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BUGS BUNNY

March 17, 2007 – 7:29 am

BUGS BUNNY

Bugs Bunny is the most famous cartoon character from the stable of Warner Brothers. He debuted in “A Wild Hare” in 1940. The credit for his creation is given to Tex Avery along with Ben “Bugs” Hardaway and many others. His voice accent is an equal mix of Bronx accent and Brooklyn accent according to Mel Blanc who was the first one to lend his voice for Bugs. “Bugs” is used as a nickname meaning crazy.

Bugs’ most famous catch phrase is “Eh, what’s up, Doc?” which was first uttered by Bugs in “A Wild Hare”. This movie was directed by Tex Avery and was nominated for Oscars. Till then he had no name, he was called “Bugs Bunny” onscreen for the first time in “Elmer’s Pet Rabbit” which was directed by Chuck Jones and released in 1941. This was his second appearance. Bugs is always shown having a feud with Daffy Duck, Marvin the Martian, Elmer Fudd and a lot of other toons. After being bullied or cheated in one way or other Bugs retaliates by saying “Of course you realize, ‘DIS means war!”. He wreaks havoc on his opponents eventually emerging victorious in most of them. This is true for most of the films directed by Chuck Jones. In the films directed by Friz Freleng he is shown as someone who goes out of his way to help others but managing a mischief in the process. 

“What’s up, Doc?” was a common expression in Texas from where the director Tex Avery hailed. He wrote this line never giving it much importance. In wildest of his dreams he wouldn’t have imagined that the audience would go crazy over this phrase. Almost all cartoons starring Bugs Bunny show him eating a carrot and uttering the phrase.

“Tortoise Beats Hare”, directed by Tex Avery; “Hiawatha’s Rabbit Hunt” directed by Friz Freleng; “All This and Rabbit Stew”, directed by Avery; “The Heckling Hare”, directed by Avery and “Wabbit Twouble”, directed by Robert Clampett were the shorts of Bugs released in 1941. During the World War 2 Bugs was shown at odds with America’s biggest enemies at that time such as Adolf Hitler and the Japanese. Some of the notable shorts of this period are “The Wabbit Who Came to Supper”, “Hold the Lion, Please”, “Any Bonds Today”, “Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips”, “Falling Hare”, “What’s Cookin’ Doc?”, “Super-Rabbit” and “Bugs Bunny and The Three Bears”. After the war Bugs Bunny appeared in a number of shorts. He made his last theatrical appearance in “False Hare” in 1964.
Bugs Bunny also starred in feature film “Who framed Roger Rabbit” made by Disney with his rival Mickey Mouse. It is said that both the cartoons were given equal screen time right down to a single second. He also starred in “Space Jam” co-starring Michael Jordan. and “Looney Tunes: Back in Action”.
“Knighty Knight Bugs” released in 1958 won the Academy Award for Best Short Subjects: Cartoons. “What’s Opera, Doc?” directed by Chuck Jones and released in 1957 was the first cartoon short to be selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Bugs Bunny has his own star on the Hollywood walk of Fame. In 1997, Bugs was honored when he became the first cartoon character to appear on a U.S. postal stamp.