretly wish to be. But upon finishing his song, he finds John right behind him with gun pointed. Proto-Bugs lays on the details on why he wouldn’t be good eating: being thin and sick. Oddly enough, this gets John crying too. Maybe he’s just upset that this guy won’t make a decent meal after all? Looks like he’ll have to pay the $20.00 a pound for the porterhouse, after all.

The rabbit then gives him a joy buzzer handshake and flees again. Angry, John demands he come back and fight. He is also stupid enough to keep running his mouth and states that he can beat the hare and his whole family. They eagerly accept his challenge, and if you were watching this cartoon on T.V., things would abruptly end here. But the actual ending is thus: They thrash him. Driven mad, John imitates Proto-Bugs, hopping and hooing into the distance. Which got cut because it’s too similar to this ending? Odd reasoning.

But before I go, I want to mention what I was originally told was the real ending. I don’t remember where I read this, and looking back, I don’t recall any sources backing it up, but it was so out of left field that I’ve never been able to forget it. The ending I was told of has the rabbit clan beating the hunter (and dog) all right, but after the dust clears, all that is left is their severed heads! Which would then roll away into the distance. Whoever came up with that must’ve had the worst day in recorded history. Or they were an angsty teen. (Friggin’ psyco.)

Favorite Part: During the song, P.B. finds a Looney Tunes billboard, complete with Porky cameo! *Fanboy squee*! Shame he tears it up. I needed some wallpaper.

Personal Rating: 4. The writing is top-notch! I was deliberately leaving out Proto-Bugs’s wisecracks because you’d love hearing them much more than reading them. Almost makes me wish he stuck around more before evolving. But Daffy really was the more fleshed out screwball, and I’m glad they gave their next one his own distinct version of the personality. It holds up better in a historical context.

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Porky’s Hare Hunt

“I’m just a trifle pixilated!”

https://vimeo.com/441659004

Supervision by Ben Hardaway; Story by Howard Baldwin; Animation by Voleny White; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Looney Tune released on April 30, 1938.

A herd of rabbits are enjoying themselves. Not in a carrot patch, but a corn field. Points for variety! I guess they’re quite content to stay there, because gunshots don’t deter their munching at all. It takes Proto-Bugs’ (making his debut,) warnings to get them to flee. And along comes Porky. I’m guessing that was his corn they were devouring. He’s got a gun ready to roll, and begins his hunt. A “Hare Hunt” if you will.

Even though P.B. ran off to the left, he’s right behind Porky when the pig enters the scene. Said pig is accompanied by his hunting dog, Zero. (Who would go hang out with Jack Skellington upon his death. Porky is immortal.) The hare distracts the dog with a decoy and makes Porky’s gun sneeze with pepper. The resulting bang demolishes Proto-Bugs’s hiding tree, so the hare has to use another trick to stay alive. Thus, the hare remover in his paw.

Chugging the bottle makes the lagomorph invisible and intangible, seeing as how Porky’s hand goes right through where the hare is standing. (Hare remover bottles don’t just float on their own, you know.) He reappears out of a hat, and plays bullfighter when Zero charges at him. This dog lacks depth perception, and completely misses the hare every time. When P.B. plays magician and makes the mutt disappear, it’s almost a mercy act. (He brings him back almost immediately, don’t fret.)

Another thing Proto-Bugs can do? He can fly. By spinning his ears in an impossible full circle, he is capable of flight. (Humans could do this too, in theory. But we’re committed to finding the easier way.) Porky figures that since the pest flew away, he and Zero are rid of him. Wishful thinking, and Proto-Bugs lets them know it. (Laughing like Disney’s Max Hare. It’s an homage! Not plagiarism!) So, they continue the chase. Porky manages to get the drop on his prey, and P.B. gives his sob story. Seems he’s mate material, as he has photo evidence of himself with a jill and many offspring. Porky couldn’t possibly shoot him now.

Wishful thinking! (And Porky let’s him know it.) He tries to fire, but his gun won’t comply. Maybe it’s jammed, maybe it’s marmaladed, maybe it’s just out of bullets. Whatever the case, Proto-Bugs destroys the weapon that is no longer a threat and flies off again. Without a more contemporary weapon, Porky has to make do with a rock. I love the little pose he has upon throwing. That sort of “C’mon. Make it. Make it.” pose people get when they throw things. I also love P.B.’s frustrated face he makes upon getting hit. That sort of “Are you f*cking kidding me?” face humans make when they lose at Mario Party.

The hare lands, but is still able to walk any possible injuries off. (After some fake death throes. Modern Bugs had to learn it from someone.) Porky has had enough, and when he chases his target to a hole, he tosses in some dynamite. So sure is he that this will work, that he doesn’t notice the explosive is thrown right back out at him. Luckily for Porky, he gets the best case scenario, and is simply laid up in bed with a broken leg.

He’s even got a visitor. Proto-Bugs? With flowers and everything! That’s so sweet! But before you think he’s too friendly, he proves how malicious he really is, by yanking on the rope holding Porky’s foot up, undoing any healing that might have taken place. (Might be a bit too dark an ending for some.)

Favorite Part: The hare asks if Porky even has a hunting license. When Porky proves he does, the hare rips it in half. “You haven’t got one now!”

Personal Rating: 3. It’s not bad, but anything it does, “Porky’s Duck Hunt” did better. That, and I could see some getting annoyed by Proto-Bugs.

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Patient Porky

“Ohhh, my poor b-be-b-be-b-be- tummy!””

Supervision by Robert Clampett; Story by Warren Foster; Animation by Norman McCabe; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. Released in 1940.

This short is based on the book “The Pains Came.”

At a hospital, we see that the floors are organized by the alphabet, leading me to believe there are 26 floors. We get some hospital gags including a paging for “Sir Jury” and a list of the days births. Not all surprisingly, the rabbits are winning with a total of 490. Proto-Bugs makes a cameo to correct the number to 750. What’s interesting is this came out after Bugs made his fully fleshed out debut in “A Wild Hare.” (But then, I’m sure both were being worked on at roughly the same time.)

One ward is under the care of Dr. Chris Chun. (No relation to the amazingly charismatic Dr. Foolio.) He checks on his patients. Poor little Olley Owl has to shout that he can’t talk above a whisper, whilst another patient gets some good news: his bones are literally knitting. Herbie the hippo is in because he swallowed a piano. Cartoon or not, why would he do that? Is this a mental ward? That would explain Crazy Cat in the next bed. (Note: Crazy with a “C”, I don’t need to be sued.) He delights in playing said piano and annoying Herbie. It can’t be good for his digestive system either.

Porky enters the scene asking for a doctor. Chun must be on lunch or something because that mentally unstable cat leaps at the chance. Introducing himself as Dr. Chilled Air, he asks the pig what’s wrong. Seems Porky ate too much at a birthday party: 3/4 of a cake with the candles still lit! (Cool!) Making like a horror film, the cat puts him in a hospital gown and happily sings about his first patient. He wheels my pal into surgery and gleefully sharpens some knives. Porky is getting rightfully freaked out, especially when the phony physician starts aiming to saw him open without any anesthesia. Making a break for it, Porky runs for home.

Unfortunately, Crazy McCutlery, is right behind. But Porky has a plan. When the maniac corners him in his bed he finds a sign on Porky’s gut: “Do not open until Christmas.” This doesn’t hold him for long though, as he hops in bed with him intending to wait. (I swear cat, if anything bad happens to my buddy, I will submit you to horrors so psychologically scarring, that you will turn sane with fear! Oh wait. This short is over seventy years old and Porky is still alive. My mistake.)

Personal Rating: 3

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Looney Tunes: Back in Action! (Deleted Scenes and Final Thoughts)

At least, these are the deleted scenes on my DVD copy of the movie.

Scene #1: An alternate opening. A Batman parody with Daffy as Batman and Elmer as some evil music composer type character. He plays a pipe-organ robot that destroys the city. The citizens running include: Ralph Phillips, Hercules, and Giovanni Jones. Porky and Speedy play the cops. Daffy easily stops Elmer, but the Warner Bros. stop this script reading there, stating that Daffy can’t kill Elmer. Daffy mentions that he comes back from the dead, and Elmer runs off crying in fear.

Scene #2: A bunch of romance scenes involving Kate and D.J., the funniest being Bugs and Daffy pointing out their obvious attractions. (Daffy: “He likes long walks on the beach…” D.J.: “You just made that up.” Bugs: “And she has a weakness for unemployed guys.” Daffy: “And he has a weakness for being unemployed.”)

Scene #3: A bunch of gags at Area 52. Including: Bug’s dressing up as a boxing referee, and getting two Daleks to fight each other, and D.J. feeding one of the fiends without a face to a triffid.

Scene #4: When Bob is holding Kate hostage on the Eiffel Tower, D.J. is constantly buying paperweights from a gift shop and throwing them at Bob’s head

Scene # 5: Kate having more of a sense of humor. Telling the “impatient cow knock-knock joke” and playing hairdresser with Gossamer. (Wait why wasn’t he in this movie?)

Scene # 6: A scene showing what happens at ACME when you don’t push your buzzer. Mr. Chairman has you wrapped up in plastic wrap.

Scene #7: Final scene. In this draft, the Blue Monkey apparently reverts something to an earlier state. At the temple, D.J. has turned his dad into a monkey so he can get away. Mr. Chairman rants about wanting to throw people into the lava, and Bugs getting zapped and turns into Proto-Bugs. (Great gag.) Daffy gets a hold of the diamond and accidentally turns Bugs and Kate into neanderthals. (Bug’s from “Mad as a Mars Hare”) Daffy accidentally aims at himself and becomes an egg. A whistle blows, and Bob leaves his shift and actually talks. Mr. Chairman pulls Taz out of a bag to frighten our heroes. D.J. aims at Mr. Chairman who claims it will only make him smarter, because of him being descended from geniuses. D.J. instead shoots Tweety who has been around this whole time. Mr. Chairman gets the diamond before realizing birds are descended from dinosaurs. The Tweetysaurus flies up and eats him, and Taz crumbles to bits.

Scene #8: Various Daffy gags. Naming restaurants he’s banned at, saying he has special needs, becoming part fly at Area 52, (thanks to Bugs) and various bits of him getting hurt at the temple.

These deleted scenes are very fun to watch as Bugs and Daffy provide the commentary.

Final thoughts: I love this movie! It has action, heart, comedy, cartoons, an entertaining villain, and I can watch it time and time again and not get bored. To me it is the best movie I ever saw.  Are there any problems I have? Well, yes. I still question Shaggy and Scooby being there, and I still hate the part where Taz farts. And I have a very personal problem of there not being enough Porky. But those are small complaints.

It’s a shame that this movie was a flop. But it might have been avoided if the W.B. had advertised it better.  If you’ve never seen this movie, then I think you really ought to. I don’t care who you are or what your preferences are, watch this film!

A fun little side note, you may or may not know this, but on the special features menu, you can highlight the water tower and find a scene of Sam blowing up. Eater egg!

Personal rating: Well, I hate to do this, but I’d probably have to give this film a 3 for the majority of people. It’s good, but I can’ see it converting anyone. Then again, if you are already a full-fledged Looney-tic, then all the cameos, in-jokes, and beautiful blending of live action and animation, earns this a 4. (If you’re me or my clone, then it’s a 5. And well deserved of that number.)

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Elmer’s Candid Camera

“Shucks. I don’t even know the guy.”

This is our boy Elmer’s first cartoon! I mean he has his dang name! Even the rabbit in this short was just Proto-Bugs. (He has a deeper voice and a laugh like Woody Woodpecker. That’s not Bugs.) Now for the plot.

Elmer has just read a book about photographing wildlife and decides it sounds like a good hobby. As to be expected. his subject is a rabbit that most definitely does not want to be photographed. For the rest of the short he drives Elmer insane. Good stuff. Unlike Bugs, this rabbit eats apples. My favorite part is after annoying him, he gets Elmer to growl like a dog. Its the simple stuff that makes this short great.

Personal Rating: 3