Rabbit Hood is a 1949 Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones.
Title[]
The title is a parody of Robin Hood.
Plot[]
The Sheriff of Nottingham catches Bugs eating the King's carrots and is about to arrest him, when Little John shows up and tells them that Robin Hood is on his way.
"The real" Robin Hood finally appears in a clip from the classic 1938 movie, The Adventures of Robin Hood, which starred Errol Flynn.
Animation Breakdown[]
The film starts out with a lengthy sequence animated by Phil Monroe where Bugs tries to silence an alarmed carrot patch. Monroe did the scenes up to where the Sheriff is lying on the ground with little kings spinning around his head.
Ken Harris handles the next short bit where Bugs is standing examining a wall and musing how he might get out. He is interrupted by the Sheriff who chases him.
Ben Washam animates the entire section where Bugs and the Sheriff are in the Royal Rose garden and Bugs turns the whole situation around and acts like a real estate agent. Washam's scenes continue to the point where Bugs is climbing the same brick wall that we saw him musing over before. The sheriff, who we see in the distance brandishing a bow and arrow, shoots Bugs down by grazing him.
Bugs falls into Little John's arms (he was introduced ignominiously in the first part of the film) in a Ken Harris scene.
Phil Monroe animated the introduction sequence between Little John and the Sheriff.
Lloyd Vaughan handles the next sequence, a protracted one in which Bugs laboriously heralds the arrival of an unseen king. The Sheriff knows it's probably a trick but because Bugs is so insistent he almost challenges Bugs to prove his assertions.
Ken Harris animates Bugs Bunny emerging in royal garb, bedecked with a crown and holding a sceptre, much to the surprise of the Sheriff, who bows down to him, and the knighting speech above. Harris' animation continues as the Sheriff sings "London bridge is falling down" while he's staggering in a stupor.
Lloyd Vaughan does the cake baking sequence, then it's back to Ken Harris as Bugs positions the cake so the Sheriff's face will fall into it when he collapses. Harris continues with Bugs' head nod and a lovely acting scene where he makes fun of Little John continually talking about Robin Hood's arrival.
Ben Washam animates the close-up of Little John and Bugs' take when he sees the live-action Errol Flynn from The Adventures of Robin Hood.
Cutting back to Ken Harris animating Bugs, the latter ends the cartoon with, "Nah, that's silly. It couldn't be him."
Availability[]
Bugs Bunny's Hare-Raising Tales
Bugs Bunny: Winner by a Hare: 14 of Bugs Bunny's Best
Bugs Bunny's Hare-Raising Tales Time-Life edition
Looney Tunes Special Bumper Collection Volume 9
The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4, Disc One
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 4 Disc 1
The Adventures of Robin Hood (restored)
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc One
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc One
Looney Tunes Showcase: Volume 1
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection Volumes 4-5 Repack
Robin and the 7 Hoods (restored)
Looney Tunes: Parodies Collection
Streaming[]
Censorship[]
The ABC version of this cartoon cut two scenes involving head-bashing violence:[2]
- The part after The Sheriff of Nottingham is duped into building a house in the King's garden was edited to remove the part where The Sheriff gnashes his teeth (with carpenter nails in them) and shouts, "Oooh! I hate myself!" then hits himself over the head with the hammer several times while yelling, "I do, I do, I do!"
- The "knighting scene" (where Bugs bashes the Sheriff over the head several times with a scepter) was cut short so Bugs only bashes the Sheriff over the head once instead of seven times.
Notes[]
- Errol Flynn received a personal copy of this film in exchange for the right to use his earlier live-action footage.
- This is the first cartoon to use the green color rings with a green background, and the only cartoon from 1949 to use those.
- The original "Bugs Bunny In" title to the cartoon was plastered over when it was reissued in the 1959–64 season.
- This is the final Warner Bros. cartoon to be released in Leon Schlesinger's lifetime; he died the following day (25 December 1949).
- When Bugs and the Sheriff are walking through the royal garden, Bugs' left arm briefly flickers between holding the Sheriff's arm and gesturing out towards the grounds.
- The "King Bugs" picture used in the background for the ending credits for TNT's 1990 Bugs Bunny 50th anniversary TV special What's Up, Doc? A Salute to Bugs Bunny comes from this cartoon, specifically the shot where Bugs remarks to the audience "Got lots of stamina!" after bashing the Sheriff over the head seven times. This is despite the fact that this TV special came out six years before the 1996 Time Warner-Turner Entertainment merger and TNT did not have the rights to air "Rabbit Hood" or any post-1948 Looney Tunes cartoons in general at the time.
- A 16mm black-and-white print of this cartoon with the original opening rings was found on an eBay auction in January 2025.[3]
Gallery[]
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