Studio: Leon Schlesinger Productions
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Produced by: Leon Schlesinger
Short Synopsis
Elmer Fudd tiptoes into the woods with his shotgun, whispering to the audience to be very quiet because he is hunting rabbits. He finds a rabbit hole and pokes his gun into it. A grey rabbit's arm reaches out, feels the barrel, and bends it into a knot. Elmer sticks a carrot in the hole as bait; the rabbit snatches it and strolls out chewing, and asks: "What's up, Doc?" Elmer explains he is hunting a rabbit; the rabbit asks what a rabbit is, has Elmer describe one, and then reveals that he fits the description. From there the rabbit runs rings round Elmer: he covers Elmer's eyes and makes him guess who it is, kisses him on the nose, hides in his hole while Elmer digs, and plays dead in a melodramatic death scene that leaves Elmer weeping with guilt, then gives him a kick in the pants. Finally Elmer, completely broken, wanders off muttering. The rabbit plays his carrot like a flute and walks away.
Why It Matters
- Everything that makes Bugs Bunny is already here: the carrot, the casual "What's up, Doc?", the mock death scene and the kiss, and above all the calm superiority of a rabbit who is never really in danger. Avery reverses the hunter-and-prey chase so that the hunted animal is in complete control, and that reversal is the foundation of the character.
- It is generally regarded as the first true Bugs Bunny cartoon, and the first pairing of Bugs and Elmer Fudd in their classic forms. It was nominated for the Academy Award, losing to MGM's The Milky Way. Animator Mark Kausler identified the key ingredient as Mel Blanc's underplayed, tough Brooklyn-Bronx voice for the rabbit.
Notes and Trivia
- The rabbit is not yet named Bugs; earlier "Happy Rabbit" cartoons had a more manic prototype.
- Avery added "What's up, Doc?" himself; he said it was a common expression in Texas, where he grew up, and he didn't think much of it.
- See also: Porky's Duck Hunt (1937), The Milky Way (1940).