8 Ball Bunny (1950)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Michael Maltese
Animation by Phil Monroe
Music by Carl Stalling
It’s the return of Playboy Penguin, the inadvertent hero we haven’t seen since 1949’s “Frigid Hare.”
This time the Playboy Penguin returns for his second and last collaboration with Bugs Bunny as his show “The Brooklyn Ice Frolics” leaves town without him. He accidentally falls in to Bugs’ rabbit hole garnering the sympathy of Bugs who agrees to take him back home. Little does he know home is the North Pole. Ooh! I’m Dy-ing! There is so much to unwrap with “8 Ball Bunny” as this is probably one of the best Chuck Jones outputs for Bugs that’s ever been made. It’s hysterical, it’s clever, it’s quotable, and it even has a three act structure.
Also, while the short doesn’t have a real villain per se, it does play up the whole theme Looney Tunes tended to have featuring big creatures warming up to or befriending smaller beasts. This time around Bugs can’t help but feel sorry for Playboy Penguin and the pair goes about their journey with some hilarious experiences. One of the best involves the pair hitching a ride on a train cart, prompting an evil looking hobo (John T. Smith) to grab Playboy to eat him.
Bugs manages to not only lure the voracious intruders away from Playboy, but with some crafty foot work and classic sarcasm evades the thug and manages to knock him out of the cart. All without breaking a sweat. It’s seamless hilarious moment where Bugs proves he works so much better when he’s using his noggin instead of resorting to violence. My favorite running gig is the repeated appearances of Dobbs from “Treasure of Sierra Madre” in full regalia beckoning “Say, pardon me but, could you help out a fellow American who’s down on his luck?”
This prompts Bugs to flip him a coin demanding “Hit the Road!” Along with the ace voice work from Mel Blanc, Dave Barry is great portraying Bogart in three separate scenes. The gag is just so inexplicable and random, but it’s hilarious how these experiences only seem to occur with Bugs. I was thirteen when I learned who he was while watching Cartoon Network. Even today the joke is damn funny. As is typical with Bugs, he just can never seem to get a break and this installment doesn’t let him off the hook. It’s too bad we never got to see Playboy Penguin ever again.
He’s no Chilly Willy, but he definitely had his appeal. At the very least he goes out on a very high note as “8 Ball Bunny” is absolutely top tier Bugs Bunny.
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