post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Beanstalk Bunny (1955)

Beanstalk Bunny (1955)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ken Harris, Richard Thompson, Abe Levitow, Keith Darling
Music by Carl Stalling

A cute idea with a meh execution, “Beanstalk Bunny” reimagines the fairy tale with Daffy Duck as Jack, Elmer Fudd as the giant, and Bugs Bunny as an interloper who joins in the mayhem. Bugs went up the beanstalk before with “Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk” (1943) and found himself in a land of giants when he challenged Paul Bunyan’s dog in “Lumber Jack-Rabbit” (1953), so it was a bit strange to have him back for a third time in this type of a setting.
Continue reading

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Baby Buggy Bunny (1954)

Baby Buggy Bunny (1954)
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ken Harris, Abe Levitow, Lloyd Vaughan, Ben Washam
Music by Milt Franklyn

Of all the adversaries who challenged Bugs Bunny, Baby Face Finster was arguably the most inventive concept of a villain. The idea of an adult (and rather butch) midget disguising himself as a baby was pure genius, and Finster’s fracas with Bugs was among the most original and invigorating in the history of the character’s films.
Continue reading

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Bewitched Bunny (1954)

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.
Continue reading

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Duck! Rabbit! Duck! (1953)

Duck! Rabbit! Duck! (1953)
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ken Harris, Abe Levitow, Richard Thompson, Lloyd Vaughan, Ben Washam
Music by Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn

The final entry in the “Hunting Trilogy” that pits Bugs Bunny against Daffy Duck against Elmer Fudd, “Duck! Rabbit! Duck!” is the weakest of the three films due to joke repetition and an uneven balance among the characters.
Continue reading

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Lumber Jack-Rabbit (1953)

Lumber Jack-Rabbit (1953)
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Abe Levitow, Ken Harris, Richard Thompson, Lloyd Vaughan, Ben Washam
Music by Carl Stalling

Notable as the only Bugs Bunny cartoon shot in the 3D process, “Lumber Jack-Rabbit” gets off to an amusing start when a wandering Bugs sings “Jimmy Crack Corn” while journeying into Paul Bunyan’s garden. Unaware that he is in a giant’s domain – he mistakes the asparagus for “funny looking trees” – he becomes ecstatic at discovering gigantic carrots. Bugs sets up mining equipment to cull his harvest, but is interrupted by Paul Bunyan’s equally massive Smidgen.
Continue reading

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Bully for Bugs (1953)

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.
Continue reading

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Water, Water Every Hare (1952)

Water, Water Every Hare (1952)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, Lloyd Vaughan, Richard Thompson, Harry Love
Music by Carl Stalling

Comedy horror movies rarely work, if only because they devolve into the obvious buffoonery of having the funnymen go into unamusing spasms of anxiety when confronted by ghouls, ghosts, creepy beings, and other unpleasant entities. The 1952 cartoon “Water, Water Every Hare” clicks because it doesn’t sink into the standard nonsense of the comic (in this case, Bugs Bunny) being endlessly frightened by the stock villains. Instead, it offers some brilliantly inventive segments that take the comedy horror genre to a new dimension.
Continue reading