{"id":38832,"date":"2023-03-07T00:07:35","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T05:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=38832"},"modified":"2023-03-06T11:44:45","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T16:44:45","slug":"every-bugs-bunny-ever-all-this-and-rabbit-stew-1941","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/03\/07\/every-bugs-bunny-ever-all-this-and-rabbit-stew-1941\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Bugs Bunny Ever: All This and Rabbit Stew (1941)"},"content":{"rendered":"

2023 marks the 85th<\/sup> Anniversary of Bug Bunny\u2019s first animated appearance in 1938’s \u201cPorky\u2019s Hare Hunt.\u201d 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\u2019re discussing every animated appearance by Bugs Bunny. We\u2019re big fans of Bugsy and we hope that you are, too. <\/em><\/p>\n

Follow us on this massive journey where we discover and re-discover Every Bugs Bunny Ever.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>All This and Rabbit Stew (1941)
\n<\/strong>Directed by Tex Avery
\nWritten by Dave Monahan
\nMusic by Carl W. Stalling
\nAnimation by Virgil Ross<\/p>\n

In the list of things that Warner Bros. wants you to forget about Looney Tunes, there\u2019s \u201cAll This and Rabbit Stew.\u201d Not only is it Tex Avery\u2019s final short for Warner and Bugs Bunny, but it\u2019s also one of the dreaded \u201cCensored Eleven<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s seventh in a list of animated shorts that have otherwise been banned or pulled from circulation due to sensitive content (racial, political, or otherwise). \u201cAll This and Rabbit Stew\u201d has been banned since 1968 mainly for its depiction of black face and African American stereotypes that are just so offensive, that it\u2019s almost impossible to get around. At least with something like \u201cSwing Time<\/a>\u201d and \u201cHold that Ghost<\/a>\u201d you can simply move past it.<\/p>\n

But with \u201cAll This and Rabbit Stew\u201d it\u2019s the absolute centerpiece.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What makes \u201cAll This and Rabbit Stew\u201d even harder to sit through is that it really doesn\u2019t accomplish anything new with Bugs Bunny. It merely features him in another story of being chased by a hunter who wants to kill him. Except this time the hunter is an unnamed African American hunter that very strongly resembles Stepin Fetchit. This character checks off all the horrendous black stereotypes we usually would have seen during this period. He\u2019s lazy. He\u2019s dimwitted. He\u2019s first seen shuffling along the woods with his shotgun dragging behind.<\/p>\n

Hell, he\u2019s dumber than Elmer Fudd. He can barely string together a coherent sentence, and has his own weak catch phrase \u201cGonna catch me a rah-hah-hah-bit!\u201d Here the nameless black hunter is shuffling through the woods with the intent of catching and hunting a rabbit. He finds Bugs Bunny in his hole and proceeds to pursue him, as Bugs does everything to outwit and evade his attacks. A lot of the gags are weak, and Bugs is surprisingly not very vocal during here. I don\u2019t know why but the usual wise cracking foil doesn\u2019t really offer quips and one-liners.<\/p>\n

Bugs Bunny just works so much better when he\u2019s fighting a villain who can think as fast as Bugs, and even give him a run for his money. \u201cAll This and Rabbit Stew\u201d finds the artists behind the short (and even Bugs) punching down. Way down. The writers always seem to be on the verge of developing Bugs and his own line up of foils, but then they keep introducing new rivals, many of which just aren\u2019t memorable or fun. People like Elmer Fudd and or Yosemite Sam are dimwits, but they offer their own unique character traits that aren\u2019t duplicated in the latter shorts in Bugs Bunny\u2019s repertoire. They don\u2019t even think enough to give the villain of this short an actual name.<\/p>\n

Here, he\u2019s mostly identified as \u201cblack hunter\u201d whose long drawl is pretty much his version of the rhotacism that Elmer Fudd is known for. To make things worse the short takes a turn when Bugs finally manages to trick the hunter in to a game of craps in the bushes. This ends with Bugs running off with his clothing, miming his shuffling, while the hunter sits in the grass naked, and defeated. As one final insult to injury as the film dissolves, Bugs pulls out the leaf hiding the hunter\u2019s privates and proudly displays it to the audience. It pretty much enters with a thud and closes with a thud.<\/p>\n

It was only until ten years ago that I learned \u201cAll This and Rabbit Stew\u201d existed within Bugs Bunny\u2019s list of films. And Warner hid it very well for a long time. I grew up with (and cut my teeth on) the Merrie Melodies and watched hours of it on Cartoon Network in the nineties, and there was never a single mention of \u201cAll This and Rabbit Stew.\u201d Even in episodes of their primetime, more mature, animated block \u201cToonheads\u201d where they aired previously banned animated shorts from Warner and MGM. Shortly after its completion, Tex Avery would leave Warner after his rocky relationship with Leon Schlesinger, and move to MGM, where he’d produce some of his finest, most iconic animated comedy of all time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll This and Rabbit Stew\u201d can be looked at as a historical artifact in the public domain that is best examined in the context of the 1940\u2019s. This is when \u201centertainment\u201d such as what we witness was common, and even celebrated. It has aged about as well as \u201cBirth of a Nation.\u201d Animation buffs and film historians definitely need apply. If you\u2019re a Bugs Bunny completist like me, it\u2019s also worth watching, if only to see how long it took for Warner to find the right formula for the animated hero. It\u2019s not Bugs\u2019 best short; I\u2019d put it easily as one of the top ten worst.<\/p>\n

Find out what we think are the BEST<\/a> and WORST<\/a> Bugs Bunny shorts of all time!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Find out What Felix Vasquez’s Five Favorite Tex Avery Shorts<\/a> Are!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n