Bonanza Bunny

Bonanza Bunny is a 1959 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson.
== Plot ==
In 1896 Dawson City, Yukon, a snow-covered Bugs Bunny walks into the saloon with a bag full of gold nuggets. Bugs has no use for these yellow rocks, admitting that he confused "carats" with the vegetable when he traveled to the area, having actually heard about the Klondike Gold Rush. The men in the saloon look suspiciously at Bugs, who requests a glass of carrot juice, to which an eager bartender give Bugs his best serving of carrot juice then comments that Bugs' rock "is pretty." Bugs pays the man with it, while naively saying "You like it, keep it! I will save the rest for souvenirs." Nonetheless, Bugs is shot at by a man who identifies himself as Blacque Jacque Shellacque, "Wanted" for claim-jumping, pogo-sticking, and square-dance calling. The shot breaks Bugs' glass of carrot juice, the crowd of other men in the saloon become frightened and hastily rush away and Bugs confronts Jacque about how rude he is.
Jacque thinks that Bugs is out to get rich and demands the bag of gold. When Bugs refuses to cooperate, Jacque engages in a series of tricks to seize the gold. One of the gags is Bugs' and Jacque's blackjack game, to which Bugs innocently says that he does not know the rules of blackjack and that "I only played Old Maid a few times for fun". Bugs requests to stand on one card, to which an enraged Blacque Jacque shouts "ONE CARD?!" to which he then softens his tone and assertively says "Oh, sure, sure!" clearly thinking this will be to his advantage to allow the supposedly gullible Bugs this irregular hand. Regardless, Jacque cheats (by drawing from the top of the deck and hiding a card up his sleeve) and deals for himself two "10 of spades" cards for a total of 20. "Beat that, sucker!" Jacque laughs, but Bugs wins with a single "21 of hearts" card ("Har har, hardy har har!") Bugs recovers his wagered bag of gold and calmly says "Well, that's the way the ball bounces, sometimes you gotta win, sometimes you gotta lose", to which an enraged Jacque roars to himself "Arggh, no one beats Blacque Jacque Shellacque!" In a classic Bugs Bunny trick, Bugs pretends to have a phone call for Jacque from "Fifi from Montreal"-actually a lit dynamite stick. Jacque takes the bait and gets blown up-but not killed.
Jacque corners Bugs in a back storeroom and in a form of armed robbery, holds a pistol to Bugs Bunny and demands the gold. Bugs then pretends to cower and "surrenders" the gold, actually handing him a bag filled with gunpowder, but not before cutting a hole in the bag and causing it to leak. The powder leaves a trail behind Jacque, who gloats at his "victory", and proceeds to run off into the mountains shouting "I'm rich! I'm rich!", without even bothering to check the contents of his ill-gotten bag. Bugs' lights the trail, which makes a gigantic and colorful explosion, aborting Jacque's celebration. "Gee, the Northern Lights are pretty this time of year!" Bugs remarks as he witnesses the explosion. Furthermore, as he departs, Bugs notes what people will do for a bunch of gold-painted rocks.
== Availability ==
Jlaser-bnm.jpg|(1998) LaserDisc Bugs and Marvin: Martian Mayhem (1997 dubbed version) (only in PAL regions)
Bumper07.jpg|(1998) VHS Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 7)
Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection.jpg|(2020) Blu-ray Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection, Disc 3 (restored)
=== Streaming ===
lt boomerang.jpg|Boomerang (2017 - )
== Censorship ==
* When this cartoon aired on ABC, two scenes were cut: the scene in the rumpus room with Bugs dressed as a cowboy pointing a so-called pop gun at Jacque, only for him to be shot in the face upon pulling the cork, and Bugs tricking Jacque into speaking to "Fifi from Montreal" on a phone rigged with dynamite.http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-b.aspx
== Notes ==
* This cartoon marks the debut of Blacque Jacque Shellacque, who would make one more classic appearance in the 1962 short "Wet Hare".
* Most of the scenes from this cartoon were used in the TV special How Bugs Bunny Won the West.
* The gag where Blacque Jacque Shellacque opens fire on Bugs and then moves to reveal his own wanted poster is reused from an earlier cartoon called "Drip-Along Daffy" where Nasty Canasta also tries to shoot Daffy Duck, then moving to show his own wanted poster.
** The scene afterwards of the patrons' reaction and dashing out was also modeled after this short.
* The dog barks heard from the husky pulling the sled Bugs rides on at the end of the cartoon are the same ones Mel Blanc would later use in voicing Dino the dinosaur in the Hanna-Barbera animated TV series The Flintstones in the 1960s.
* Two of the large sacks lined up against the back wall of the storeroom are labeled "Butler Spuds" and "Gibbroek Corn Meal", as inside-jokes to background artists William Butler and Robert Gribbroek respectively.
* Contrary to the narrator's description of Dawson City as "lawless", its laws were strictly enforced by the Mounties, as the Yukon was a part of British Canada. While there were certainly rip-roaring saloons, gamblers and even brothels, there was actually very little violence (unlike this cartoon which is very violent), and Sunday closings, along with a "no work" statute, were rigidly enforced; fishing or cutting wood on Sundays are illegal and one can be arrested for doing such activities on that day.
* This is the last Warner Bros. cartoon that Robert C. Bruce narrated before he moved into producing industrial films and television commercials.https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/greenvilleonline/name/robert-bruce-obituary?n=robert-bruce&pid=140779797
* From this point until the initial closure of the studio in 1964, all cartoons feature crimson Color Rings, with the exceptions of "Now Hear This", "Bartholomew Versus the Wheel", and "Señorella and the Glass Huarache".
* The line "the bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malibu Saloon" is very similar to a line from "Dangerous Dan McFoo", which was also narrated by Robert C. Bruce.
== Gallery ==
BonanzaBunnyCredits1.png
BonanzaBunnyCredits2.png
BonanzaBunnyLCsm.png|Lobby card
Tumblr o07ljwkClD1s92nono1 1280.jpg|Color guide
People Are Bunny Bonanza Bunny Backwoods Bunny Lead Sheets.jpg|Part of the animator draft along with two other drafts for "People Are Bunny" and "Backwoods Bunny"
BonanzaBunnyScriptSmall.jpg
== References ==
Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Robert McKimson
Category:1959
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Bugs Bunny Robert McKimson
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons animated by George Grandpré
Category:Cartoons animated by Ted Bonnicksen
Category:Cartoons animated by Warren Batchelder
Category:Cartoons animated by Tom Ray
Category:Cartoons with music by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Robert Gribbroek
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by William Butler
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Robert C. Bruce
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons produced by John W. Burton