Ballot Box Bunny

Ballot Box Bunny is a 1951 Merrie Melodies short directed by I. Freleng.
== Plot ==
Yosemite Sam is running for mayor of a small town saying, "There's enough fresh air and sunshine in this great country of ours for everybody, and I'll see to it, that you'll get your share!" Bugs Bunny is underneath the podium drinking carrot juice when he overheard Sam pledging to make good on his previous promise to rid the town "of every last rabbit" if elected. Bugs, having spit his carrot juice out in disbelief, decides he needs to fight against Sam by running against him for mayor.
Bugs proceeds to quickly try and win the townspeople over, referencing Theodore Roosevelt's famous quote, "I speak softly, but carry a BIG stick!" However, Sam, declaring that he speaks loud and carries "a bigger stick, and I use it too!" has more than a few tricks up his sleeve. He steals Bugs' cigar stand, sends a boxful of army ants to steal all of Bugs' food, and rigs explosives in a piano and by the front door of Bugs' campaign office, all of which backfire on him. A campaign slogan seen on a pro-Bugs banner says that the candidate is "Loyal, Lovable, Literate." Bugs switches his "SMELLO" cigars with five-cent ATOM Explosive Cigars which say "You Will Get A BANG Out Of This", hides a dynamite stick in a watermelon, pretends that a pretty girl called Emma who loves Sam is at his door, and misplays the piano tune on purpose to infuriate Sam, who plays it right and falls for his trap for the fourth time.
While they are busy fighting with each other, the mayorship is won by a literal "dark horse" candidate: a chestnut-colored mare! The two then play a game of Russian Roulette. Bugs shoots at himself, but misses and shoots Sam in the face. Sam grumbles, "I hate that rabbit!" 
== Caricatures ==
* Theodore Roosevelt
== Musical Cues ==
* "Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms"
== Availability ==
Lt salute mb.jpg|(1985) VHS A Salute to Mel Blanc
BUGS BUNNY WINNER BY A HARE.jpg|(1993) LaserDisc Bugs Bunny: Winner by a Hare: 14 of Bugs Bunny's Best
FROM HARE TO ETERNITY.jpg|(1998) VHS From Hare to Eternity
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
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 - ) (PAL speed)
Lt itunes.jpg|iTunes ( - ) (re-restored without DVNR)
== Censorship ==
* Versions of this cartoon shown on Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny and Friends (both the syndicated version and the FOX version), ABC's The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show, and The WB cut the entire ending scene where Bugs and Sam play Russian Roulette after both losing the mayoral race to a literal "dark horse" by irising out after Bugs and Sam look at each other following the "Dark Horse"/"Mare" line.http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-b.aspx
** The Nickelodeon airing of this short shows the scene of Bugs and Sam looking at each other first, followed by the mare, and the short ends with an iris out on her.
* Cartoon Network and Boomerang also aired this short edited the same way it was on ABC, FOX, The WB, and The Merrie Melodies Show. The ending has since been restored as of 2011.https://archive.org/details/Jan2018Cartoons
** Some European feeds of Cartoon Network and Boomerang have aired this short uncensored, either using the Golden Jubilee tape print at PAL speed with high-pitched audio or the 1998 dubbed version (a.k.a. THIS VERSION 1998) print in PAL speed but with normal-pitched audio. This PAL print is shown on the Boomerang subscription service, albeit uncensored with the Russian Roulette ending gag intact, similar to some TV airings in PAL countries.https://watch.boomerang.com/watch/77/2
* In addition to the ending cut made by The Merrie Melodies Show, FOX, ABC, The WB, and the pre-2011 Cartoon Network and Boomerang, Nickelodeon altered the part in which Bugs plays his "juteybox" (read: Bugs' marching one-man band) and Sam shoots him by having Bugs' marching played in a loop and Sam yelling, "Shut off that juteybox! I can't hear myself a-speechin'" over the looped shot, followed by a cut to Sam saying: "Now, where was I?" This edit makes it seem that Bugs merely stopped because Sam told him to rather than be forced to do it by use of firearms.
== Goofs ==
* When Bugs plays two distinctly different sour notes each time, he is striking the exact same key.
== Notes ==
* Most of this cartoon was used in the TV special Bugs Bunny: All American Hero.
* The "dark horse" election as the new mayor is a pun joke; the term "dark horse" refers to one who receives unexpected support as a candidate for the nomination in a political convention.
* Unlike most cartoons, Bugs drinks carrot juice instead of munching on a carrot.
* There are several inside jokes found in this cartoon:
** The statue contains a list of crew members from the film. It reads, "Pro Patria 1865: Batchelder, Champin, Farren, Julian, Nicholson, Perez, Pratt and Ross."
** Building names include: Virgil, Ross & Co, Josiah Freep, Frizby, M. Perez, P. Julian Yard Tools, W. Foster Welding
* During the short, there is a box for a soft drink called "Moxie"; while not intentionally a reference, it is the same name as a popular regional soft drink of the New England region of the United States.
* The pre-2011 censored version that aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang is a horribly faded unrestored print from the Golden Jubilee tapes which has been time-compressed to PAL speed. The post-2011 uncensored version is the restored version on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 DVD set played at its original NTSC speed.
* This short and "His Hare Raising Tale" were the only two cartoons with orange color ring titles that did not have a fade in before Bugs Bunny's headshot on the opening titles.
* The cartoon was reissued in the 1959–1964 season, which removed both the original opening and ending titles with the red opening and ending titles. It, along with "A Bear for Punishment", had the orange opening and ending titles with black backgrounds before they were reissued.
* Clips of this cartoon appear in an episode of Ozzy and Drix.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCrPxafFnvM&ab_channel=AdrianAguilar
* MeTV aired a previously unreleased re-restored print of the cartoon on Toon In with Me uncensored with the DVNR artifacts removed. This re-restoration was later made available on iTunes Video.
== Gallery ==
Ballotboxbunnyrestored2.jpg
Ballotboxbunnyrestored3.jpg
Bbb sam speech.png|Sam giving his election speech
Bbb bugs bunny vote.png|Bugs seeks revenge on Sam for his plans on rabbit genocide if he is elected by running against him for mayor.
Bbb russian roulette.png|Bugs and Sam play "Russian Roulette" in this often-censored ending.
Goi4yq3bal4gb4.jpg|Lobby card
Extra1-1.jpg|Lobby card
Pub-Ballot-Box-alternate.jpg|Lobby card signed by Friz Freleng
Oscar-nom-1951.jpg|Oscar nomination sheet from 1952, showing that this cartoon, along with the Sylvester/Tweety cartoon "Gift Wrapped" and the Pepe Le Pew cartoon "Little Beau Pepé" were in the running to be nominated
BallotBoxBunnyProductionBackgroundSc-27-1199.png|Production background
Ballot Box Bunny (1951) - 2021 restoration - Intro and Outro + 23-seconds clip
BallotBoxBunnyRestored.jpeg|Cropped screenshot of 2021 re-restoration
Screen Shot 2021-05-09 at 3.06.37 PM.png|Screenshot of 2021 re-restoration from MeTV
== References ==
== External links ==
* "Ballot Box Bunny" at the SFX Resource
also see the List of Bugs Bunny cartoons
Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons
Category:Yosemite Sam Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:1951
Category:Looney Tunes Shorts
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist
Category:Bugs Bunny Friz Freleng
Category:Cartoons written by Warren Foster
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Hawley Pratt
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Paul Julian
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 produced by Eddie Selzer
Category:Cartoons animated by Warren Batchelder
Category:Cartoons animated by Sam Nicholson