The Big Game XXIX: Bugs Vs. Daffy was a four-hour marathon of Looney Tunes cartoons that aired on Cartoon Network from 6 to 10 PM on 27 January 2001, and again from 1 PM to 5 PM the very next day. It was the fourth and ultimately last installment in the "Big Game" series of marathon specials parodying the Super Bowl.
As a lead-in to the special, the previous evening's broadcast of Cartoon Cartoon Fridays was themed around Cartoon Network's own characters throwing a tailgate party in preparation for the game.
Like Sylvester vs. Tweety and Road Runner vs. Coyote before it, the majority of the special is devoted to a three-hour marathon of Looney Tunes shorts featuring Bugs Bunny and/or Daffy Duck, interspersed with analysis segments in the style of HBO's Inside the NFL. Jerry Glanville, Nick Buoniconti, Len Dawson, and Cris Collinsworth once again appeared as the hosts, now joined by former NFL quarterback Dan Marino.
The halftime show, which has sixteens sponsors (including the Carrot Board gloating over driving away the Spinach Farmers; see below), features a musical performance by Cow from Cow and Chicken.
As for the game itself, the following cartoons featuring the characters were used for each quarters:
- 1st Quarter: "Rabbit Fire", "Rabbit Seasoning"
- 2nd Quarter: "The Iceman Ducketh"
- 3rd Quarter: "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!", "The Abominable Snow Rabbit"
- 4th Quarter: "The Abominable Snow Rabbit", "The Million Hare", "Rabbit Seasoning" (altered without Bugs)
The game ends with Daffy winning 37 to 31, making this the only Big Game special in which the "loser" character emerges victorious.
Pregame Segments[]
- In the introductory segment, Jerry Glanville claims that he predicted the game's match-up from the start of the season. Nick Buoniconti, however, says otherwise, and runs a clip of Jerry saying the Big Game match-up would be Thundarr the Barbarian vs. Scrappy-Doo.
- Harry Kalas narrates biographies of Bugs and Daffy.
- Cris Collinsworth interviews Bugs and Daffy's respective coaches, Dexter and Mojo Jojo.
- Jim Huber presents a mini-documentary on the life of the first mallard to make it to the Big Game - Yakky Doodle from The Yogi Bear Show - and what he's been doing since his sports career ended.
- Cris Collinsworth interviews Dr. Drew about the physical and mental health of the players.
- The hosts discuss the "Elmer Fudd factor" and whether or not it will affect the game.
- Tom Clark reports on the tailgate party that Bugs' fans are throwing at Planet Hollywood in Pismo Beach, California, but he is unfortunately unable to actually show the party as he does not have an invitation. Meanwhile, Chris Johnson is reporting on the Daffy fans' tailgate party at Big Ben's Bowlarama and Donut Shop, during which she interviews a party crasher who claims to be Bugs (actually a poorly-disguised Matt Pecini).
- Harry Kalas analyzes Bugs and Daffy's taste in fashion in "The Fashion Stop".
- Kalas then recaps the previous year's Big Game, Road Runner vs. Coyote. Hilariously, he focuses on everything except the game itself, noting that he missed some details because his mother called him on the phone, and when he went back to check on the parts he missed, they'd somehow gotten taped over by a rerun of The Gary Coleman Show.
- Before the game starts, Kalas summarizes Bugs and Daffy's matches throughout the preceding cartoon sports season, noting that both players suffered injuries that resulted in their first losses of the season.
- The hosts give their predictions on who's going to win the Big Game. Cris, Nick, Len, and Dan all predicts that Bugs will win, while Jerry, continuing his running gag from the previous two Big Games, is the only one rooting for Daffy. Nick makes a bet, saying that he'll wear a dress if Daffy wins the game.
- When the game goes to halftime, Jerry asks if he can change his pick when it seems like there's no chance of Daffy winning, but he decides not to do so. After the end of the game, Cris, Nick, Len, and Dan are all shocked at Daffy's victory, and Jerry provides a blue dress for Nick to wear.
Throughout the pregame show, various segments are prefaced by sponsorship tags for Brak Chews, a candy named after a villain from Space Ghost. Other pregame segments are prefaced by sponsorship tags from rival food companies the Spinach Farmers of America and the Carrot Board, whose slogans quickly turn into insults against each other, until eventually the Spinach Farmers pull their sponsorship.
Cartoons shown[]
- Show Biz Bugs
- Bully for Bugs
- Robin Hood Daffy
- People Are Bunny
- Rabbit of Seville
- What Makes Daffy Duck
- Duck Amuck
- The Daffy Doc
- Rabbit Fire
- Beanstalk Bunny
- Bugs' Bonnets
- Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century
- Operation: Rabbit
Trivia[]
- This was the only Big Game special in which the "loser" character won, and also one of the only four times Daffy has ever beaten Bugs (the others being a Tang commercial in the 1960s, the very end of the short "Apes of Wrath" which Daffy makes a brief cameo, and in the New Looney Tunes episode "One Carroter In Search Of An Artist").
- Four cartoons ("Rabbit Fire", "Rabbit of Seville", "Robin Hood Daffy" and "Duck Amuck") were time-compressed in this TV special, due to them using sped-up PAL masters.
- "What Makes Daffy Duck" was shown in this TV special as the 1986 Cartoon Festival VHS print as seen on pre-1995 Cartoon Network airings, despite having a 1995 dubbed version print already made at the time this special aired. It is also the only cartoon from the a.a.p. package to be shown in this special.
- "People Are Bunny" was shown in this special as the 1997 dubbed version print, albeit without the dubbed notice.
- "The Daffy Doc" was the only black-and-white cartoon in this special, albeit presented in computer-colorized form.
- "Show Biz Bugs" was censored to remove the shot of Daffy drinking gasoline by replacing it with a repeated still shot of Bugs looking on in shock after his juggling act.
- Despite having a history of being aired in censored form on Cartoon Network, both "Bugs' Bonnets" and "Beanstalk Bunny" were shown uncut and uncensored.
- In the biographies given for Bugs and Daffy, as well as the recaps of how they've played throughout the season, Harry Kalas oddly does not use the actual names of some of their more obscure opponents:
- "These hillbillies" (Curt and Punkinhead Martin from "Hillbilly Hare")
- "This red monster guy" (Gossamer)
- "A dog" (Sylvester from "Hare Force")
- "A rabbit" (Casbah Rabbit)
- "A well-armed baby" (Babyface Finster)
- "This cowboy" (Red Hot Ryder from "Buckaroo Bugs")
- "An opera singer" (Giovanni Jones)
- "A dog with a fancy slingshot" (Barnyard Dawg)
- "A bigger turkey" (Tom Turk from "Tom Turk and Daffy")