A-Lad-In His Lamp (1948)
Directed by Bob McKimson
Written by Warren Foster
Animation by Charles McKimson
Music by Carl W. Stalling
This short from Bob McKimson holds significance on two levels.
The one being that it is apparently quite controversial for its depiction of middle Easterners. While I am not middle Eastern, I could understand why this short strikes a nerve today, as the middle East is depicted as nothing more than a lot of men that wield swords and solve everything with violence. Meanwhile the women are all mainly just harems and sex objects. It was apparently protested by late DJ Casey Kasem who hated the depiction of middle Easterners, and I can understand why that’d be troublesome. It’s a trope that Bugs Bunny’s shorts would continue with a lot of shorts set in the middle East or Asian communities.
I think taken within its context it’s best appreciated as more of a historic glimpse in to the cultural mindset more than anything. It’s just not what I’d tag as one of Bugs Bunny’s best shorts, sadly. It’s an okay short from the Bugs Bunny library but is only memorable mainly for its guest star voice performer. It actually feels a lot like one of his later entries when Bugs was essentially running on empty creatively. It also feels like one of his most generic, and that’s because of the short’s “kind-of” villain: the genie known as Smokey.
The short’s second bit of significance comes in the form of the genie Smokey who is played by none other than Jim Backus. As many pop culture buffs know, Backus would go on to play Mr. Howell in “Gilligan’s Island” and for many years famously voiced the iconic cartoon character Mr. Magoo alongside Warner’s own Mel Blanc. Backus offers a rare appearance here as a one and done adversary to Bugs portraying one of the most problematic and annoying genies that ever existed. He’s here for the most part to get the story moving forward.
McKimson apparently modeled Smokey after Backus’ character Hubert Updike III from “The Alan Young Show” radio series. For the kids out there: Radio Series’ were like podcasts but often recorded live. Backus was also appearing in Blanc’s radio series during the time he recorded his role in “A-Lad-In his Lamp.” For the most part, the whole set up is baffling. Bugs is digging up a rabbit hole and finds Aladdin’s Lamp. While shining it, he conjures up the genie Smokey, a particularly lazy genie who is reluctant to give Bugs any of his wishes. He does grant him two carrots, and when Bugs mentions wishing he could to go Baghdad, he sends him there.
Cut to a scene where Bugs is literally flying through the sky like an airplane for some reason. He lands in Baghdad where he ends up crossing Caliph Hassan Pfeffer who is most interested in getting the lamp. I’m assuming he’s the actual villain and does whatever he can to get the lamp, and despite Bugs asking for help, Smokey outright refuses. There isn’t a ton of comedy, nor are there too many gags, just a lot of Bugs running from Hassan Pfeffer who is willing to kill Bugs for the lamp. But I do like when Bugs is thinking about potential wishes only for Smokey to cut him off and reject his proposal.
There’s also the pretty funny escalating gag of Bugs interrupting Smokey in the middle of one of his activities in the lamp. While the short isn’t a laugh riot, the animation is sharp and Backus was always great in the voice acting department, so he’s also the highlight. I just wish the short had been given more focus and an actual villain for Bugs to tussle with.
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