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The Wabbit Who Came to Supper is a 1942 Merrie Melodies short directed by I. Freleng.

Title[]

The title is a reference to the 1942 Warner Bros. film version of the 1939 George S. Kaufman Broadway comedy The Man Who Came to Dinner, in which an overbearing house-guest threatens to take over the lives of a small-town family.

Plot[]

While out on the hunt for rabbits, Elmer receives a telegram from "Eastern Union" saying his Uncle Louie will leave him three million dollars in his will, as long as he doesn't harm any animals, especially rabbits. "We're in the Money" plays in the underscore. Elmer, with his rounded L's and R's speech impediment, of course cannot pronounce "Uncle Louie" correctly; it sounds more like "Uncoh Wooie". Bugs takes full advantage of the situation by moving in with Elmer.

As he showers and shaves, Bugs sings "Angel in Disguise". Elmer tries to coax Bugs into leaving, gently patting him on the head, which Bugs claims is terribly hurting him. When Elmer does get Bugs out the door, Bugs fakes a sickness, forcing Elmer to take him *back* in, fearing that any chance of him receiving the three-million-dollar inheritance may have gone down the drain.

After fulfilling the stipulations of the will and suffering all manner of hijinks from Bugs, Elmer gets a special delivery letter from his uncle's lawyers showing that, after taxes and fees, he has no money left to spend and keep for himself; in fact, he owes them $1.98 on the inheritance ("pwease wemit"). Realizing that even if he fulfills the will's conditions, he will not receive any spending money anyway, Elmer is then free to vent his anger on Bugs, and a chase ensues. Bugs escapes, but Elmer is given a large, garish Easter egg containing several baby Bugses who simultaneously ask, 'Eh, what's up, Doc?' and start leaping around the house.

Television[]

  • A.A.P. (1958-mid 1990s)
  • Bugs Bunny and Friends [TBS] (1979-late 1980s)
  • Tom and Jerry's Funhouse [TBS] (1986-1997)
  • Bugs Bunny and Friends [TNT] (1988-1998)
  • The Bugs Bunny Show [TBS] (early 1990s-1997)
  • Bugs and Daffy Tonight [Cartoon Network] (1992-1994)
  • The Bugs and Daffy Show [Cartoon Network] (1995-2004)
  • Acme Hour [Cartoon Network] (1998-2003)
  • The Bugs Bunny Show [Boomerang] (2000-2002)
  • The Looney Tunes Show [Cartoon Network] (2001-2004)
  • Looney Tunes on Boomerang (2003-2005; 2019-present via streaming)
  • TCM (2004-2007)
  • Looney Tunes on Cartoon Network (2009-2012)
  • Bugs Bunny and Friends [Me TV] (2021-present)
  • Toon In with Me [Me TV] (2021-present)

Availability[]

Streaming[]

Goofs[]

  • Elmer Fudd misreads the postscript to the telegram, as he reads "harm" instead of "hurt."
  • Telegrams do not have postscripts.
  • The numbers on the inheritance letter do not add up correctly, as Elmer ends up owing $1.98; however, by right, the final balance Elmer would be receiving, including the tax deductions, should be $902,932.04.

Notes[]

  • Like "Wabbit Twouble", "The Wacky Wabbit", and "Fresh Hare", Bugs plays a more antagonistic role to the short-lived fat Elmer design.
  • This cartoon was one of only four shorts to feature the fat Elmer design. However, two lobby cards erroneously show him in his regular design.
  • The song "Angel in Disguise" is from the 1940 Warner Bros. film It All Came True which, like The Man Who Came to Dinner, starred Ann Sheridan.
  • Bugs references a running gag from the radio show Fibber McGee and Molly when he threatens to call Uncle Louie: "Operator, give me Walnut three three fifty... Ohhh, that you, Myrt? How's every little thing?" Arthur Q. Bryan, the voice of Elmer Fudd, also played "Doc Gamble" on the show.
  • This is the first cartoon where Bugs cross-dresses; at one scene, Bugs disguises as a woman in lingerie when entering one of the rooms in Elmer's house, and Bugs (in drag) screams when Elmer opens, causing Elmer to close the door, only to realize that he has been tricked (this gag would later be re-used in "Hare Trigger" [1945]).
  • Bugs fakes catching pneumonia when getting thrown out of the house in one scene, which he remarks that scene will win him the Academy Award. Despite this comment made by Bugs, this cartoon was neither nominated for nor did it win an Academy Award. Bugs would repeat this gag again in "Hare Force" (1944), when Sylvester the Dog throws him out of the house and into the cold.
  • This is the only cartoon where Elmer does not hunt Bugs in his usual hunting clothes.
  • This short is one of several pre-August 1948 Warner Bros. shorts that lapsed into the public domain due to United Artists failing to renew the copyright by 1970.
  • A Tom and Jerry cartoon short entitled "The Million Dollar Cat" (1944) from MGM shares a similar premise as this short.
  • The gag involving Bugs using Elmer's piano to get his singing in tune was later reused in "Upswept Hare".
  • Vitaphone release number: 573

Gallery[]

References[]

External Links[]

Preceded by
Wabbit Twouble
Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1942
Succeeded by
Any Bonds Today?
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
Elmer Fudd Cartoons
1937 Little Red Walking Hood
1938 The Isle of Pingo PongoCinderella Meets FellaA Feud There WasJohnny Smith and Poker-Huntas
1939 Hamateur NightA Day at the ZooBelieve It or Else
1940 Elmer's Candid CameraConfederate HoneyThe Hardship of Miles StandishA Wild HareGood Night Elmer
1941 Elmer's Pet RabbitWabbit Twouble
1942 The Wabbit Who Came to SupperAny Bonds Today?The Wacky WabbitNutty NewsFresh HareThe Hare-Brained Hypnotist
1943 To Duck .... or Not to DuckA Corny ConcertoAn Itch in Time
1944 The Old Grey HareThe Stupid CupidStage Door Cartoon
1945 The Unruly HareHare Tonic
1946 Hare RemoverThe Big Snooze
1947 Easter YeggsA Pest in the HouseSlick Hare
1948 What Makes Daffy DuckBack Alley Op-RoarKit for Cat
1949 Wise QuackersHare DoEach Dawn I Crow
1950 What's Up Doc?The Scarlet PumpernickelRabbit of Seville
1951 Rabbit Fire
1952 Rabbit Seasoning
1953 Upswept HareAnt PastedDuck! Rabbit, Duck!Robot Rabbit
1954 Design for LeavingQuack Shot
1955 Pests for GuestsBeanstalk BunnyHare BrushRabbit RampageThis Is a Life?Heir-Conditioned
1956 Bugs' BonnetsA Star Is BoredYankee Dood ItWideo Wabbit
1957 What's Opera, Doc?Rabbit Romeo
1958 Don't Axe MePre-Hysterical Hare
1959 A Mutt in a Rut
1960 Person to BunnyDog Gone People
1961 What's My Lion?
1962 Crows' Feat
1980 Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny
1990 Box Office Bunny
1991 (Blooper) Bunny
1992 Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
2012 Daffy's Rhapsody
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