{"id":40645,"date":"2023-08-22T00:04:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T04:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=40645"},"modified":"2023-08-12T11:08:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-12T15:08:32","slug":"every-bugs-bunny-ever-stage-door-cartoon-1944","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/22\/every-bugs-bunny-ever-stage-door-cartoon-1944\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Stage Door Cartoon (1944)"},"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>Stage Door Cartoon (1944)
\n<\/u><\/strong>Directed by Friz Freleng
\nWritten by Michael Maltese
\nMusic by Lou Lilly
\nAnimation by Jack Bradbury<\/p>\n

I love \u201cStage Door Cartoon\u201d as this is one of the prime shorts featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd with their antics spilling over in to a pubic setting. Every single moment of \u201cStage Door Cartoon\u201d is pure comedy gold, right down to the writers transforming Bugs\u2019 signature catchphrase \u201cWhat\u2019s Up, Doc?\u201d in to a bonafide show tune. I didn\u2019t get to see this short until I was able to watch to Cartoon Network back in the nineties, but it\u2019s remained one of my absolute favorites. It\u2019s not only proof that Bugs and Elmer have possibly the best dynamic of the whole Looney Tunes gallery (Yeah, I said it), but when they\u2019re at their best, they can produce some really laugh out loud material.<\/p>\n

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\u201cStage Door Cartoon\u201d revels in the chaos and sheer insanity that is the Bugs and Elmer dynamic, propping scenarios in stage and performance settings. This would later be repeated in offerings just as good like \u201cThe Rabbit of Seville\u201d and \u201cHare Do.\u201d That\u2019s fine by me because watching Bugs and Elmer in such an interesting setting amounts to some bonafide laughs, and the writers are able to concoct enough gags to where the similar premises are easy to forget. The whole of Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes\u2019 background is established very much in theater and Vaudeville and they\u2019re allowed to really cut loose here.<\/p>\n

The animation featuring a lot of Bugs and Elmer pursing each other while playing to an audience is just hysterical. The set up involves Elmer Fudd walking through the woods with a fishing pole and sack prompting him to break the fourth wall and address the audience. \u201cI\u2019ll bet you think I\u2019m going fishing. No. I\u2019m hunting a certain wascawwy wabbit!\u201d Elmer\u2019s line of thinking this time is to fish Bugs out of his hole. But Bugs catches on right away hooking him with his own pole. A chase begins where the pair ends up at a theater in the city where a Vaudeville performance is occurring. There, the two give chase and Bugs and Elmer are pushed in to performing for the audience.<\/p>\n

Along with Bugs hiding as a can can dancer, he also engages in a neat soft shoe dance routine for the audience, and when Elmer stalks him in a grand piano, Bugs uses the piano to torment the hapless hunter. This is probably the funniest moment in the short as Bugs uses the keys to thump Elmer in the face and then uses the momentum of the piano to launch him in to the air. That\u2019s followed by a hilarious gag where Bugs convinces Elmer to perform Shakespeare for the audience, which then oddly enough devolves in to an awkward strip tease. If that\u2019s not enough Bugs persuades Elmer to take a high dive off of a large ladder in to a small cup of water, much to the audience\u2019s horror.<\/p>\n

As is typical with a lot of the Bugs Bunny shorts, he doesn\u2019t just pull a fast one on his enemy, but sometimes on the audience. Interestingly enough we get to see Proto-Yosemite Sam once again but this time in another stage of his development. Notably he has his signature Southern drawl, as well as his large hat, bulbous nose, and large mustache, but he\u2019s older, slightly taller, donning a black coat, black hat, and garners white hair. He makes a brief appearance in what\u2019s intended as a final gag that lands pretty well.<\/p>\n

It establishes Bugs as just a devious little prankster who doesn\u2019t mind putting one over on us when he gets the chance. The added benefit is getting to see Proto-Yosemite Sam interact with the characters before his inevitable official introduction. All things considered, \u201cStage Door Cartoon\u201d doesn\u2019t have a weak moment in its entire run time, and I\u2019ve always loved the musical aspect of Warner Bros. cartoons. They did, after all, cultivate my love for classical music, as well as folk music.<\/p>\n

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