Bugs Bunny, simply saying that name is redundant considering that he’s one of the most beloved and iconic cartoon characters of all time. Animation and comedy in general have been shaped immeasurably by his filmography, and everything has been discussed and analyzed to death about the works featuring him. With that said, I wanted to shed some light on some of the lesser known but still great cartoons featuring the rabbit. I am someone who appreciates the Looney Tunes shorts that get less mainstream attention and feel that the diverse output of the series is its main appeal. With that said, here are a handful of my personal favorite Bugs shorts that deserve more love.
Easter Eggs
We’ll start out with what I consider the most underrated short out of Warner Bros period. It’s a simple premise of Bugs being tricked by a burnt-out Easter Bunny to deliver eggs and the shenanigans that follow. It’s mostly a short driven by the animation and slapstick, but it soars in that department. From Bugs getting more irritated and angrier at his situation not working out, to Elmer Fudd elaborately planning to trap and make the Easter Bunny into stew, to the main highlight of an aggressive kid beating up Bugs on his first stop as the Easter Bunny constantly yelling at him “I want an easter egg”, it’s a short that escalates both in comedy and aggressiveness. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but its genuinely one of the funniest Bugs Bunny cartoons and I’ll simply leave it at that since its best to leave the jokes up to personal exposure rather than explaining them. The output of the director of this short during the time this was made, Robert McKimson, was defined by more old-fashioned gags and slapstick mixed with expressive animation and it resulted in some of the funniest shorts the studio ever produced even if they were not as ambitious or experimental as the ones made by the other directors. Sometimes, just some simple but effective comedy can make a short great.
The Unruly Hare
Another simpler short, this being a typical fight between Bugs and Elmer set around the construction of a railroad, this one is distinctive by being one of only two Bugs shorts directed by Frank Tashlin. He was one of the more interesting directors who made Looney Tunes cartoons in that he had two separate period of directorial work defined by different artistic approaches. His work in the 30s reflected comic strip art and art deco with filmmaking techniques such as deliberate editing and dramatic camera angles and lighting being consistently applied. He left briefly before returning for a bit in the 40s to apply more stylized animation with quick and strong posing as well as a further application of the elements of filmmaking he used in the 30s. He later went on to make live action comedies that reflected more the more fast paced and absurd qualities of animation. All of this is to say that this short is one of the most interesting ones featuring Bugs because there aren’t many like it. The animation and timing of the gags are all distinctive, fast paced, and funny. It results in a short that elevates a bog-standard Bugs vs Elmer short and showcases how Tashlin was one of the stronger directors at the studio through his techniques and application of animation.
Rebel Rabbit
If there are any shorts that compel me the most out of Bugs’ filmography, it is the ones that run counter to the pre-established tenants of the shorts. Shorts that either show Bugs with a more aggressive personality or have him on the losing side of a conflict. This one might be the most absurd in terms of its set up. Upset that Rabbits are only 50 cents in terms of hunting bounty, Bugs makes it his life mission to prove that rabbits can be a menace to society. What follows is a series of escalating scenarios of Bugs causing complete chaos across America. From vandalizing Washington, to selling New York back to the Natives, to closing the Panama Canal, to the most iconic gag of the short: sawing off Florida. It feels out of character, but its sense of escalation and execution make it funny. It almost feels more like a later stage Daffy Duck cartoon in terms of personality. McKimson tended to make Bugs a bit more irritable in the earlier shorts he did so it does feel like the logical extreme of his portrayal of this character. Of course, I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say Bugs gets his wish, but maybe should have considered if he wanted that in the first place.
Buckaroo Bugs
Speaking of running counter, Bob Clampett’s Bugs might have everyone else beat in terms of off-color portrayals of the rabbit. Being more a malicious and wild trickster and occasionally being on the loosing side of a conflict, Clampett portrayed Bugs in a more aggressive and versatile manner. Case in point is this cartoon where Bugs played the villain for the first and only time. He’s characterized as The Masked Marauder, a bandit who steals carrots, and is pursued by the dopey cowboy Red Hot Ryder. Ryder is a parody of the then popular comic Red Ryder. Funny enough, the creator of said comic, Fred Harman actually started as a cartoonist with the first group of animators working with Disney which included the future creators of Looney Tunes, his brother Hugh Harman and Rudy Isingm as well as long-time director Friz Freleng. Back to this short, the change in dynamic of having Bugs torment and aggressively brutal parody of western heroes is humorous and goes through all the usual and fun dynamics and trickery of these cartoons. It is highlighted by the rubbery and exaggerated animation that made the Clampett shorts so memorable and chaotic. The highlight is the climax where Bugs tricks Ryder and his horse to jump into the Grand Canyon and they sporadically try to get back out while falling mid-air.
Hare Tonic
Chuck Jones might have the most iconic output of Bugs Bunny cartoons. The Hunting Trilogy, to the opera shorts, and the Marvin the Martian and Gossamer shorts just to name a few. In fact, he established the most recognizable set up of a Bugs cartoon with him countering an antagonist who threw the first punch such as in A Bully for Bugs or Long-Haired Hare. Jones arguably had the most impact in developing the Rabbit into the beloved character we know him as today. I will admit, the cultural and corporate overexposure of these shorts has made me prefer other directorial outputs a bit more, but I can’t deny that they are truly great works that elevated the character and arguably cartoons as a whole. One short he made, Hare Tonic, is one that doesn’t quite follow the usual templates Jones did. It has Elmer Fudd taking Bugs home from the store to cook in a stew, but Bugs immediately gets out. However, realizing that it was too easy, he stays behind to trick Elmer into thinking there is a disease called Rabbit-Titus that transforms an individual into a rabbit. He disguises himself as Dr “Killpatient” (wonderful joke) and uses physical trickery to convince Elmer that the disease is real and that he has it. The short showcases Jones’ great understanding of situational comedy and matching sharp animation and dialogue along with it. It’s one that I tend to go back to due to its premise and how it utilizes it to its fullest degree.
Rabbits Feat
I don’t think I’ll break any hearts in saying that Bugs’ filmography declined quite a bit after the mid-50s. There are still plenty of good and even great shorts, but there’s a feeling that his character stagnated and became less interesting. Many shorts simply went through the typical Bugs Bunny motions without much difference or strong characterization. There were exceptions and this short might be my favorite of those. One of the few cartoons having Bugs go against Wile E Coyote (who was allowed to talk in the few shorts he appeared in with Bugs), this short has a more playful and almost childish portrayal of Bugs. From sleeping in a crib, to pretending Wile E is his father to confuse him, to kissing Wile E on the nose to taunt him, this feels more in line with the earlier shorts that allowed Bugs to be a bit weirder and more aggressive. This also has probably one of the more underrated gags in a Bugs cartoon with Bugs messing with the gun barrel of a rifle Wile E uses resulting in great moments of escalated slapstick. The short shows that even during a period of decline, the Warner shorts could still have interesting and funny shorts that didn’t feel tired and played out.
