Rabbit Romeo (1957)
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ted Bonnicksen and George Grandpre
Music by Milt Franklyn
Elmer Fudd’s Uncle Judd ships him a Slobovian rabbit to watch until he returns from abroad, with the offer of $500 for his efforts. The rabbit is a large female named Millicent who behaves with unhappy destructiveness. A doctor is called to examine Millicent and Elmer is informed that Millicent is lonely and wants another rabbit as a companion. Elmer lures Bugs Bunny in from a cold winter night, and Millicent immediately falls in love with Bugs – indeed, she’s ready to marry him after making his acquaintance for several seconds. Bugs tries to escape, but Elmer keeps blocking his exit by brandishing a rifle.
A forgettable mediocrity, “Rabbit Romeo” has little going for it except for the uncredited June Foray giving Millicent an exaggerated comic Russian-style accent. Some of the gags are more violent than usual – Bugs has a goldfish kiss Millicent and the goldfish then takes out a gun the shoot himself, and later Bugs puts an electric fan directly on Millicent’s lips when she demands another kiss. The closing gag, with Bugs slipping Elmer into a bunny costume and Millicent falling for him, brings in a weird sense of bestiality as the lovestruck Slobovian rabbit chases after Elmer with love (and, obviously, sex) on her mind.
The only thing “Rabbit Romeo” might spark is realizing how few of the Bugs Bunny cartoons involve the long-haired hero in the company of the opposite sex. There was a Mrs. Bugs Bunny whose seemingly benign presence terrified him (“Hold the Lion, Please”), an amorous Mama Bear who falls madly for Bugs’ flattery (“Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears”), and the pretty Daisy Lou that Bugs tried to woo away from his neighbor Casbah (“Hare Splitter”). Bugs also fell for a pair of mechanical rabbits in “Hair-Raising Hare” and “The Grey Hounded Hare,” and Bugs had the hots for Lauren Bacall in “Slick Hare.” He also turned Witch Hazel into a sexy lady rabbit in “Bewitched Bunny” and pretended he was a French aristocrat to woo Granny in “Hare Trimmed,” but that was just an act to save her from an unscrupulous Yosemite Sam. Ultimately, the Golden Age version of Bugs was a confirmed bachelor, albeit one with a penchant for crossdressing to embarrass his dimwitted pursuers – but that’s a subject for another article.