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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Hare Lift (1952)

Hare Lift (1952)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Ken Champin, Arthur Davis, Manuel Perez, Virgil Ross
Music by Carl W. Stalling

Bank robber Yosemite Sam makes a gun-toting withdrawal from the Last National Bank, warning those inside the bank to “keep a-reachin’ for the ceilin’ till ya’ reach it!” But the sound of approaching police sirens forces him to flee and drives to the airport where the world’s largest airplane has arrived for public exhibition. Bugs Bunny is alone in the airplane, sitting in the cockpit while pretending he’s a pilot. Sam mistakes him for the real pilot and forces Bugs to take off – even though Bugs knows nothing about flying. Nonetheless, Bugs starts the airplane and begins to drive it down a main street before abruptly taking it on a wild ride up to the moon and then back in a dizzying plummet to Earth.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: 14 Carrot Rabbit

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.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Ballot Box Bunny (1951)

Ballot Box Bunny (1951)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Animation by Ken Champin, Virgil Ross, Arthur Davis,Manuel Perez
Music by Carl Stalling

Yosemite Sam is running for mayor of an unnamed town, and part of his platform is the promise “to rid this country of every last rabbit.” Needless to say, this doesn’t sit well with Bugs Bunny, who starts a rival campaign. Sam repeatedly tries to sabotage Bugs’ electioneering, but his tricks inevitably backfire badly on him. However, neither candidate prevails as the race goes to a dark horse candidate, literally – a car carrying a sign that reads “Our New Mare” features a large horse as its passenger that is cheered as the election victor by off-screen crowds. Shocked by their respective loses, Bugs and Sam opt to extinguish their disappointment with a game of Russian roulette.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: The Fair-Haired Hare (1951)

The Fair-Haired Hare (1951)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Ken Champin, Virgil Ross, Arthur Davis, Manuel Perez, John Carey
Music by Carl Stalling

When Yosemite Sam builds a cabin on top of Bugs Bunny’s hole-in-the-ground domicile, Bugs vows to sue Sam for damages. A judge rules that Bugs and Sam must share the newly constructed residence, with the knowledge that full ownership goes to the survivor if one of them should pass away. Sam opts to speed Bugs’ demise, but his homicidal schemes inevitably backfire. Furious at being outsmarted, he opts to fill Bugs’ subterranean home with explosives, but Bugs redirects the devices to the crawl space between the cabin’s floor and the bare ground. Sam winds up blowing his home into the clouds while declaring, “Well, whaddya know, I’ve got a cabin in the sky!”
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Rabbit Every Monday (1951)

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.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Bunker Hill Bunny (1950)

Editor’s Note: Cinema Crazed founder Felix Vasquez Jr. began the “Every Bugs Bunny Ever” series on January 3, 2023, with the goal of reviewing the cinematic output of the most popular star from the Warner Bros. animation studio. Felix passed away yesterday, and I will be inheriting the series and continuing with this weekly output in tribute to Felix’s legacy and his love for animated films.

Bunker Hill Bunny (1950)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Ken Champin, Virgil Ross and Arthur Davis
Music by Carl Stalling

“Bunker Hill Bunny” takes place during the American Revolution – specifically, the Battle of Bagle Heights. As battles go, this was on the small side, with the red-coated Hessian mercenary Sam von Scham (our old pal Yosemite Sam) taking on patriot Bugs Bunny. The rivals are in adjacent forts, with Sam firing multiple cannons at once from a might stone structure while Bugs shoots off a single cannon by reaching out of his hole-in-the-ground residence and pulling a string attached to the weapon.
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The Bootleg Files: Rabbit Every Monday

BOOTLEG FILES 651: “Rabbit Every Monday” (1951 animated short with Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam).

LAST SEEN: On DailyMotion.com.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On VHS and LaserDisc only.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It was never released on DVD or Blu-ray.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It could happen.

Believe it or not, a surprisingly substantial number of classic Bugs Bunny cartoons were never released on DVD or Blu-ray. We’re not talking about the politically incorrect shorts that have been kept of circulation for very obvious reasons, but the knockabout cartoons that were a staple of kiddie television for decades and were part of the initial VHS and LaserDisc release of the old-time Warner Bros. output.

One of Bugs Bunny works not on DVD or Blu-ray is the 1951 “Rabbit Every Monday.” It may not be a classic of the genre, but it has enough goofy charm to generate smiles and light chuckles.

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