{"id":48908,"date":"2025-07-30T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=48908"},"modified":"2025-07-28T20:13:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T00:13:27","slug":"every-bugs-bunny-ever-broom-stick-bunny-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/30\/every-bugs-bunny-ever-broom-stick-bunny-1956\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Broom-Stick Bunny (1956)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Broom-Stick Bunny<\/strong> (1956)<br \/>\nDirected by Chuck Jones<br \/>\nStory by Tedd Pierce<br \/>\nAnimation by Richard Thompson, Ken Harris, Ben Washam, Abe Levitow<br \/>\nMusic by Milt Franklyn<\/p>\n<p>The character of Witch Hazel only co-starred as a Bugs Bunny adversary in three Golden Age cartoons: \u201cBewitched Bunny\u201d (1954), which was strictly okay; \u201cA Witch\u2019s Tangled Hare\u201d (1959), which was among the weakest of the series; and in today\u2019s cartoon, \u201cBroom-Stick Bunny,\u201d which is not only the best of the trio but, IMHO, is among the very best of the Bugs Bunny canon.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The cartoon opens with a close-up of a framed certificate from &#8220;The Malevolent Order of Witches,&#8221; which is affiliated with an AF of Elves. Witch Hazel is preparing a recipe in a huge cauldron on Halloween night while singing a version of \u201cA Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You\u201d with new lyrics appropriate for a witch\u2019s brew. Her only companion is a bizarre looking black cat and a magic mirror housing a turbaned genie who affirms that Witch Hazel is the ugliest person about. She coyly informs the viewer, \u201cI\u2019m deathly afraid of getting pretty as I get older\u201d \u2013 and then pauses to consider the word \u201cpretty,\u201d which causes her to elevate and click her heels in a laughing fit before zooming out of sight with a few hairpins coming loose in her exit.<\/p>\n<p>As luck would have it, it seems that a witch is walking up to her home \u2013 but it is really Bugs dressed like a witch for Halloween\u2019s trick-or-treating. He has a witch\u2019s mask over his head, but Witch Hazel mistakes him for the real thing. Witch Hazel consults the magic mirror and the genie in the looking glass rules that Bugs as a witch is uglier than Witch Hazel. Determined to keep her position as the ugliest person, Witch Hazel brings Bugs in and whips up a special tea designed to make ugly people beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>But when Bugs takes off his mask to drink the tea, Witch Hazel is momentarily confused before consulting her recipe \u2013 the final ingredient is a rabbit\u2019s clavicle. A wild chase ensues with a cleaver-wielding Witch Hazel chasing Bugs through her home. <\/p>\n<p>This cartoon employs the UPA-style limited animation look for its backgrounds \u2013 and while that was something of an annoying distraction in earlier cartoons, the garish weirdness of the artwork perfectly fits the nightmare world of Witch Hazel\u2019s home. And the chase up and down the Escher-worthy staircase is a work of mad genius that ranks among the most inventive segments of Chuck Jones&#8217; career.<\/p>\n<p>Special praise goes to June Foray, the uncredited voice performer who brings Witch Hazel to full-throttle life with her cackling voice and high-pitched hysterical laugh, and to composer Milt Franklyn for perfectly fitting the score to the wild action \u2013 especially with the witty sampling of \u201cOh, You Beautiful Doll.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBroom-Stick Bunny\u201d can qualify as the best Tedd Pierce-authored script for a Bugs Bunny cartoon. There isn\u2019t a moment where there isn\u2019t an inventive sight gag or turn-of-phrase. Among the gems are the recipe preparation with Witch Hazel emptying a bottle\u2019s contents into the cauldron before dropping the bottle itself into the mix, Witch Hazel accidentally using her sweeping broom for flight \u2013 the magic brush starts cleaning the floor with the bewildered witch hanging on for dear life \u2013 and the completely brilliant twist ending that I will prefer not to reveal for the benefit of those who have yet to see this cartoon.<\/p>\n<p>And if you haven\u2019t seen \u201cBroom-Stick Bunny,\u201d or haven\u2019t seen it in ages, here it is again for your viewing pleasure (albeit a bit off-center):<\/p>\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\">\n  <iframe src=\"https:\/\/geo.dailymotion.com\/player.html?video=x8h7cls\"\n    style=\"width:100%; height:100%; position:absolute; left:0px; top:0px; overflow:hidden; border:none;\"\n    allowfullscreen\n    title=\"Dailymotion Video Player\"\n    allow=\"web-share\"><br \/>\n  <\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Broom-Stick Bunny (1956) Directed by Chuck Jones Story by Tedd Pierce Animation by Richard Thompson, Ken Harris, Ben Washam, Abe Levitow Music by Milt Franklyn The character of Witch Hazel only co-starred as a Bugs Bunny adversary in three Golden Age cartoons: \u201cBewitched Bunny\u201d (1954), which was strictly okay; \u201cA Witch\u2019s Tangled Hare\u201d (1959), which [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":48911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3068],"tags":[167,1317,3688],"class_list":["post-48908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bugs-bunny-ever","tag-bugs-bunny","tag-chuck-jones","tag-witch-hazel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48908"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48913,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48908\/revisions\/48913"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}