| The Wacky Wabbit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Wacky Wabbit is a 1942 Merrie Melodies short directed by Bob Clampett.
Plot
A fat Elmer Fudd is singing "Oh! Susanna" while prospecting for gold to donate to the war effort: "Oh, Susanna, don't you cwy for me, I'm gonna get me wots of gold, "V for Victowy!", not to mention a "Buy US Savings Bonds and Stamps" sign.
Bugs Bunny appears during the second verse and finishes it with Elmer, singing harmony. From that point on, Bugs pesters Elmer without apparent provocation, from burying Elmer in the hole he was digging, to cutting off Elmer's suspenders and revealing the girdle he's wearing: "Don't waugh. I'll bet pwenty of you men wear one of these."
Instead of fleeing, Elmer turns toward revenge, especially when he observes that Bugs has a gold-filled tooth: "I'm came hewe for gold, and I'm gonna get it!" A furious fight ensues, and Elmer comes up the apparent "winner", holding up a gold tooth, saying, "Euweka! Gold at wast! Heh-heh-heh-heh!" Elmer grins and laughs his usual laugh, and at the same time Bugs mocks Elmer with the same words, dropped-"r" and laugh, revealing that his tooth is intact and that Elmer is holding his own knocked-out gold tooth.
Notes
- Much like "Wabbit Twouble" directed by Bob Clampett the previous year, this short features Bugs as the aggressor provoking Elmer for no apparent reason.
- Fat Elmer would wear a girdle with his underwear again in "Fresh Hare".
- A short clip from this cartoon can be seen in the opening credits of the Futurama episode "Love's Labour Lost in Space".
- This is one of the pre-1948 shorts to fall into the public domain as United Artists, the copyright holder of the pre-1948 shorts at the time, failed to renew the copyright in time.
- Additionally, since the short has fallen into the public domain, it can be found on various unauthorized VHS tapes and DVDs in varying quality. It can also be found on video streaming websites.
- This short with "Peck Up Your Troubles", and the reissues of "The Merry Old Soul", "Booby Hatched", "Tick Tock Tuckered", and "Trap Happy Porky" has a special 1941-55 MM ending cue. Both USA and EU dubbed versions keep the original end cue, unlike most special ending cues.
- According to one of Cartoon Network's 2001 June Bugs marathon bumpers, after this cartoon's release, animation director Chuck Jones explicitly established a rule in future Bugs Bunny cartoons that Bugs Bunny must always be provoked in order to give the rabbit a valid reason to torment his enemies, as opposed to Bugs tormenting them for no reason whatsoever like in this one.[1]
Availability
- (1988) VHS - Cartoon Moviestars: Elmer!
- (1988) LaserDisc - Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs! and Elmer!
- (1992) LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 2, Side 5: Bob Clampett
- (1999) VHS - Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 7: Welcome to Wackyland (1995 Turner dubbed version)
- (2001) DVD - Cartoon Explosion Vol. 1
- (2005) DVD - Bugs Bunny! That Wacky Wabbit
- (2007) DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5, Disc 3
- (2017) Streaming - Boomerang
- (2020) Streaming - HBO Max
Gallery
References
External Links
- The Wacky Wabbit at SuperCartoons.net
- The Wacky Wabbit at B99.TV
| Preceded by Any Bonds Today? |
Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1942 |
Succeeded by Hold the Lion, Please |
