Saturday, December 29, 2007

Elmer's Candid Camera 1940 (dir Chuck Jones)

Vol 1 , Disc 3

This cartoon is quite pivitol in the Warner Bros canon as it is the first appearance of Elmer Fudd ( who evolved from the similar character Egghead) and a near definite version of Bugs Bunny. Characterwise both Bugs and Elmer are not fully developed. At this point Elmer is too thin and tall and his mannerisms are way too expressive but he still is a dimwit and his speech impediment is there. Bugs (but not called Bugs) is still pudgy and his voice is hoarse with a highly irritating laugh. He's more a prankster in the vein of Daffy Duck than the sly guy who is vengeful.

The plot of candid camera is very simple. Elmer buys a new camera and invades on Bug's territory. This allows Bugs to irritate and play tricks on Elmer. The final minute sees him booting Elemer into a lake - twice. It's not a spectacular cartoon but it's more one that protrays two major characters in a state of development.

No comments: