Bugs and Thugs

Plot synopsis:
It begins with Bugs emerging from his hole in a city park, reading the newspaper on his way to the nearest bank, for a withdrawal from his personal depository of carrots. He reads that "Rabbit Season Opens Today" and comments on his pleasure of living in a "more secure" urban environment (miraculously avoiding heavy traffic crossing the street while reading the paper).
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Bugs, Mugsy drives up to the bank, which Rocky invades and robs of an undisclosed sum. Bugs accidentally walks into Rocky and Mugsy's getaway car – mistaking it for a taxi and the giant bags of cash for laundry. Rocky asks Bugs, "How much do ya know?" Bugs fails to realize that he is in the same vehicle as a robber who is asking him what he knows about the hold-up ("Who, me? Oh, I know a lots of things. Two and two is four, Carson City is the capital of Nevada, uh, George Washington was the first President." Rocky responds, "This guy knows too much, Mugsy. We'll take him for a ride") When Bugs becomes too gabby during the ride, Rocky points his gun at him and tells him to shut up. Bugs doesn't stop, so Rocky tells him to "shut up shuttin' up".
Bugs then asks Mugsy to stop at a "nice, clean gas station". Bugs gets out of the car and receives a nickel from the easily fooled Mugsy so he can use the pay telephone to call the police to report Rocky and Mugsy ("Hello, Police Department? I've got the bank robbers. We're on Highway 55, headed west. We're driving a '52 Acme - straight 8 - overhead valves - with California license plates!"), but gets pulled out of the telephone booth and they escape. The gag is that Bugs still holding on to the telephone – and a policeman with a thick Irish accent is pulled out of the telephone wire onto the road ("Operator – we've been disconnected! ooh-hoo...").
Soon, Rocky and Mugsy's car stops in front of a railroad grade crossing protected by a swinging "wigwag" signal warning of the approach of a train. Rocky tells Bugs to let them know when it's clear; Bugs morphs into Mugsy's profile and voice to tell Rocky "OK, Boss!" Bugs tells them to go and the oncoming train proceeds to smash into the car with Rocky and Mugsy still inside.
Bugs is soon forced to fix the car at gunpoint by Rocky. Mugsy was told to button his lip and Mugsy literally buttons his lip. Bugs repairs everything except one tire and says that they're stuck. Rocky tells Bugs that he is the only one stuck and forces Bugs at gunpoint to run alongside the car while holding the right front axle (Rocky tells Mugsy to take the "scenic route"). Soon, they arrive at their cliff house hideout. When Rocky tells Mugsy to take him into the back room and "let'im have it", Bugs easily convinces Mugsy that Rocky meant for him to give Bugs the gun ("Come, come, you heard what the boss said: 'Let me have it'!"). When Mugsy relents, he gets shot by Bugs and stumbles back into the front room and tells Rocky "I let'im have it boss, just like you said," and falls unconscious on top of Rocky, who quickly punches him off.
Rocky heads for the back room to really "let'im have it," but Bugs yells out a fake alarm scream that the police have arrived and surrounded the house. Bugs hides Rocky and Mugsy in the stove when they fall for Bugs' fake alarm. Bugs pretends to be the policeman with an Irish accent and be himself trying to hide Rocky and Mugsy. While "interrogating" himself, Bugs denies hiding them in the stove, turning on the gas heat of the stove and throws a lighted match in the oven to prove his innocence. The stove explodes, and "the policeman", convinced, leaves. Rocky and Mugsy crawl out of the stove, somewhat scorched. Not five seconds after emerging, the real policemen come and, in an exact match of Bugs' previous ruse, asks where Rocky and Mugsy are. When Bugs is about to throw another lighted match into the oven, Rocky and Mugsy quickly run out of the stove and piteously beg the policeman to arrest them. The next day, Bugs becomes a criminal-catching detective talking on the phone, as a member of Detectives Guild: Local 839 (a pun on the cartoonists' union), styling himself as "Bugs Bunny, Private Eyeball – Thugs Thwarted, Arsonists Arrested, Bandits Booked, Forgers Found, Counterfeiters Caught, and Chiselers Chiseled."

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
Clever and well worth seeing to see how Bugs outwits the thugs.
The cartoon does start off slowly, and the secondary characters are a little clichéd, especially the Irish cop.
But it is very clever and funny, with Bugs excellent as usual and the gangster a nice little addition.
Coupled with beautiful artwork, a good script, some funny gags-especially the oven gag- and nice music this really is worth seeing especially to see how Bugs outwits the thugs.
By the way, the title of the short is a very effective touch, and Mel Blanc is stellar yet again.Overall, while a little slow and clichéd, this is clever and funny and compensated by the usual ingredients that make these cartoons so enjoyable.
8/10 Bethany Cox. Bugs and Thugs was one of my favorites as a kid.
Bugs goes to the bank to get a carrot among many in his deposit box.
At the same time, Rocky has robbed it and is about to get in his car with Mugsy as the driver when Bugs comes in first mistaking it for a taxi.
When Rocky comes in with his bags of money, the rabbit at first thinks it's laundry.
He wises up and attempts to call the police at a nearby gas station but is caught by Mugsy before he can complete it.
It all results in one of the funniest police captures in cartoon history!
This was one of my favorites as a little kid and seeing it today on The Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Vol. 1 brought back great memories of watching this on "Bugs Bunny and Friends" which aired every afternoon at 3:30 pm central time on WRBT-TV, Baton Rouge, La.
(It's now WVLA).
Kudos once again to Friz Freling..
My favourite Bugs Bunny episode..
I slightly disagree with other viewers.
I very much enjoyed this episode - even though I've never watched any gangster films!
:-) I thought the jokes were very good, Bugs Bunny is just absolutely fabulous, the episode was exciting (more so than many Looney Tunes episodes) and the quotes were very good.
The animation is subtly good, it is not something to rant on about though.
**SLIGHT SPOILERS** The end part with the policeman is absolutely classic, probably my second favourite Looney Tunes moment EVER (my first favourite was the "The End" scene from "Duck Amuck").
**SLIGHT SPOILERS OVER**.
In this short, Bugs Bunny lives in a city and just when he has dropped by the bank to take out some carrots, he goes into a car belonging to two gangsters, thinking it is a taxi.
He finds himself in quite a lot of danger with these guys, but Bugs always somehow has Plans (often ranging from A- Z) up his sleeve...This episode is partly based on "Racketeer Rabbit" a Bugs Bunny cartoon made a few years before this.
Even though some of the gags are very similar, I prefer this one.I recommend this to anyone who likes Bugs Bunny (even if you do not like it you might as well give it a go), to people who like the idea of a Looney Tunes gangster episode and to people who like clever jokes with just that pinch of slapstick and farce in them.
Enjoy "Bugs and Thugs"!
A very funny but lesser reworking of 'Racketeer Rabbit'.
Having already kidnapped Daffy Duck and Tweety in previous cartoons, gangsters Rocky and Mugsy get out of their depth when they try and take on Bugs Bunny.
Friz Freleng's 'Bugs and Thugs' is an often hilarious cartoon which nevertheless pales in comparison to Freleng's earlier take on a similar scenario, 'Racketeer Rabbit'.
'Bugs and Thugs' climactic routine, which involves Bugs faking a conversation with the law while the gangsters are hidden in an oven, is taken directly from 'Racketeer Rabbit' but performed in a slightly more hurried fashion as if Freleng is already bored with the gag.
'Bugs and Thugs' is still a sufficiently funny and entertaining cartoon but it isn't nearly as handsome or well timed as its predecessor..
bugging the thugs.
Even if you're not totally familiar with gangster movies from the '40s and '50s, "Bugs and Thugs" still comes out quite funny.
When Bugs Bunny accidentally enters a gangster car while crook Rocky is robbing a bank, Rocky decides that Bugs knows too much (e.g., 2+2=4, Carson City is the capital of Nevada, George Washington was our first president), so they take him hostage.
As always, Bugs is ahead of everyone.
But it's not until the end, during a trick involving the cops - Irish, natch - that Bugs shows his true, normal colors.
I probably would have done what Rocky and Mugsy did.It's just always great how the Looney Tunes cartoons played off of the popular culture of their era.
Rocky was probably a parody of James Cagney, and Mugsy just seems to be a big excuse to be dimwitted.
Anyway, it's a really funny cartoon, even if we have to wait a little while until Bugs does his usual stuff..
Classic Bugs.
Bugs and Thugs (1954)*** 1/2 (out of 4) Bugs Bunny jumps into what he thinks is a cab but it turns out to be the car of gangsters Rocky and Mugsy.
The two think Bugs knows too much so they drive him to a cabin where they plan on shooting him but we all know the rabbit is a lot smarter.
This is yet another winning short for Bugs who manages to get involved in some really nice action as well as some great gags.
The gag involving him checking to see if a train is coming is certainly predictable but the laugh is still there.
Another great gag has to do with a gas stove.
Rocky and Mugsy are great characters as well and you can't help but laugh at them..
Not Bad, But Too Many Clichés.
Bugs inadvertently hitches a ride with bank robbers.
They have all the loot in bags which Bugs, at first, thinks is just laundry.
However, he quickly discovers the little guy in the backseat is a crook and the big oaf in front is the driver.They escape, despite being hit head-on by a train, to this little hideaway perched literally on the edge of the cliff.
The house is cool-looking as was the bright red '52 car, by the way.
However most of the gags are so-so, interesting to watch but nothing here to evoke any laugh-out-loud moments.
There were too many clichés, especially the big, dumb second- banana hood and the Irish cop..
"I must be dreamin'.
It couldn't be this easy.".
I always loved it when Looney Tunes parodied the old Warner Bros.
gangster pictures.
In this short, Bugs Bunny gets mixed up with a pair of bank robbers, diminutive Rocky and his dimwitted sidekick Mugsy.
This short is similar in many ways (including a lifted gag involving an oven) to the classic Racketeer Rabbit.
This one has a lot going for it on its own, though.
The music is energetic, the colors are lovely, and the animation is creative and fun.
The peerless Mel Blanc handles all of the voices so you know what kind of quality you'll get there.
The pace is fast and the jokes are very funny.
Bugs is as likable as ever and the two thugs are goofy caricatures you can't help but enjoy..
Shut up shutting up.
Gangsters Rocky and Mugsy are first introduced in the short that has Bugs Bunny getting into the getaway car of the duo by accident when he mistakes it for a cab.
The short is pretty funny, yet Bugs isn't really in the top of his form here.
Still it's worth watching and contains a highly quotable line or two.
The ending is a tad on the weak side however.
It's still the best of the Rocky and Mugsy shorts (they were in two others I believe, but don't quote me on that).
This animated short can be found on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1.My Grade: B-.
Very Bunny.
I was never too interested in the character of Rocky, he always seemed too one-dimensional and monotone.
Of course this is intentional but I could never excited when a Rocky and Bugs cartoon came on.
He was however great in Daffy's Golden Yeggs.This time around Bugs is taking it easy in the city as Rabbit Season (DUCK SEASON!) is kicking off in the country.
He hails a taxi to go for a cruise but ends up in the backseat of Rocky's getaway car.Seconds later, Rocky has robbed a bank and is using Bugs as a hostage.
Bugs a hostage?
Puh-lease!
He's got more wits and cunning in his baby finger than both Rocky and Mugsy together.Very clever hijinks follow with a very funny ending..
Nice gangster spoof with good Bugs stuff.
Bugs is just wondering out loud how lucky he is to live in the city away from all the rabbit hunters in the country side.
Distracted, he gets into a getaway car thinking it is a taxi and finds himself caught by gangsters who feel he knows too much.Although this is not really a great Bugs Bunny film, it is still a pretty funny cartoon and should be funny to anyone who has seen a single Jimmy Cagney gangster film in their life.
The usual Bugs stuff doesn't come till near the end where Bugs finally gets to play them for the upper hand, but all of it is funny simply because it works as a nice little Bugs film-come-gangster spoof.The main gangster is a great little cliché and works very well indeed.
He is milked for more laughs by having his sidekick be a big dumb gangster not unlike baby bear in Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears.
They play off each other well.
Bugs is good throughout no matter what he does and he is as good as always.Overall, this may not be the usual formula for Bugs Bunny cartoons but it still works as it has that as it's basic foundation but adds a clever little gangster spoof to the mix that will be funny to those familiar enough with that genre to laugh at the little stereotype involved..
Hilarious!.
This Bugs Bunny cartoon is a personal favorite of mine and for good reason.
Besides the very well done animation and superb voice talents from Mel Blanc, the jokes and gags were very funny and pulled off in nice fashion.
Granted, not the best Bugs Bunny cartoon ever made, but a definite classic..
This is one of the best Rocky and Mugsy Cartoons.
This is one of the best Rocky and Mugsy Cartoons.
The first of the 3 known Looney Tunes.This is Mugsy's first Debut.
While Rocky appeared in 2 earlier Looney Tunes before this one.First was one with Daffy and a Golden Egg.And the other involves Tweety and Slyvester.They all have Bugs Bunny in them.This Looney Tune is very memorable.
Has a lot of gags.And the best part is one involving a Stove.This is recommended to all the Bugs Bunny fans.Like one of the top 20 Looney Tunes that exist..
"The capital of Nevada is .
Carson City," Bugs Bunny blabs to a couple Conservative-looking bank professionals near the beginning of the Warner Bros.
animated short, BUGS AND THUGS.
"He knows too much," concludes the lead Acquisitions Banker.
It's already been shown by this point that Bugs is a sharp enough banking services consumer to keep his assets in a safe deposit box, rather than risking exorbitant banking penalties and fees, tellers' errors, identity theft, Russian hackers, and worse by maintaining a "bank account." When the bank's money managers realize that Bugs' financial savvy is paired with a detailed knowledge of the Seats of Government Power, they conclude that Bugs is the sort of person who can upset their applecart.
The remainder of this cartoon consists of a virtual fight-to-the-death between Bugs and the financiers who've kidnapped him.
Though Bugs is able to twice maneuver them into a gas chamber (where the worst Public Enemies were Euthanized during the 1900s), the Big Money pair get off on technicalities both times.
However, even today BUGS AND THUGS constitutes a valuable Personal Finance Primer for Young Americans..
Bust 'em, Bugs!.
Directed by Friz Freleng, "Bugs and Thugs" pits Bugs Bunny against mob leader Rocky and his bigger, dumber accomplice Mugsy.
Bugs gets the better of them, of course.Highlights: Rocky tells Bugs to get out of the car and check the railroad tracks for any oncoming trains; after Bugs imitates Mugsy in replying "OK, boss," he signals for the crooks to drive through, but they of course get run over by a locomotive.
When the police (phony and real) arrive at the gangsters' hideout, Bugs convinces Rocky and Mugsy to hide in the stove; to further prove that the crooks are not in the stove, Bugs turns on the gas and throws in a lighted match!
While at a gas station, Bugs calls the police and tells them he's been kidnapped by the two bank robbers; they drive off with Bugs while he's still on the line, and the policeman on the other end gets pulled through and dragged behind the gangsters' car."Bugs and Thugs" can be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 Disc 4.