2023 marks the 85th Anniversary of Bug Bunny’s first animated appearance in 1938’s “Porky’s Hare Hunt.” Debuting originally as Happy Rabbit, Bugs eventually became one of the most iconic animated characters of all time. In honor of the landmark anniversary, we’re discussing every animated appearance by Bugs Bunny. We’re big fans of Bugsy and we hope that you are, too.
Follow us on this massive journey where we discover and re-discover Every Bugs Bunny Ever.
Hold the Lion, Please (1942)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Ted Pierce
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Ken Harris
“Hold the Lion, Please” is one of the many shorts where we’d meet a one and done villain for Bugs Bunny. In 1942 he was still being developed and despite Elmer Fudd, none of the big guns have appeared quite yet. The shorts would shuffle through a lot of potential villains here and there, but it’d be a few years yet until anything solidified. What we do get is Leo the Lion, a pretty fun and funny one and done (though, technically he’d appear in other Looney Tunes films decades later) overall nemesis to Bugs Bunny. “Hold the Lion, Please” writer Ted Pierce does a bang up job playing the soft spoken middle aged lion who is seeking to prove himself once and for all. Continue reading






