Bewitched Bunny (1954)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Lloyd Vaughan, Ken Harris, Ben Washam
Music by Carl Stalling
“Bewitched Bunny” is notable for introducing Witch Hazel as Bugs Bunny’s first female adversary. A large, lumpy, green-hued character, she levitates to click her heels in merriment over her sorcery, cackling with glee over what she perceives to be a superiority over her long-eared foe.
But Witch Hazel is one of several new characters introduced in “Bewitched Bunny.” There are also Hansel and Gretel, two obese German-accented children whose gluttony enables Witch Hazel to lure them into her gingerbread house lair, and a handsome prince who wanders into the story by error – he’s looking for Snow White but manages to awaken a poisoned Bugs by kissing his gloved hand.
The cartoon has some wonderfully warped dialogue via Michael Maltese – Bugs and, later, the prince ponder the name “Hansel” in a routine similar to how the name “Melvin” was pondered in Martin & Lewis comedies, and Hansel and Gretel escape from Witch Hazel while tossing out the slur “Ah, you’re mother rides a vacuum cleaner!” A scene when Bugs realizes that the witch poisoned him is played with wonderfully exaggerated melodrama – to the point that Witch Hazel is annoyed with his hammy death scene. And there is also a smart-ass remark by Bugs at the end of the cartoon that some irritated feminists consider to be misogynistic – it’s not, but it’s also not the best blackout joke.
On the minus side, the cartoon’s UPA-style limited animation for its backgrounds is distracting, especially with very bright hues that emphasize the severe minimalism of the designs. But a greater demerit goes to the failure to provide screen credit to Bea Benaderet, who brilliantly voiced Witch Hazel and the other female characters. While Mel Blanc’s contract required that he receive screen credit for his voice performance, it is a shame that Benaderet and other actors who contributed to the Warner Bros. cartoon soundtracks were not given the recognition they deserved.