Gorilla My Dreams is a 1948 Looney Tunes short directed by Robert McKimson.
Title[]
The title is a play on the expression "girl o' my dreams".
Plot[]
There is a trail of carrot tops floating on the seas. Bugs is stranded in a barrel in the middle of the ocean, but he doesn't seem to mind - he's reading Esquire magazine (considered an "adults only" magazine at that time) and singing the song "Down Where the Trade Winds Play".
On the island of "Bingzi-Bangzi - Land of the Ferocious Apes", the population is made up of gorillas that act like humans - they read the newspaper and read books such as "The Grapes of Wrath", have families and live in huts. (In the underscore, one of Stalling's jungle themes plays, its official title being "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals"). One of the apes, Mrs. Gruesome Gorilla, is sad that she doesn't have any children - though her perpetually grouchy husband Gruesome Gorilla cares little about having kids. Mrs. Gruesome walks toward the water and starts to say, "I'm going to...", but then spots Bugs floating in his barrel. Her mood instantly changes, and she takes him back to her treetop. Bugs finishes "Trade Winds" just as Mrs. Gruesome picks up the barrel, and segués into a full verse of "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat", which he finishes just as he discovers himself in the clutches of the ape. Mrs. Gruesome wants Bugs to be her "baby". At first, Bugs doesn't want to, but when she starts crying, he gives in "That's my soft spot - dames crying." Bugs soon regrets this decision when Mrs. Gruesome takes him in as her baby "Me and my big fat mouth!".
Mrs. Gruesome then presents Bugs to Mr. Gruesome - who is none too happy about having a baby in the house. Bugs tries to fit in, playing like a "monkey". Mr. Gruesome takes Bugs out for "play" in reality, treating Bugs abusively, but Bugs soon realizes that he's in for a violent beating if he sticks around. A long chase ensues, and Bugs finds himself trapped against the edge of a cliff. Bugs gives up and allows Gruesome to catch and thrash him. However, Gruesome quickly tires out and drops from exhaustion, with Bugs knocking him over with a mere puff of breath. Emerging as the victor, Bugs jumps up and catches a hanging branch, again playing "monkey".
Caricatures[]
Musical Cues[]
- "Sweet Dreams, Sweetheart" - Plays over the opening titles
- "Down Where the Trade Winds Play" - Sung by Bugs
- "Someone's Rocking My Dream Boat" - Sung by Bugs
- "Dinner Music for A Pack of Hungry Cannibals" - Plays when Gruesome Gorilla chases Bugs through the jungle
Availability[]
Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs!
Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs! and Elmer!
Bugs Bunny Collection: Bugs Bunny's Greatest Hits
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 1, Side 7: Bugs Bunny by Each Director
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 7: Bugs Bunny by Each Director
Looney Tunes Presents: Taz's Jungle Jams (1995 Turner dubbed version)
Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition, Vol. 11: Wabbit Tales (1995 Turner Dubbed Version)
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2, Disc One (restored, with DVNR)
Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Wascally Wabbit (restored, with DVNR)
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc One (restored, without DVNR)
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc One (restored, without DVNR)
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 8 Disc 1
Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection, Disc 2
Streaming[]
Notes[]
- The cartoon's plot is a parody of the many jungle-themed films that were popular in the 1930s and 1940s which often featured gorillas extensively (though not always behaviorally accurately), most notably Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan film series.
- The cartoon was remade in 1959 as "Apes of Wrath".
- A similar sequence where Bugs is adrift on the ocean was previously reused from "Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips" (1944) and then later used again in "Rabbitson Crusoe" (1956).
- Bugs' rendition of the song "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" from this cartoon would later be re-used as the ending theme song for TNT's 1990 Bugs Bunny 50th anniversary TV special What's Up, Doc? A Salute to Bugs Bunny, albeit with the song extended to fit the ending credits sequence with the first verse (Someone's rocking my dreamboat/Someone's invading my dream/We were sailing along/So peaceful and calm/Suddenly, something went wrong) played twice and the lyrics Someone's rocking my dreamboat/Disturbing a beautiful dream replaced by the lyrics Someone's rocking my dreamboat/Someone's invading my dream (again, repeated from the first verse) in order to cover up the traffic light and Tarzan yell sound effects heard in the original unaltered lyric part (Someone's rocking my dreamboat/Disturbing a beautiful dream) of the song,[2][3][4]
- The film was copyrighted on 27 December 1947, a week before release.[5]
Gallery[]
.jpg "Gorilla My Dreams (1).jpg (216 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig3291213libr/page/n118/mode/1up?view=theater
- ↑ https://vk.com/video-58512634_456242321
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib1MCfCk2n4&ab_channel=Originalaudiocartoons
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtIoCTL0a2c&ab_channel=SpecimenJe
- ↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries