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Bugs Bunny Rides Again is a 1948 Merrie Melodies short directed by I. Freleng.

Title[]

The title is a typical Western reference, as in "The Lone Ranger rides again", and also suggests a reference to the 1940 Jack Benny comedy, Buck Benny Rides Again. It could also be a reference to the Western film “Destry Rides Again”, in which James Stewart, as Destry, cleans up the fictional town of Bottleneck. Coincidentally, a minor character in the film is nicknamed “Bugs”.

Plot[]

After opening credits underscored by the "William Tell Overture", the music segues into a lively instrumental of "Cheyenne" as the action begins. In a typical Old West frontier town with the self-contradictory name of Rising Gorge, bullets are firing from every window across the street into every other window across the street. A hail of bullets flies down one street until a stop signal turns red and the bullets hover in mid-air while a second hail of bullets shoot by on the perpendicular street. The light changes back and just as the first hail of bullets is about to start, a lone bullet "runs the red light" at even higher speed, holding up the first stream. After it passes, the first hail continues.

Inside the Gunshot Saloon with the slogan of 'Come in and get a slug', two men are standing at a bar. One man is about to drink a shot of whiskey; the second man takes out his gun and shoots the first man. The first man throws his glass into the air and the second man catches it. A scream is heard and Yosemite Sam enters the bar. All of the patrons are afraid of Sam, yelling his name in terror while the underscore plays stereotypical "villain music". Sam says, "Yeah, Yosemite Sam. The roughest, toughest, he-man stuffest hombre whose ever crossed the Rio Grande... And I don't mean Mahatma Gandhi! (See "Censorship" below for more information about this line.) Now all of you skunks clear out of here!" After firing his guns, all the patrons run out, followed by a real skunk who retorts, "My, weren't there a lot of skunks in here?" Sam turns around to see a man trying to sneak out. Sam fires his guns at the man, who then turns into a firing range walking dummy, making a "ding" every time he is hit, with a score board above keeping tally. After that, Sam asks, "Be there any livin' varmint who aims to try to tame me?" Spying Bugs Bunny, he asks again, "Well, be there?"

No one dares to challenge Yosemite Sam except Bugs, sporting a cowboy hat and rolling a cigarette. After a brief silence, Bugs replies ... "I aims ta ..." The two slowly walk towards each other. Bugs asides, "Just like Gary Cooper, huh?" Sam declares "this town ain't big enough for the both of [them]!" Bugs tries to rectify that by running off-screen and, to sound effects of hammers and saws, quickly constructs a background of modern skyscrapers in the town, but "it still ain't big enough!" Bugs and Sam then face off threatening each other with bigger guns. After Bugs pulls out the pea shooter by accident, he flicks it at Sam, but Sam corners him and tells him "All right now, you wise guy! Dance!" while firing at his feet. Bugs grabs a cane and straw hat from off-screen, and goes into a vaudeville soft shoe routine, then says "Take it, Sam!" The diminutive villain, although startled initially, quickly breaks into the same dance, and is tricked into dancing into an open mine shaft. Bugs expresses sympathy for Sam. "Poor little maroon. So trusting, so naive."

When Sam returns to the surface and orders him to "start walking", Bugs dares him to cross a line drawn with his foot. "OK, I'm a-steppin'!" Bugs continues this schtick all the way out of town to the edge of a cliff, where the unobservant Sam steps over the line and plummets toward the ground far below. Suddenly stricken with guilt, the speedy rabbit dashes down a roadway, beats Sam to the ground and lays down a mattress, telling the audience, "Ya know, sometimes me conscience kind-a bodders me ... but not this time!" as he pulls away the mattress. Sam smashes into the ground, and the already pint-sized outlaw has been vertically flattened to a hat with legs, but he still comes up firing.

A horseback chase ensues to the tune of the "William Tell Overture", as the two ride on horses that are proportional to their own sizes. Bugs leads Sam into a tunnel, and again showing extraordinary construction talents, has time to don a painter's cap and build a brick wall at the other end, into which Sam smacks. After more chasing, Bugs stops the chase and points out that they are getting nowhere and are right back where they began. "Hey, wait a minute, Sam! We ain't gettin' nowheres! We're right back where we started!" Sam agrees.

The two decide to settle their differences by playing cards "just like in the Western pictures", with the loser being forced to leave town. "Gin rummy's mah game, Sam." Sam tells Bugs to "cut the cards", which he does using a meat cleaver. With a new deck, Bugs tricks Sam into playing a card that gives Bugs the win. "GIN! You lose!!" Bugs tries to get Sam to take the train out of town, but when the passenger car is revealed to be full of swimsuit-clad women headed on the Miami Special, Bugs fights with Sam to board the train.

Bugs prevails as usual. He leans out the train window, his face covered with lipstick from kisses, and hollers, "So long, Sammy, see ya in Miami!"

Caricatures[]

Music Cues[]

BUGS BUNNY RIDES AGAIN CUE SHEET
  • Gioachino Rossini - William Tell Overture (March of the Swiss Soldiers) - plays during the opening title and when the horseback chase begins.
  • Harry Williams and Egbert Van Alstyne - "Cheyenne" - plays during the opening scene and when Bugs Bunny wins the card game.
  • Harry Williams and Egbert Van Alstyne - "Navajo" - plays during the established shot of the Gunshoot Saloon and the interior.
  • Franz Schubert - "Erlkönig", Op. 1, D 328 - plays when Yosemite Sam enters the saloon.
  • Carl W. Stalling - "Yosemite Sam" - plays when Bugs Bunny challenges Yosemite Sam.
  • Gioachino Rossini - Stabat Mater - 8. Inflammatus - plays when Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam begin a duel.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 - I. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio - plays when Yosemite Sam tells Bugs that the town is not big enough for the two of them.
  • Carl W. Stalling - "Wise Guy" - plays when Yosemite Sam falls into an open mine shaft.
  • Richard Wagner - Götterdämmerung, WWV 86D - plays when Yosemite Sam demands Bugs start walking.
  • Carl W. Stalling - "Fighting Words" - plays when Bugs Bunny leads Yosemite Sam out of town.
  • Carl W. Stalling - "The Loser" - plays when Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam agree to play a card game.
  • Jack Scholl and M.K. Jerome - "My Little Buckaroo" - plays when Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny play cards.
  • Seymour Brown and Nat D. Ayer - "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" - plays when Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny see the women in the train car.
  • Lili'uokalani - "Aloha 'Oe" - plays during the ending scene.

Availability[]

All of the home media releases of this short have Yosemite Sam's introductory boast end with, "...and I ain't no namby-pamby" instead of the original line "...and I don't mean Mahatma Gandhi". As of this writing, the original version with the reference to Mahatma Gandhi has never been released on home media or shown on television.

Streaming[]

Censorship[]

  • On The WB, the beginning gun- and bullet-related gags are cut: the bullets stopping and proceeding at traffic lights, one cowboy shooting another and then drinking his beer as he drops dead (a similar scene in "Wild and Woolly Hare" (1959) would also be cut when aired on The WB), and Sam shooting at a cowboy like a wooden duck in a shooting gallery. The WB version also cut the shot of Bugs rolling a cigarette when Sam challenges the cowboys to fight him.[4]
  • Originally, Yosemite Sam's introduction line when he entered the saloon was, "Yeah, Yosemite Sam. The roughest, toughest, he-man-stuffest hombre to ever cross the Rio Grande. And I don't mean Mahatma Gandhi!" The line was replaced with "And I ain't no namby-pamby!" in the finalized theatrical version. The reason for the change is presumably due to Gandhi's assassination, which occurred that year on 30 January, before the cartoon's release on 12 June.
    • When distribution rights were sold to Associated Artists Productions, most, if not all, 16mm prints made for television had the original "Mahatma Gandhi" line. However, all copies since the 1980s, including television airings, home media releases, and on streaming services, have used the "namby-pamby" version.[5] As of 2023, Warner Bros. has never acknowledged the original version.
  • Cartoon Network's Arabian/Middle Eastern channel cuts out the shot near the end of the interior of the Miami Express Train, which features beautiful women in swimsuits. Other Cartoon Network stations, including in the United States, left this scene uncut.[citation needed] (May 2018)

Notes[]

  • The 1947–48 dubbed ending card is said to come from this cartoon, as the dubbed Looney Tunes card came from "Haredevil Hare" (1948).
  • This is the next-to-last Bugs Bunny release in the a.a.p. package, with the last such cartoon being "Haredevil Hare" (1948) - also the overall latest-released Warner Bros. cartoon in the a.a.p. package. It is also the last cartoon directed by Friz Freleng in the a.a.p. package.
  • This is the first cartoon to use "COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR" instead of "IN TECHNICOLOR", but it was shortly changed to "Color By TECHNICOLOR" starting with "Haredevil Hare" (1948).
  • When Bugs first appears, standing in a doorway, there are several references to production staff carved into the framework:
  • "Ken Champin Veterinary" is a reference to animator Ken Champin, a longtime animator in Freleng's unit.
  • "G. Chiniquy Blacksmith" is a reference to animator Gerry Chiniquy.
  • "J.C. Melendez Pulqueria" is a reference to animator Bill Melendez. He worked for directors Bob Clampett and Arthur Davis.
  • "Hadley Pert & Co. Feed & Grain" is a reference to layout artist Hawley Pratt. However, right before Sam emerges from the mineshaft, the name is changed to "Food & Grain".
  • This is the last Yosemite Sam cartoon to be sold to the a.a.p. package.
  • This is one of the few shorts by Warner Bros. Cartoons whose Vitaphone release number is unknown.

Gallery[]

References[]

External Links[]

See Also[]

Preceded by
Buccaneer Bunny
Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1948
Succeeded by
Haredevil Hare
Bugs Bunny Shorts
1938 Porky's Hare Hunt
1939 Prest-O Change-OHare-um Scare-um
1940 Elmer's Candid CameraA Wild Hare
1941 Elmer's Pet RabbitTortoise Beats HareHiawatha's Rabbit HuntThe Heckling HareAll This and Rabbit StewWabbit Twouble
1942 The Wabbit Who Came to SupperAny Bonds Today?The Wacky WabbitHold the Lion, PleaseBugs Bunny Gets the BoidFresh HareThe Hare-Brained HypnotistCase of the Missing Hare
1943 Tortoise Wins by a HareSuper-RabbitJack-Wabbit and the BeanstalkWackiki WabbitFalling Hare
1944 Little Red Riding RabbitWhat's Cookin' Doc?Bugs Bunny and the Three BearsBugs Bunny Nips the NipsHare Ribbin'Hare ForceBuckaroo BugsThe Old Grey HareStage Door Cartoon
1945 Herr Meets HareThe Unruly HareHare TriggerHare ConditionedHare Tonic
1946 Baseball BugsHare RemoverHair-Raising HareAcrobatty BunnyRacketeer RabbitThe Big SnoozeRhapsody Rabbit
1947 Rabbit TransitA Hare Grows in ManhattanEaster YeggsSlick Hare
1948 Gorilla My DreamsA Feather in His HareRabbit PunchBuccaneer BunnyBugs Bunny Rides AgainHaredevil HareHot Cross BunnyHare SplitterA-Lad-In His LampMy Bunny Lies over the Sea
1949 Hare DoMississippi HareRebel RabbitHigh Diving HareBowery BugsLong-Haired HareKnights Must FallThe Grey Hounded HareThe Windblown HareFrigid HareWhich Is WitchRabbit Hood
1950 Hurdy-Gurdy HareMutiny on the BunnyHomeless HareBig House BunnyWhat's Up Doc?8 Ball BunnyHillbilly HareBunker Hill BunnyBushy HareRabbit of Seville
1951 Hare We GoRabbit Every MondayBunny HuggedThe Fair Haired HareRabbit FireFrench RarebitHis Hare Raising TaleBallot Box BunnyBig Top Bunny
1952 Operation: RabbitFoxy by Proxy14 Carrot RabbitWater, Water Every HareThe Hasty HareOily HareRabbit SeasoningRabbit's KinHare Lift
1953 Forward March HareUpswept HareSouthern Fried RabbitHare TrimmedBully for BugsLumber Jack-RabbitDuck! Rabbit, Duck!Robot Rabbit
1954 Captain HareblowerBugs and ThugsNo Parking HareDevil May HareBewitched BunnyYankee Doodle BugsBaby Buggy Bunny
1955 Beanstalk BunnySahara HareHare BrushRabbit RampageThis Is a Life?Hyde and HareKnight-Mare HareRoman Legion-Hare
1956 Bugs' BonnetsBroom-Stick BunnyRabbitson CrusoeNapoleon Bunny-PartBarbary-Coast BunnyHalf-Fare HareA Star Is BoredWideo WabbitTo Hare Is Human
1957 Ali Baba BunnyBedevilled RabbitPiker's PeakWhat's Opera, Doc?Bugsy and MugsyShow Biz BugsRabbit Romeo
1958 Hare-Less WolfHare-Way to the StarsNow, Hare ThisKnighty Knight BugsPre-Hysterical Hare
1959 Baton BunnyHare-abian NightsApes of WrathBackwoods BunnyWild and Woolly HareBonanza BunnyA Witch's Tangled HarePeople Are Bunny
1960 Horse HarePerson to BunnyRabbit's FeatFrom Hare to HeirLighter Than Hare
1961 The Abominable Snow RabbitCompressed HarePrince Violent
1962 Wet HareBill of HareShishkabugs
1963 Devil's Feud CakeThe Million HareHare-Breadth HurryThe UnmentionablesMad as a Mars HareTransylvania 6-5000
1964 Dumb PatrolDr. Devil and Mr. HareThe Iceman DuckethFalse Hare
1979 Bugs Bunny's Christmas CarolFright Before Christmas
1980 Portrait of the Artist as a Young BunnySpaced Out Bunny
1990 Box Office Bunny
1991 (Blooper) Bunny
1992 Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
1995 Carrotblanca
1997 From Hare to Eternity
2004 Hare and Loathing in Las VegasDaffy Duck for President



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