Bully for Bugs 1953 (dir Chuck Jones)

Bully for Bugs has got to be one of my top three 'Bugs revenge' cartoons, the other two being 1949's 'Long-Haired Hare' and 1951's simply brilliant 'Bunny Hugged' There are some more I like but it these ones I always return to. Not only is the humour and gags fast paced and flowing but each movement is practically memorable.

Bully... actually had a very interesting genesis. When Leon Schlesinger left the Warner Brother Studios, Eddie Selzer took over ( and that's when the best looney tunes were created - imo of course). Selzer had no sense of humour or a love for cartoons so when he said something Jones and co would do the opposite and it would lead to a great short.

ANYWAY

Jones wanted to do a short on bullfightin and Selzer refused, so Jones did it anyways and created one of the most well known Bugs Bunny cartoons. However originally the matador was going to be the baddie but when Jones actually attended proper bullfights ( and music director Carl Stalling recorded bull fight crowds - with great difficulty) he found out that he pitied the bullfighter and reversed roles.

The cartoon starts off with bugs accidentally tunneling into a bullring and facing a frightened matador. Perplexed at the matador's cowardness bugs stay pondering his predicament while the bull notices him and breathes on his tale. This irritates Bugs and he starts giving the bull a tongue lashing. The bull butts Bugs into the air and ..

'of course you that this means war'

as usual Bugs starts employing his little bag of tricks. An anvil hidden behind his cape, the famous nose slapping dance and a shotgun which the bull accidentally swallows.

Bugs is always one for great finales so when the bull runs out of the stadium for one super killing, bugs plans one of the biggest booby traps he's ever made.

As the bull charges he slips on some grease, goes flying into the air, goes over sandpaper covered in glue, passes over a match, the friction of the sandpaper causing it to light up, which sets off a barrell of TNT which explodes as the bull enters the area and makes hin crash into a wooden target.

Bugs then appears with the end written on his cape.


The astonishing thing about this short is how breathtaking it is. The audience is left in suspense for a full 7 minutes and not once will you take a breather. All the tricks here are true classics, the nose slapping dance being the most memorable.The best Bugs bunny cartoon ever? maybe?