Tag Archives: Friz Freleng

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Bugs and Thugs (1954)

Posted on by

Bugs and Thugs (1954)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Music by Milt Franklyn
Animation by Manuel Perez, Ken Champin, Virgil Ross, Arthur Davis

Friz Freleng’s “Bugs and Thugs” is a reworking of his 1946 “Racketeer Rabbit” that pitted Bugs Bunny against the bank robbers Rocky and Hugo, which were caricatures of Edward G. Robinson and Peter Lorre. In this 1954 film, the criminals are originals – Rocky, a diminutive, stone-faced tough guy with a cigarette hanging from his lower lip and an outrageously oversized vertical fedora that obscured his eyes, and his large oafish partner Mugsy. Rocky had previously been used in Daffy Duck’s “Golden Yeggs” (1950) and the Sylvester and Tweety “Catty Cornered” (1953) with different (and more competent) oversized sidekicks.
Continue reading →

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: 14 Carrot Rabbit

Posted on by

14 Carrot Rabbit (1952)

Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Virgil Ross, Arthur Davis, Manuel Perez, Ken Champin
Music by Carl Stalling

This cartoon is set during the Klondike Gold Rush, with claim jumper Chillicothe Sam (actually, our old pal Yosemite Sam) shooting his guns to chase an elderly prospector away from his meager findings. Sam is unhappy that his thievery is producing dismal results, and he is dumbfounded when he discovers Bugs Bunny has a knack for discovering huge gold deposits – whenever he’s over the precious metal, Bugs going into wild convulsions. Sam tries to trick Bugs into a partnership, but (as usual) is constantly outsmarted by his prey.
Continue reading →

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Foxy by Proxy (1952)

Posted on by

Foxy by Proxy (1952)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Virgil Ross, Arthur Davis, Manuel Perez, Ken Champin
Music by Carl Stalling

This minor, mild cartoon is a rough remake of the 1940 Tex Avery-directed “Of Fox and Hounds,” with a dimwitted dog participating in a fox hunt. In that film, the poor dumb dog has trouble comprehending that his sly new friend is a fox. In this 1952 go-round, Bugs Bunny plays tricks on the dense canine by dressing up as a fox and leading him into frustration.
Continue reading →

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: His Hare-Raising Tale (1951)

Posted on by

His Hare-Raising Tale (1951)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Virgil Ross
Music by Carl Stalling

One of the relatively few Warner Bros. cartoons that mainly consisted of recycled footage from older shorts, “His Hare-Raising Tale” is an amusing endeavor that pointed to a potential scenario shift that, sadly, was never explored in depth.
Continue reading →

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Rabbit Every Monday (1951)

Posted on by

Rabbit Every Monday (1951)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Animation by Manuel Perez, Ken Champin. Virgil Ross, Art Davis
Music by Carl Stalling

“Rabbit Every Monday” casts Yosemite Sam in the hunter role usually occupied by Elmer Fudd, and Sam’s distinctive mix of bellicosity and idiocy expanded the possibilities for wildly original comedy.
Continue reading →