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Lobby Card
Bedevilled Rabbit is a 1957 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson.
Plot
A box of carrots is dropped into the middle of a jungle in Tasmania. Bugs pops out, wondering how he went from sleeping in a carrot plop to the middle of Tasmania. Suddenly, a group of animals (both wild and domesticated) come running through the woods, scared for their lives (Bugs mistakes it for “chow time at the zoo”). A crocodile (who turns himself inside out into a bag for a disguise) hands Bugs a booklet talking about the Tasmanian Devil and the many things it eats. Bugs reads “Eats Aardvarks, Ants, Elephants, Antelopes, Cats, Bats, Dogs, Hogs, Crocs, Gators, Eagles, Fish, Deer, Wolves, Chickens, Giraffes, Gazelles, Octopuses, Wildebeests, People, etc. — bet there's no such animal.” While Bugs is going through the list, the Tasmanian Devil comes roaring in and greedily says that it 'especially' eats rabbits as it turns to the page that says it and eats the booklet. Bugs is able to temporarily fool Taz into thinking he's a monkey, which Tasmanian Devils don't eat (though one of the animals seen running for its life was a monkey — ostensibly because all animals are scared of Taz). However, Taz soon starts chasing Bugs again. Bugs tricks "Baggy Eyes" into getting crushed under a tree but Taz manages to exit through a knothole in the tree. Bugs jokes around wondering what Tasmanian Devil pancakes would taste like, but he lets his guard down and Taz grabs Bugs by his ears and asks him "What for you say you monkey, when you got little powder puff tail like rabbit, Rabbit?!" Bugs ends up on a spit, trussed like a roast pig, as Taz puts salt and pepper on Bugs. Bugs is really nervous, because he is about to be eaten for lunch and has no escape plan, but luckily he sees Taz making a large salad to go with him. Bugs compliments Taz on his "mean salad" but informs him that the best thing to have with a salad is "wild turkey surprise," not rabbit. Taz, wanting to try it, unties Bugs. Bugs throws some sticks of dynamite together, lights the fuses and dresses the 'legs' up to look like they're from a turkey. Taz gobbles the dish, but doesn't seem too harmed from the explosion in his stomach. When Taz starts chasing Bugs again, Bugs runs into a store owned by a "Trader Mac" and pulls some items off the shelf to dress himself up as a Tasmanian She-Devil, whom Taz goes gaga over. Bugs 'makes out' with Taz and, with a bear trap for lips, gives him a big kiss, driving Taz wild. This causes the real she-devil (whom Taz married at the end of "Devil May Hare" in 1954) to come in and smack him across the head with her rolling pin. Bugs comments "She's a nice lady. Yeesh!"
Availability
- VHS - A Salute to Mel Blanc
- LaserDisc - Bugs Bunny: Hare Beyond Compare: 14 More Bugs Bunny Classics
- VHS - Stars of Space Jam: Tasmanian Devil
- VHS - Looney Tunes Presents: Taz's Jungle Jams
- VHS - Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition, Vol. 1: All-Stars
- Blu-ray, DVD - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc 2 (restored)
Censorship
On ABC airings, the ending where the She-Devil hits Taz on the head with a rolling pin is shortened. Also, when Bugs serves to Taz wild turkey surprise, the explosives were not shown, although the ensuing explosion inside of Taz was. "Pardon."[1]
Notes
- Most of this cartoon was used in the Thanksgiving special, Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet, but with a redubbed scene where Bugs tells Taz that he shouldn't serve rabbit on Thanksgiving, but instead serve Wild Turkey Surprise.
- Several elements of this cartoon (specifically the opening scene involving Taz's debut) were borrowed heavily from "Devil May Hare".
- The Tasmanian She-Devil calls Taz "Claude".
- This is the second and final classic era appearance of the Tasmanian She-Devil.
Gallery
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External Links
- "Bedeviled Rabbit" at SuperCartoons.net
- "Bedeviled Rabbit" at B99.TV
