Tuesday 14 August 2018

Bugs Gets the Idea

Yosemite Sam tells Bugs Bunny, in a pot, where he’s going to get the rabbit for rabbit stew. “We’ve already got the rabbit. Get the idea?” Sam replies before guffawing.

Bugs repeats the line and guffaws before a take.



Bugs doesn’t do a lot in Rabbitson Crusoe, released in 1956. The cartoon is mainly Sam versus a funny shark. About this time, Warren Foster’s stories contained gags about Sam vs. a camel, or Sam vs. a dragon, but a lot of the time, it was Sam vs. himself (he lost). Bugs doesn’t even show up until 2 ½ minutes into this cartoon.

7 comments:

  1. I thought it was 1956 this one. Partly made in 1955 I imagine though.

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  2. You're right Yowp, when I think about these series of " Sam " cartoons, he really was his own worst enemy. Bugs did pretty much run on cruise control in this short as Sam destroyed himself.

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  3. Limited action for Bugs, but it was one of the last cartoons where he gets to sing a relatively current popular song (Doris Day's "Secret Love", which was part of the Warners' release of "Calamity Jane" in 1953). Bugs and other characters singing tunes controlled by Warners' publishing company was a staple of the 1940s shorts and a holdover from the 1930s edict for the Merrie Melodies, but was pretty much gone by the time the 1950s rolled around.

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  4. The cartoon so nice, it was remade twice: Hawaiian Aye Aye (1964) with Tweety and Sylvester, and Isle of Caprice (1969) with the Ant and the Aardvark. Both directed by Gerry Chiniquy.

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  5. Tossed coconut salad, fresh coconut milk, New England boiled coconut, ooh I HATE COCONUTS!

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    Replies
    1. Great character animation and Blanc performance of Sam trying to trick himself into thinking he's prepared delicious variations of coconut before he disgustedly faces reality. If you look quickly, Sam even covers his mouth as if to upchuck.

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  6. Chuck Jones's Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons seem to have influenced many of Warner's 1950s LTs/MMs in that, rather than being chase-oriented, they would be built around a series of blackout gags of the bad guy trying, and failing, to achieve his objective. The good guy was sometimes an active participant but often was just there, watching the villain's efforts.

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