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Acrobatty Bunny is a 1946 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson.
Title
An acrobat is a person skilled at balance and agility stunts, while "batty" is a slang term for "crazy" (as is "Bugs").
Plot
A circus is being set up just above Bugs' rabbit hole, causing much noise and vibration. The lion cage is set up directly above the hole, and the lion takes deep sniffs (alternatively yanking Bugs towards the hole or throwing him back) to determine that the animal below is Bugs. When the lion (whom Bugs eventually refers to as "Nero") roars again, Bugs comes to the surface to see what's going on, riding an elevator that makes twists and turns. Bugs tries to reason with the lion ("I'm the tenant downstairs, and there's entirely too much noise!"), but soon makes a hasty escape when Nero takes a swipe at him.
Nero manages to scare Bugs out of his cage, but he tried to swipe at Bugs again. So Bugs played around with the bars but Nero tricked Bugs and the thought he got him. But Bugs went back in Nero's cage and slammed it close. Nero initially went away, but he came back with an elephant and tried ram the cage down. But Bugs wound up a toy mouse and scared away the elephant.
Nero finally has had enough. So forced his way back into his cage and chases Bugs around the cage. Then they continued their chase around the circus grounds. Bugs at one point ducks into a dressing room, coming out as a clown trying to convince Nero to laugh ("COME ON, LAUGH!"), which he eventually does - until Bugs takes some whacks at the lion with a wooden board. The lion then chases Bugs into the big top, where they swing around acrobat swings. Eventually, Bugs tricks Nero into a cannon and sets the cannon off, causing Nero to do a hula in his 'skirt' (complete with a lei from Bugs) while Bugs plays the ukulele.
Availability
- VHS - Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs Bunny Classics: Special Collector's Edition
- LaserDisc - Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs Bunny Classics: Special Collector's Edition
- VHS - Bugs Bunny Collection: Bugs Bunny's Comedy Classics
- LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 2, Side 6: McKimson and Davis
- VHS - Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition: Volume 11: Wabbit Tales (1995 Turner dubbed version)
- DVD - A Night in Casablanca (1995 Turner dubbed version, added as a bonus)
- DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3, Disc One
Notes
- This is the first Bugs Bunny cartoon to be directed by Robert McKimson.
- This cartoon marks Bugs' second encounter with a lion, the first being "Hold the Lion, Please" (Leo the Lion). However Nero the Lion differs greatly from Leo the lion from Hold the Lion, Please, as Nero appears to be much more dangerous and aggressive in contrast to the dopey Leo, which is a much tougher figure that make outwitting it more delicious, though much like Leo, Nero isn't any smarter than Bugs.
- Robert McKimson would create such similar aggressive creature foes to battle Bugs Bunny years later such as Gruesome Gorilla and Taz.
- This cartoon was the second Looney Tunes short to end with the written "That's all Folks!" on target Color Rings and the only Looney Tunes short to end with special ending music.
- The previous Looney Tunes short, "Kitty Kornered", the written "That's all Folks!" on target rings but oddly used the Merrie Melodies ending music, most likely because the 1945-46 opening was still used on that cartoon as well as this cartoon and the Porky drum ending theme wouldn't make sense. The first to use the 1946-55 opening and closing renditions was "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery".
- This was the last cartoon to begin with the 1945-1946 rendition of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down", with brass and woodwinds, and the tuba playing the low melody part of the song. The next Looney Tunes short, "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" would use another abridged opening rendition from 1946-1955, which was done in a somewhat goofy manner, with the bass clarinet getting back to playing the low melody part of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down".
- The special ending music is actually a variation of the Looney Tunes ending music used for the Porky Pig drum endings, minus Porky's "Th-Th-Th-That's all, folks!" line.
- The gag where the panicked elephant picks up Nero the Lion to swat the wind-up mouse was used also in "Sahara Hare".
Gallery
External Links
- Acrobatty Bunny at SuperCartoons.net
- Acrobatty Bunny at B99.TV
- Baxter's Breakdowns
| Preceded by Hair-Raising Hare |
Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1946 |
Succeeded by Racketeer Rabbit |