Rabbit Seasoning is a 1952 Merrie Melodies short directed by Charles M. Jones.
Plot[]
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck argue over which of them is "in season". It is really Duck Season as Daffy says while hidden from Bugs in the beginning. A befuddled Elmer Fudd tries to figure out which animal is telling the truth. Between using sneaky plays-on-words, and dressing himself in women's clothing, including a Lana Turner-style sweater, Bugs manages to escape unscathed, while Daffy repeatedly has his beak blown off, upside-down, or sideways, by Elmer Fudd.
Availability[]
Streaming[]
Censorship[]
- Like "Rabbit Fire" and "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!", all scenes of Daffy getting blasted by Elmer's shotgun were edited when aired in the 1980s and 1990s on ABC, CBS, the syndicated and Fox network versions of Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny & Friends, and The WB. While ABC, Fox, and the syndicated versions replaced the actual shots of Elmer firing at Daffy's head with a still shot of Bugs Bunny looking off-screen (or, in the case of the end of "Rabbit Seasoning", freeze-framed on the shot of the cabin when Elmer and Daffy go inside) and had the audio play normally, CBS and WB spliced out any and all scenes (both visual and audio) of Daffy getting shot.[1]
Notes[]
- A small scene from this cartoon was used in The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Movie.
- Although there were a few cartoons released after this with the blue Color Rings red background from the 1951–52 season, this cartoon was the first to be in the 1952–53 season, evident from the rings.
- This cartoon was released the day before Chuck Jones' (the director's) 40th birthday.
- When shown on Cartoon Network and Boomerang, this short plays in PAL audio.
- This cartoon is the sequel to "Rabbit Fire", and the second entry in the "Hunter's trilogy" directed by Jones and written by Michael Maltese (the only major difference in format between "Rabbit Fire" and "Rabbit Seasoning" is that the former takes place during the springtime, while the latter takes place in autumn. The third cartoon in the set, "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!", takes place in the winter.)
- This cartoon is widely considered among Jones' best and most important films. In Jerry Beck's 1994 book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons, it is listed at number thirty.[2]
- Vitaphone release number: 2199
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ The Censored Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Page: Q-R http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-q-r.aspx
- ↑ Beck, Jerry (1994). The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals. Turner Publishing, page 133–135. ISBN 978-1878685490.
External Links[]
- "Rabbit Seasoning" at SuperCartoons.net
- "Rabbit Seasoning" at B98.TV
- "Rabbit Seasoning" at the SFX Resource Wiki