2023 marks the 85th Anniversary of Bug Bunny’s first animated appearance in 1938’s “Porky’s Hare Hunt.” Debuting originally as Happy Rabbit, Bugs eventually became one of the most iconic animated characters of all time. In honor of the landmark anniversary, we’re discussing every animated appearance by Bugs Bunny. We’re big fans of Bugsy and we hope that you are, too.
Follow us on this massive journey where we discover and re-discover Every Bugs Bunny Ever.
Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk (1943)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Michael Maltese
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Jack Bradbury (etc…)
The whole “Jack and the Beanstalk” fairy tale has been fodder for some of the best and worst movies ever made. It has always translated well especially in the comedy realm with Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes spoofing the story twice. “Jack Wabbit and the Beanstalk” should not be confused with “Beanstalk Bunny” from1955, yet another parody of this story starring Bugs Bunny, except this time featuring Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd pulling up the rear. That one is very good and very funny (we’ll get to that one), but “Jack Wabbit and the Beanstalk” has its merits just the same.
“Jack Wabbit and the Beanstalk” doesn’t need a lot of exploration of the fairytale, as the story is merely instrumental in setting off the classic chain of events for Bugs Bunny. He’s minding his business, ends up at the wrong place at the wrong time, and has to outwit a foe that’s much bigger and deadlier than he is. This time though, Bugs happens upon a giant “victory” carrot garden that’s owned by the local giant. Bug is confronted by the giant who wants to squash Bugs for his theft, and Bugs decides to defend himself. And he also wants the carrots, of course. Bugs really is at his best, as the short is simple but packs in a ton of funny gags and jokes to make it to the end.
Here Bugs always finds himself hopelessly trapped by the giant, but the giant is so stupid he can barely retain him (“You think you’re so c-a-t Smart!”). One scene finds Bugs trapped in glass cup where he happens to have his own handy dandy glass cutter. And Bugs makes good use of the giant’s body, running along his face, into his ears, and hiding in his hair. The animators do a good job of turning the giant in to a massive foe, as they use matte paintings for the bigger back grounds while only the really essential parts of the scenes are animated. If you watch animation long enough it becomes fun to see what is just background art and what is animation.
This, of course, was used to save time and money, but the art is still pretty darn good to admire. The detail of the giant’s face and body are superb, and I loved Bugs using his body against him. He uses his ear drum as a real drum, and is shocked when the giant covers his head turning his hair in to a mysterious wooded area. I got a good laugh when Bugs sees the eyes in the hair, and demands “Okay guys! Break it up! Break it up!” One of the funnier blink and you’ll miss it gags is when the giant goes to check the time, and instead of a watch, he’s wearing a grandfather clock on his wrist. This short is one of the many times that Bugs and the group from Merrie Melodies would invade fairy tales of all kinds, and its fun to see them put their own demented twists on them.
I even loved the quick way Bugs dispenses of the giant tricking him in to walking off the clouds, causing him to tumble in to the ground with a crash and leaving behind a massive crater. “Look out for that foist step! It’s a lu-lu!”
As many know around this time, Warner was competing big time with Disney Studios in the animation field. While Disney had the bigger check book, Warner had the better animators and writers, overall. I’ve seen those other Disney fairy tale shorts a few times in my life, and they’re cute. I’ve seen “Jack Wabbit and the Beanstalk” so many times that I’ve lost count, and it never stops being laugh out loud funny.
Find out what we think are the BEST and WORST Bugs Bunny shorts of all time!