Baton Bunny

Baton Bunny is a 1959 Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones and Abe Levitow.
== Plot ==
Bugs is getting ready to conduct The Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra. When he finishes his elaborate preparation, he starts to conduct. However, several problems plague Bugs' conduction, notably a bothersome Fly and some awkward cuffs that keep falling off. Irritated, Bugs attempts to kill the fly, crashing into the orchestra and the instruments as he does so. As the music comes to a stop, Bugs bows for the crowd, and instead of applause, he hears only silence. Bugs looks around to see that the seats are empty, though he does hear some faint clapping coming from the fly. Bugs bows to the fly.
== Caricatures ==
* Leopold Stokowski - silhouette at the beginning
== Availability ==
W UK10551 LooneyTunesVideoShowNo16The.jpg|(1984) VHS The Looney Tunes Video Show Volume 16
BUGS BUNNY'S HARE-BRAINED HITS.jpg|(1993) VHS Bugs Bunny's Hare-Brained Hits
LOONEY TUNES CURTAIN CALLS.jpg|(1993) LaserDisc Looney Tunes Curtain Calls: Classic Music and Show Business Cartoons
Bumper03.jpg|(1996) VHS Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 3)
BigTopBunny VHS.jpg|(1998) VHS Looney Tunes Presents Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny (1998 dubbed version)
LTCE VOL 5 MUSICAL MASTERPIECES.jpg|(2000) VHS Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 5: Musical Masterpieces (1998 dubbed print, without dubbed notice)
I Love Tweety - Volume 2.jpg|(2001) DVD I Love Tweety: Volume 2 (1998 dubbed print, without dubbed notice)
LT Golden Collection 1.jpg|(2003) DVD Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1, Disc Three (1998 dubbed print, without dubbed notice)
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection 1.jpg|(2003) DVD Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 1, Disc 1 (1998 dubbed print, without dubbed notice)
lt cas1.jpg|(2004) DVD Looney Tunes Collection All Stars Volume 1
lt cas12.jpg|(2004) DVD Looney Tunes Collection All Stars Volumes 1 & 2, Disc 1
Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960s Volume 2.jpg|(2009) DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s Volume 2, Disc 1 (part of The Porky Pig Show, without the opening and closing titles)
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 (1998 dubbed print, without dubbed notice) (Region 4 only)
LooneyTunes CenterStageV1.jpg|(2014) DVD Looney Tunes Center Stage Volume 1
lt cs.jpg|(2015) DVD Looney Tunes Center Stage
lt triple feature.jpg|(2016) DVD Looney Tunes Triple Feature
lt spotlight v1-3.jpg|(2018) DVD Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection Volumes 1-3 Repack
=== Streaming ===
Lt boomerang.jpg|Boomerang App (2017 - ) (1998 dubbed print, without dubbed notice, low-pitch version)
Lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020) (low-pitch version, restored, removed)
Lt itunes.jpg|iTunes ( - ) (low-pitch version, restored)
== Notes ==
* This is the first short to be directed by Abe Levitow, as well as the first Looney Tunes short to be directed by Abe Levitow, although it was also directed by Chuck Jones.
** Eventually Levitow would begin directing a few Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts either by himself or with Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble, around 1959 to 1962.
* Bugs conducts and, in part, plays the overture to "Ein Morgen, ein Mittag und ein Abend in Wien" (A Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna)", a composition by Franz von Suppé.https://www.amazon.com/Ein-Morgen-Mittag-Abend-Wien/dp/B01CLUA2RW
* This short was used in the TV special, Bugs Bunny's Overtures to Disaster.
* George Daugherty made use of the cartoon for his special concerts, Bugs Bunny on Broadway and Bugs Bunny at the Symphony.
* Although Mel Blanc is credited with the voices, there is no dialogue in the short. The only vocal effects made are when an audience member is heard coughing and Bugs makes a 'shooshing' noise. This is the only Bugs Bunny short (other than "A Corny Concerto") where Bugs is silent (apart from the 'shoosh').
* Although not a direct remake, the short is similar in concept to "Rhapsody Rabbit", where it features Bugs as a concert musician, in this case an orchestra conductor, upstaged by a pesky little creature, in this case a fly. The fly from this short, as well as Cecil Turtle, the Gremlin from "Falling Hare", and the unnamed mouse from "Rhapsody Rabbit", are the very few characters who managed to outsmart Bugs.
* A music fragment for the final scene was left unused on the theatrical release. It appears on Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1, Disc Three as a special feature as part of this cartoon's music-only audio track.
== Gallery ==
BatonBunnyCredits1.png
BatonBunnyCredits2.png
BatonBunnyCredits3.png
BatonBunnyCredits4.png
190093 10150124652793926 223597233925 6386733 7344744 n.jpg|Lobby card
BatonBunnyPreliminaryLobbyCard.jpg|Preliminary lobby card, signed by Willie Ito
1466BatonBunnyMikeMalteseConceptDrawing1.png|Concept drawing by Mike Maltese
1466BatonBunnyMikeMalteseConceptDrawing2.png|Concept drawing by Mike Maltese
BatonBunnyConceptSketch.jpg|Concept sketch signed by Willie Ito
BatonBunnyLayoutDrawing.jpg|Layout drawing
== References ==
fr:Bunny chef d'orchestre
Category:1959
Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones
Category:Looney Tunes Shorts
Category:Bugs Bunny Chuck Jones
Category:Cartoons directed by Abe Levitow
Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese
Category:Cartoons animated by Richard Thompson
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Tom O'Loughlin
Category:Cartoons with music by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Samuel Armstrong
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons produced by John W. Burton
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist
Category:Cartoons with no dialogue