Rabbit Fire (1951)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, Lloyd Vaughan and Ben Washam
Music by Carl W. Stalling
In the realm of the Bugs Bunny cartoons, “Rabbit Fire” is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing, of course, is the film’s contents – a fast, inventive serving of classic dialogue and innovative visual comedy that resulted in an animated masterpiece. The curse, however, involved the same issues that make it a blessing. “Rabbit Fire” is so remarkable that it created a lightning-in-a-bottle moment that could never be repeated with the same level of style and substance. And Lord knows the Termite Terrace gang tried endlessly to duplicate its brilliance, with results that ranged from almost perfect to dreadful.
The truly inventive aspect of the film was the decision to realign Daffy Duck’s personality to create a frenemy relationship with Bugs. (Prior to this, the characters only shared screen time in the gag ending of the 1943 “Porky’s Big Feat.”) Daffy’s irrepressible zany character was replaced by an impulsive neurotic who is nowhere near as bright as he believes himself to be.
This worked in the context of “Rabbit Fire,” but as time went on Daffy’s vices intensified – in later cartoons he became vain, jealous, greedy, irrational and irritable. With the right material, such as “Duck Amuck” and “Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century,” this significant personality shift worked amid boldly surreal surroundings. However, too many later Daffy Duck cartoons were stuck with the wrong material, making Daffy a nasty bore – most notably in the insufferable pairings with Speedy Gonzales in the 1960s.
“Rabbit Fire” also created a unique balance with Bugs and Daffy working against each other in the face of Elmer Fudd’s hunter. While each is attempting to trick Elmer to shoot the other – naturally, quick-witted Bugs always outsmarts hot-heated Daffy, resulting in the latter absorbing multiple rifle shots to the head – the short also finds them working together against a common enemy. This two-against-one dynamic is hilariously depicted with Bugs in one of his most alluring drag disguises while Daffy takes on the role of Bugs’ hunting dog – which results in Daffy taking a too-generous chomp of Elmer’s shin after Bugs-in-drag seduces the love-struck Elmer with a kiss.
And, of course, there is the “Wabbit Season/Duck Season” dialogue by Michael Maltese that equals any of the Abbott and Costello patter routines for sharp timing and expert craftsmanship in wordplay. It is to Mel Blanc’s credit as a voice performer that he brings a Zen-worthy calm to Bugs and a manic hysteria to Daffy as they try to convince Elmer which one needs to be shot. Unfortunately, later cartoons using this triangular configuration became weighed down in verbosity that wasn’t as well-crafted or delivered.
Blanc also deserves praise for a neat bit where he has Bugs imitating Daffy’s speech pattern and Daffy imitating Bugs – this might be the only time in cartoon history where one character imitates the vocal idiosyncrasies of another.
For what it’s worth, my personal favorite moment involves Bugs shaming Elmer for hunting rabbits with an elephant gun. Those who know what happens next will appreciate the startling nature of this non-sequitur moment – and those new to the cartoon need to see it to believe it.
Attempts to replay the magic of “Rabbit Fire” occurred in two more Bugs-Daffy-Elmer shorts that round out what became known as “The Hunting Trilogy.” But I don’t believe “Rabbit Seasoning” (1952) and “Duck, Rabbit, Duck!” (1953) were anywhere as satisfying as “Rabbit Fire.” The three characters were also used in the 1955 “Beanstalk Bunny,” which was one of the lesser cartoons in this series.
But even if the glory of “Rabbit Fire” could not be duplicated, the genius of this work stands as a testament to great talents of the creative artists involved in its production.