Friday, October 26, 2007

Big Top Bunny 1951 (dir Bob McKimson)

Oh dear another Bob McKimson Bugs Bunny cartoon. Big Top Bunny is another weak cartoon in Bugs' hefty canon. Again it's unfunny,cliched and the villian is forgettable.

The cartoon starts out with Bruno the Slobakian Bear ( who's accent is on the point of being degrading) enjoying the high life. He is the star of the circus and is getting lots of accolades.

That is until the ringmaster introduces a new partner for his trapeze act who you is .... Bugs Bunny!. Bruno is instantly jealous and at first gets the upper hand by bullying Bugs but then the rabbit gets wiser and starts wising up to Bruno's antics.

the real and only highlight here is when Bugs challenges Bruno to a high diving contest. Knowing that Bruno desperately wants to outdo him, Bugs suggest some very silly diving heights and things to land in. Eventually Bruno announces that he will dive a 1,000 ft into a block of cement. Bugs further teases Bruno by trying to dive but Bruno's arrogance takes over his common sense and dives.

with the bear's skull cracked Bugs takes advantage and places Bruno in a cannon and blasts him off into the stratosphere.

I don't know why Bob McKimson's films bring out the worst in me. Could be the lack of wit. Sure he tried to play around with the formula ( not on this one though) but they just won't work. However his Foghorn Leghorn series are fantastic ( and there are some others) but his bugs is for the birds.

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