Ballot Box Bunny 1951 ( dir Friz Freleng)

Ballot Box Bunny is another one of those quirky Bugs Bunny films that I like. The fact that it has a false ending and one hell of a pun makes it more endearing.

It's election time in some village and Yosemite Sam is running for mayor. Bigs is not interested in the least, until Sam states that he will get rid of all the rabbits. This brings up Bugs' vengeful streak and he runs against Sam for Mayor ( and quotes teddy Roosevelt too!).

As one can guess Sam isn't going to settle for this so he tries his hardest to destroy Bug's reputation.Copying Bugs' campaign tricks ( which backfire) Sabotaging a picnic, creating a contraption that will blow up bugs when he opens a door, rigging up a piano ( something daffy did in Show biz Bugs)

Despite their fighting they find out that the election is won by a dark horse - A mare! A mare for mayor! ( what a pun!) so as a result they indulge in a game of russian roulette. Sam is first and misses. Bugs shoots and as there's the iris closing in we hear a bang. A 2 second pause and the iris opens again and we find out that Bugs missed and shot Sam instead. Sam's closing words are 'I hate that Rabbit' and the iris closes again.

I'm a huge sucker for trick endings so even if this cartoon was rubbish, i would gurantee that an ending like that makes up for everything. Fortunately the short is great so the end just brings the whole thing to another level.

tomorrow will be my last Bugs blog and then i'll be working on Daffy and Porky

Wabbit Twouble 1941 (dir Bob Clampett)

Now I adore Bob Clampett. He broke every rule in cartooning and you can still see the effects today. Zanyness , bizarre endings, puns littered about even vukgarity. Clampett started it all and he doesn't have one crap cartoon in his repetoire.

however he does have some weak ones and Wabbit Twouble, his first Bugs Bunny film is one of them.

Oh it starts promisingly enough - all the credits are in fudd-speak, that is every 'r' is replaced by a 'w' and elmers car enters the picture by moving to a samba like beat.

but it sort of goes downhill from there.

Elmer wants to go to the countryside for rest and relaxtion but gets none of it as Bugs decides to play tricks on him. ( the usual fare) For a Clampett cartoon this is absurdly normal. Things do pick up when Elmer plays dead cause he hits a bear but really this is Clampett restricting himself.

Eventually Fudd loses his temper cause he can't relax and starts to vandalise the park. As a result he is thrown in jail. Elmer sees the agvantage of this and starts to realx. After a couple of minutes though he finds out that his inmates are bugs and the bear, who is chewing a carrot as well.

the very last minute is typically Clampett but unfortunately the rest of the short doesn't really live up to his other cartoons. If you want to see Clampett firing on all cylinders check out the Great Piggy bank Robbery.

My Bunny lies over the Sea 1949 ( dir Chuck Jones)

Usually the average Chuck Jones cartoon is linear and knows exactly where it's heading but My Bunny... eschews that COMPLETELY, it almost harks back to the zany style that Bob Clampett perfected in his cartoons. Weird, bizarre and with some surprises, this cartoon is definitely an oddity.

Bugs is on his way Albuquerque but ends up in Scotland and the first thing he sees is a Scotsman playing the bagpipes. Bugs, having never seen such a sight thinks it's a lady being attacked by a monster and tries to help but ends up causing more problems. The Scotsman ( called McCrory) gets insulted and by means of revenge, challenges Bugs to a game of golf.

never has a golf game been treated weirdly. Misdirected golf balls, spontaneous golf pits, golf balls surreally disappearing in and out of holes. This is interesting stuff. Then when you think it can't get stranger McCrory then boasts that he is an expert bagpipe player. Thus from a golf contest it morphs into a music one in a the space of a few seconds.

the scotsman plays the bagpipes and then bugs enters playing the bagpipes as well, but with tons of other instruments attatched to it.

and the cartoon ends.

Now I love weird but this one just doesn't hold itself too well but because of the development, it makes compulsive viewing, there's a certain carefree spirit that's rare in a Jones flick ( or at least later Jones) . Watch, furrow your brow and then laugh.

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.

Big House Bunny 1948 ( dir Friz Freleng)

Big House Bunny is probably one of the few golden age era Friz Freleng Bugs Bunny cartoons which I don't like. Mind you in theory it has the elements of a great short. There's Yosemite Sam, an interesting plot and some eye opening cartoon violence. but it just falls flat.

Bugs accidentally burrows into a prison's backyard and is immediately arrested and put on duty by Yosemite Sam. After some failed attempts to escape Bugs then focuses on trying to get Sam in trouble with his superiors by sabatoging his plans. Sam gets fed up and kicks Bugs out. Sam's superior hears about this and Sam gets arrested proper.

true sam nearly dies by hanging on a noose and sitting on an electric chair. plus he tortures his boss quite a bit. However the cartoon is just not funny and surprisingly enough it drags a bit too.The botched escape scene is a bit interesting and Bugs does pull off a great switcheroo using his verbal skills but, no pun intentded Big House Bunny fails to get it's stripes - at least in my books.

Water, Water Every Hare 1952 ( dir Chuck Jones)

Water, Water every Hare is second cartoon to feature cult figure Gossamer, the red hairy heart shaped creature who wears sneakers. However it is a near by near replica of the 1945 cartoon 'Hair Raising Hare' so it doesn't get nay points on originality.

Like the previous cartoon Bugs finds himself in the castle of a mad scientist who wants his brain. In order to catch him, he sends gossamer to fulfill his duties. Bugs being who he is manages to play a few pranks on the monster. The grand finale is when bugs pours shrinking liquid ( or reducing oil to be more precise - and bugs is invisible while doing this) on Gossamer.

The scientist then tries to kill the rabbit himself by throwing an axe at him but misses and hits a jar of ether. Thus ensues a fantastic slow motion chase and Bugs finds himself in the real world again. Just as he's contemplating whther he was dreaming, minature Gossamer passes by.

Theres nothing really to say here. Timing is good, gags are ok but it doesn't have that punch that one would normally find in a chuck jones cartoon.Not even Gossamer is used fully and appears for a grand total of three minutes. Good but not great.

Rabbit's Kin 1952 ( dir Robert McKimson)

I stated previously that I'm not too fond of Bob McKimson's Bugs Bunny cartoons, well of course there are exceptions and Rabit's Kin is one of them. Here everything is perfect. A villian who's intelligence is disasterous, a running gag which involves verbal and physical actions and some great animation.

The whole thing starts off with a brown rabbit racing through the woods and diving into Bugs' warren. On asking what's the matter, the brown rabbit replies ( in a high sped up voice that's nearly incoherent) that pete puma is after him. Bugs, always willling to help his friend decides to subject Pete to a bunch of tricks.

At first we think that Pete is slightly intelligent ( despite his moronic voice) as he tries to trick Bugs into smoking an exploding cigar. Bugs simply hides it. Then he invites Pete for tea and the running gag starts here.

when Pete asks for sugar lumps in his tea Bugs pulls out a mallet and pounds Pete over the head according to the number of lumps he asks for. In the first sequence Petes asks for three or four lumps so Bugs hits him on the head and four lumps appear on his cranium ( well there's one extra but Bugs fixes that) - and then offers the exploding cigar that pete gave him in the beginnng of the cartoon.

Pete then dresses up as the brown rabbit's mother ( albeit extremly badly and he is caught out in a second) ( also take look at the animation in this part, fantastic) and bugs repeats the lumps gag, except this time with coffee instead of tea. When Pete removes his hat we find out that he has a stove lid on his head, however on removing it the head lumps pop out.

in the third and final scene bugs and the brown rabbit ( called shorty) go to Petes cave and bugs disguises himself as Pete's cousin ( although the disguise is obvious, Pete does not realise that it's a rabbit) and convinces him to light up the oven in order to cook the rabbit. When Bigs asks Pete the amount of coals he needs to heat the oven, he answers a 'whole lotta lumps' catches himself out and begins to beat himself over the head with a mallett. Bugs and the brown rabbit leave the cave while Pete is smashing is skull in.

This cartoon is well known and has a cult audience due to Pete puma. Yes he is an imbecile but a loveable one. Plus his speech patterns are recognisable and genuinely funny. Also his gait, gestures and facial movements are comical and add to his popularity.

Recently Warner Brothers have tried to resurrect him and cast him in Tiny Toons, as the guy who does his voice (stan Freberg) is still alive and is capable of doing his voice but it was a flop. Better to let one offs remain so!