Bully for Bugs (1953)
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ben Washam, Lloyd Vaughan, Ken Harris
Music by Carl Stalling
According to Chuck Jones, “Bully for Bugs” came about because of an unexpected declaration made by producer Edward Selzer didn’t want any films related to bullfighting because he felt that bullfights aren’t funny. If Selzer was commenting on comedy films with a bullfighting theme, he was most correct – those films relied heavily on stock footage, trick editing, the obvious use of stunt doubles and connect-the-dots comedy with the funnymen supposedly being chased around a bullring.
But as Jones and writer Michael Maltese would realize, animation enabled characters to interact directly with the angry bulls – and in the case of Bugs Bunny, to match wits with the creatures in a way that no live-action film could duplicate. As a result, “Bully for Bugs” emerged as one of the finest films in the Bugs Bunny series, with all members of the Termite Terrace creative team at the top of their games in an inventive, original and highly entertaining work of comic art.
“Bully for Bugs” opens during a bullfight where a self-confident matador – he acknowledges the viewer with a side-eye glance and a flared nostril – has his demeanor shaken with the arrival of the fearsome Toro the Bull. As Toro chases the matador around the ring, Bugs burrows underground into the center of the chaos and emerges with suitcases, expecting to be at the Great Carrot Festival in the Coachella Valley. Annoyed at being in the wrong place, he takes out a road map and declares (for the first time on-screen) “I knew I should’ve taken that left turn at Albuquerque.”
After vainly attempting to get the matador’s help for directions – the matador climbs out of the ring as Toro approaches – Bugs finds the hostile bull breathing on his tail. Bugs slaps the bull, claiming he could wrinkle his fur. As Bugs takes a new look at the map, Toro retreats, sharpens his horns with a billiard cue chalk, and charges anew, knocking Bugs skyward out of the ring. While small colorful stars emerge from his aching backside, Bugs informs the viewer, “Of course you realize this means war.”
From here, “Bully for Bugs” engages in a series of wildly funny sight gags as Bugs and Toro challenge an torment each other. There is one old gag that is repeated involving a giant rubber band and a boulder that was first used in “Rabbit Punch,” but other bits of business including Toro sharpening his horns on a grindstone and the Rube Goldberg-worthy finale with Toro going airborne are gloriously inventive.
One interesting aspect here is that Bugs is not in complete control of the situation. Toro gets the best of him a few times, most notably when the bull swallows a rifle that gets lodged in his tail – he discovers when the bangs his tail on the ground, he can shoot bullets at Bugs through his horns.
“Bully for Bugs” also contains one of the most sophisticated soundtracks of a Bugs Bunny cartoon, with the sounds of the bull and the cheering crowd recorded from a bullfighting presentation in Barcelona. Carl Stalling’s music score offers perfect sampling of Mexican standards “La Cucaracha” and “Las Chiapanecas” plus the inspired use of Wagner’s “Rienzi Overture” when Toro is sent flying across the ring. Maltese’s screenplay has Bugs slaughtering the language with insults of how Toro is an “embezzle” and “ultra-maroon” along with bovine puns of being a “gullabull” and “nincowpoop.”
As for Toro, he is a physically imposing foe with his thick black body and large eyes with pink scalera during his angry moods – the color becomes light blue when he is dazed. Toro’s malevolent smirk when getting the best of his enemies and his percolating impatience for his long-eared rival bring the character to full dimension. While the character was never used again in additional Golden Age works, he may have been the most effective of Bugs’ one-shot enemies.
