Gerry Chiniquy uses some of the same drawings each time Bugs comes down but animates the rabbit differently each time he’s in mid-air. Bugs is a ballet dancer the first time, moves like an Egyptian the second time, is in a sitting position the third time and then lifts the rear part of his body above his head the fourth time before the gag—the force arcs Sam off the diving platform.
Naturally, Bugs waves goodbye to Sam.
Ken Champin, Virgil Ross, Manny Perez and Pete Burness also animated on this short, with Tedd Pierce coming up with the story.
Freleng and Pierce have almost a Jones/Maltese-like obsession here, in just as the fun of the Road Runner series was in the process of seeing how the Coyote would fail, when the end result of failing was already known, once the parameters here as established, we know Sam's going to be the one going off the driving board. The fun is in how he's going to go off of it (though unlike Wile E., Sam isn't the cause of his own destruction).
ReplyDeleteA great Looney Tune from Freleng and Pierce - the numerous ways Bugs finds to dunk Sam are truly funny and Freleng's timing is great!!
ReplyDeleteOne of the absolute classics, with beautiful and delicate timing, and terrific variations on the same joke.
ReplyDeleteWhat was great about the whole Bugs-Yosemite dynamic in this cartoon is the fact that we KNEW Sam was going into the water. But,Yosemite's constant climbing and falling and climbing and falling..never learning ..going back up, falling again, made this one an absolute classic.
ReplyDeleteThere's a very god, gag, but topical musical...referring to the 1946-47 song OPEN THE DOOR RICHARD:
ReplyDeleteSam:
"Open up..Open up..Note I didn't say RICHARD"?