Bewitched Bunny

Bewitched Bunny is a 1954 Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones.
== Plot ==
Bugs reads the classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. The saga turns real as Witch Hazel tries to cook and eat some children. Bugs witnesses Witch Hazel coaxing the two children inside and goes in her house, but disguised as a truant officer, he saves the youths from her clutches. However, once Hazel realizes that Bugs is a rabbit, she tries to cook him instead, using a carrot filled with sleeping potion as a lure. Bugs eats the carrot and falls asleep, and Witch Hazel puts him into a pot to make rabbit stew.
While the witch is occupied, Prince Charming enters the house and kisses Bugs' hand. Bugs wakes up and says, "You're looking for Snow White, this is the story of Hansel and Gretel," and the Prince leaves. Bugs then tries to escape down a corridor but is trapped by Hazel. As she approaches, Bugs finds her magic powder and uses it to transform her into a gorgeous lady bunny who has a feminine voice but still has Hazel's laughter.
As he gets ready to leave with the bunny beauty, Bugs comments, "Ah sure, I know. But aren't they all witches inside?"
== Availability ==
W UK10553 LooneyTunesVideoShowNo18The.jpg|(1984) VHS The Looney Tunes Video Show Volume 18
LOONEY TUNES AFTER DARK.jpg|(1993) LaserDisc Looney Tunes: After Dark
Bumper03.jpg|(1996) VHS Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 3)
LTCE VOL 15 A BATTLE OF WITS.jpg|(1999) VHS Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 15: A Battle of Wits
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5.jpg|(2007) DVD Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5, Disc Two (with optional audio commentary by Eric Goldberg)
Lt spotlight 5.jpg|(2007) DVD Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 5, Disc 2
51LA0AzTVqL. SL500 AA300 .jpg|(2011) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc Two
LTPC VOL 1 DVD.jpg|(2012) DVD Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc Two
lt spotlight df2.jpg|(2014) DVD Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection Volumes 4-5 Repack
=== Streaming ===
Lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2022)
Lt max.jpg|Max (2024 - )
File:Lt itunes.jpg|iTunes ( - ) (restored)
== Controversy and Censorship ==
This short was the subject of controversy in Canada. In July 1998, a viewer who saw the short on an airing of The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show on Global thought Bugs' final line (after Witch Hazel is transformed into a beautiful female rabbit, but still laughs like Witch Hazel): "Yeah, I know. But aren't they all witches inside?" was misogynistic. Charlotte Bell, Global's vice-president of Regulatory Affairs at the time, wrote back, denying this. The complainant then filed a formal complaint with the Broadcast Standards Council (Canada's version of America's FCC) and implicated the Global executive who denied the claim into her analysis, citing that "Bewitched Bunny" contained sexist content and that the Global executive she talked to did not agree with her claim and refused to take action over it. Eleven months and three days after it received the complaint, the Council reached its conclusion: while the ending line can be construed as sexist towards women, the short as a whole does not, in fact, show women in an unflattering light nor does it break any of Canada's broadcasting rules and regulations.http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-cen-witch.aspx Because of this, Canada's Global network temporarily aired a version of this short where the "witches" line was replaced with, "Yeah, I know. But who wants to be alone on Halloween?" (taken from the American TV special Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special). When the verdict was reached that the original line wasn't in breach of any Canadian broadcasting rules, the edited version was swiftly replaced with the original. This controversy was briefly mentioned by Eric Goldberg on the DVD commentary of the fifth volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set. 
== Notes ==
* This short was used in Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales and Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special, but edited for time in both.
* Animator Chuck Jones, of his own admission, got the idea of Witch Hazel from the Disney short "Trick or Treat" (1952), which featured a good-natured witch squaring off with Donald Duck. Enamored of the character's voice characterization, provided by June Foray, Jones developed his own Witch Hazel character for "Bewitched Bunny". As Jones was unable to get Foray to play the role, Bea Benaderet supplied the witch's voice. Foray provided the voice for Witch Hazel in subsequent shorts.
* Jones created the character Witch Hazel, who made her debut in this short. Witch Hazel later appeared in "Broom-Stick Bunny" (1956), "A Witch's Tangled Hare" (1959), and "A-Haunting We Will Go" (1966). She also has a brief cameo appearance in "Transylvania 6-5000" (1963).
* Witch Hazel's cookbook has such cannibalistic recipes that involve flesh of children such as:
** Waif Waffles
** Moppet Muffins
** Urchin Pie
** Kiddie Kippers
** Children Chops
** Smorgas Boy
* The name of the author, Endor, on the cover of the book of recipes, refers to the witch of Endor in the First Book of Samuel, Chapter 28.
* The spices in Witch Hazel's spice rack are the following:
** Bee stingers with chutney
** Worm sweat residue
** Centipede bunions with chive
** Pickled tarantula elbows
* Both Hansel and Gretel speak with German accents in this short.
* This was the final Looney Tunes short to be broadcast during Cartoon Network's original 1992-2004 run of Looney Tunes on 3 October 2004.
* This cartoon updates the "Bugs Bunny In" title card to have a different font and placing the words "Bugs Bunny" into one line instead of two to fit with the updated fade-in to the title card instead of the curtain sequence used before 1954. This would be used in all cartoons until "Half-Fare Hare", where it would be updated again with a different Bugs design in "Wideo Wabbit".
== Gallery ==
BewitchedBunnyCredits1.png
BewitchedBunnyCredits2.png
File:Bewitched bunny.jpg|Philip DeGuard background
== References ==
 
Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons
Category:Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones
Category:Shorts
Category:1954
Category:Witch Hazel Cartoons
Category:Looney Tunes Shorts
Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Philip DeGuard
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Bea Benaderet
Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer