Rabbitson Crusoe (1956)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Gerry Chiniquy, Art Davis. Virgil Ross
Music by Milt Franklyn
This riff on “Robinson Crusoe” is the rare Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs is mostly a supporting character, with the bulk of the comedy handled by Yosemite Sam and a one-off shark character named Dopey Dick.
The short’s concept has Sam marooned on a tiny South Pacific island for 20 years. His sole food supply is a coconut tree on an even tinier island adjacent to his home, while his dwindling supplies are inside a shipwrecked vessel off the other side of tropical domain. Sam’s attempts to pick coconuts and to access the vessel are constantly disrupted by Dopey Dick, a shark that defies all laws of marine biology by chasing Sam across land and up a tree. Sam uses mallets and baseball bats to deflect his predator, who retreats with yelping cries.
Sam’s two decades of isolation with only coconuts for food has driven him to the brink of insanity, but the arrival of a castaway Bugs floating in on a wave gives him inspiration for a rabbit dinner. Bugs, of course, is not interested in becoming Sam’s dinner, and the wily rabbit – with the assistance of the equally sneaky shark – make Sam’s life miserable.
Most of the fun in “Rabbitson Crusoe” involves Sam losing his temper with Dopey Dick, calling him such outrageous names as “shovel-nosed mackerel” and “no good bush whackin’ barracuda.” The shark also makes a surprise appearance where and when Sam least expects it in a sight gag that is truly hilarious.
There is one funny gag that makes no sense – Sam distracts Dopey Dick with a bone, as if he was a dog, but it is unclear how he could have a bone if all he had to eat for 20 years was coconuts. Go figure.
As for Bugs, he gets to sample the tunes “Trade Winds” and “Secret Love” and he has a brief deranged reaction to learning he is on Sam’s menu. And the final gag gives Bugs a sweet bit of nasty revenge on Sam. But for the most part, “Rabbitson Crusoe” is the Sam and Dopey Dick Show – and even though Bugs is mostly along for the ride, this short is very funny.