Rabbit's Kin

Petepuma.jpg
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Rabbits Kin 1.jpg
RabbitsKinRestored.jpg|Cropped screenshot of 2020 re-restoration
Rabbit's Kin is a 1952 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson. 
== Title ==
The title is a play on "rabbit skin", but is also a literal term in that Bugs is caring for a "kin", here, another rabbit.
== Plot ==
A cute little bunny named Shorty, with a high-pitched voice, is running from Pete Puma, until he stumbles down Bugs Bunny's rabbit hole. The little guy tells Bugs his problem, "My heart pounded, my legs trembled, I was frozen with fear!" Bugs agrees to help him out. Bugs then proceeds to play tricks on Pete. Firstly, he asks Pete to stay for tea. He then holds up the sugar bowl and asks the puma how many lumps he wants, to which Pete Puma replies "Oh, three or four". Bugs repeatedly hits Pete Puma on the head, leaving him with three or four lumps on his head. Bugs then decides he gave him "one lump too many", flattening it with a reflex hammer. Pete had also offered Bugs an exploding cigar, and while Pete is dazed, Bugs puts the cigar in Pete's mouth and lights it.
Pete next tries to disguise himself as the little rabbit's mother. Once again, Bugs wants to have him for tea, but this time Pete declines the offer. He says, "But I don't want no TEA! It gives me a HEADACHE!" Instead, Pete suggests that he and Bugs have coffee instead. The "lumps" gag repeats itself, only this time the puma has protection in the form of an "ACME Stovelid" on his head. Bugs removes it with his "ACME Stovelid Lifter", revealing more lumps on Pete's cranium, which flatten him out.
Shorty enjoys the shenanigans so much that he wants to get involved. So, as the little bunny hops down the road alone, Pete grabs him and runs home to his cave, intending to cook him. Bugs shows up in a costume disguised as Pete's second cousin, Paul Puma. He insists on helping his "cuz" get the fricasseeing off to a good start by getting coal for the fire and asking how many lumps Pete wants for the stove. Pete says "You better give me a lotta lumps, a whoooooooole lotta lumps", then catches himself just as Bugs rears up to hit him again. "Oh no, ya don't", he says. "I'll help myself!" As the dimwitted puma repetitively clobbers himself with a mallet to give himself "a whoooooooole lotta lumps", Bugs and Shorty decide to leave Pete's cave, claiming that he's too smart for them, which is followed by Bugs imitating Pete's inhaled chortling sound "Ihhhhhhhh!".
== Caricatures ==
* Frank Fontaine - Pete's voice is an imitation of his character Crazy Guggenheim on The Jackie Gleason Show.
== Availability ==
Gfdgsdg.jpg|(1993) LaserDisc Looney Tunes: Assorted Nuts
Jlaser-bns.jpg|(1997) LaserDisc Bugs and Speedy: Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow (1997 dubbed version) (only in PAL regions)
BigTopBunny VHS.jpg|(1998) VHS Looney Tunes Presents Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny (1997 dubbed version)
Bumper07.jpg|(1998) VHS Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 7)
LTCE VOL 6 SUPPORTING PLAYERS.jpg|(2000) VHS Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 6: Supporting Players (1997 dubbed version, without dubbed notice)
LT Golden Collection 1.jpg|(2003) DVD Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 Disc One (restored with DVNR)
Lt cbobb.jpg|(2003) DVD Looney Tunes Collection Best of Bugs Bunny
Lt 3sdt.jpg|(2010) DVD 3 Spooky DVD Treats
Bugs Bunny - Wasically Wabbit Front Cover.jpg|(2011) DVD Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Wascally Wabbit (restored with DVNR)
lt bbot bb.jpg|(2011) DVD Bugs Bunny
Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection- Looney Tunes.jpg|(2013) DVD Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection: Looney Tunes (restored with DVNR)
Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection.png|(2020) DVD Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection, Disc 1 (restored with DVNR)
=== Streaming ===
lt boomerang.jpg|Boomerang App (2017 - ) (restored with DVNR)
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2022) (restored without DVNR)
Lt max.jpg|Max (2024 - ) (restored without DVNR)
== Goofs ==
* In the original 2020 restored print, the "Warner Bros. Pictures Inc." text does not fade out when the Merrie Melodies title card appears. Additionally, the "Directed by Robert McKimson" card was distorted due to errors from Photoshop. These errors resulted in the cartoon to be briefly pulled from HBO Max upon its discovery, before being added back with these errors fixed. However, as MeTV still airs the original HBO Max print, these errors are still present on that network.
== Notes ==
* This is the debut of Pete Puma. Although Pete was originally a one-shot character, him gaining a cult-following brought him back for cameos in later spin-off shows such as Tiny Toon Adventures, The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries and The Looney Tunes Show. Pete would get another role in "Pullet Surprise", which was produced by Chuck Jones and directed by Darrell Van Citters.
* According to the audio commentary for this cartoon on Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 DVD release by Stan Freberg, Shorty is referred to as Bugs' nephew.
== Gallery ==
RabbitsKinCredits1.png
RabbitsKinCredits2.png
File:Rabbit's Kin (1952) - Searching.jpg
File:Rabbit's Kin (1952) - Mother.jpg
Rabbits-Kin-page-1.jpg
Rabbits-Kin-page-2.jpg
RabbitsKinLobbyCard-600.jpg|Lobby card
== External links ==
* Baxter's Breakdowns animator breakdown at Cartoon Research
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Robert McKimson
Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:1952
Category:Bugs Bunny Robert McKimson
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons animated by Charles McKimson
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Robert Givens
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc