Broom-Stick Bunny

Broom-Stick Bunny is a 1956 Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones.
== Plot ==
It's Halloween night, and Witch Hazel's brewing some kind of magic potion. As she goes about her business, she pauses at her magic mirror and asks it who's the ugliest one of all. The genie in the mirror replies that she, Witch Hazel, is the ugliest one of all, "By my troth, I will avow: there's none that's uglier than thou". Hazel explains to the audience that she's "deathly afraid" of getting prettier as she gets older.
Meanwhile, Bugs Bunny's out trick-or-treating dressed as a witch, his face hidden by an ugly green mask. He calls on Witch Hazel, who, seeing his costume, mistakes him for an actual witch. "I don't remember seeing her at any of the union meetings." After making a comment about Bugs's appearance, "Isn't she the ugliest little thing", she dashes to her magic mirror and asks it a second time who's the ugliest one of all. The genie in the mirror, also not realizing that Bugs is just a rabbit in a costume, admits that he actually finds Bugs far uglier. "Thou wert the ugliest one, 'tis true. But that creep is uglier far than you." 
The jealous witch hatches a plot: she invites the disguised Bugs in for tea and prepares a brew containing various beauty enhancers. Bugs is about to drink the tea when he remembers that he's still wearing his mask, and takes it off. Seeing that her "rival" is actually a rabbit, Witch Hazel dashes off to consult her potion book. Sure enough, the last ingredient for the potion she was brewing earlier is a rabbit's clavicle.
While she's gone, Bugs suspects there's trouble afoot and makes to leave ("You know, my delicate inner sense of danger warns me that there's something faintly unhealthy in the atmosphere of this cottage"), but he's stopped at the door by Witch Hazel brandishing a meat cleaver. Bugs flees, stating, "Uh, pardon me, auntie, but uh, I've got a lot of trick-or-treatin' to catch up on so I'll bid you a civil adieu!", with the cackling witch chasing him throughout her house.
She dashes to her magic broom closet to grab her flying broomstick to keep up with him, but she had accidentally grabbed her magic sweeping broom, which starts sweeping with her on it before she lets go. "Crazy me, that was my sweeping broom," she says. As Bugs hides, knowing "that old bag means to do me serious hurt!" Witch Hazel finally traps Bugs using a carrot on a fishing rod.
Back at her cauldron, Hazel prepares to kill Bugs and use him in her potion. She's about to bring her cleaver down on the trussed-up rabbit, but he plays to her sympathies, gazing back at her with tear-filled doe eyes. Hazel then bursts into tears, claiming his innocent face reminds her of Paul, her pet tarantula. Bugs tries comforting her by bringing her the cup of beauty elixir disguised as tea, which she unknowingly drinks. Witch Hazel instantly changes into a gorgeous redhead with a curvy figure (naturally, Milt Franklyn strikes up "Oh, You Beautiful Doll"), which of course horrifies her, since she was a woman known for relishing her croniness.
Horrified, Hazel dashes to her magic mirror a third time and meekly asks the genie in the mirror, in a softer, sexier tone of voice to match her beautiful new appearance, if she's still ugly. The genie, upon seeing the witch's new look, immediately falls in love with her and lunges to grab her after giving a very Bob Hope-like "ROWR, ROWR!"
Hazel flees on her actual flying broomstick, with the genie chasing her on his magic carpet, slowly gaining on her as well. Bugs, who's still at Hazel's house, promptly calls the local air raid headquarters to report "a genie with light brown hair chasing a flying sorceress!"
== Availability ==
Lt vs14.jpg|(1984) VHS The Looney Tunes Video Show, Volume 14
Bugs Bunny (1990) (UK VHS).jpeg|(1990) VHS Bugs Bunny (1990)
LOONEY TUNES AFTER DARK.jpg|(1993) LaserDisc Looney Tunes After Dark
Lt collection bugs bunny.jpg|(1996) VHS Bugs Bunny
Golden Collection box 2.jpg|(2004) DVD Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2, Disc One (restored With DVNR)
Lt cbobb2.jpg|(2005) DVD Looney Tunes Collection Best of Bugs Bunny Volume 2 (restored with DVNR)
Lt spotlight 6.jpg|(2008) DVD Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 6, Disc 1
Bugs Bunny - Wasically Wabbit Front Cover.jpg|(2011) DVD Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Wascally Wabbit
51LA0AzTVqL. SL500 AA300 .jpg|(2011) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc Two (restored with DVNR)
LTPC VOL 1 DVD.jpg|(2012) DVD Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc Two (restored with DVNR)
Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection- Looney Tunes.jpg|(2013) DVD Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection: Looney Tunes, Disc 1
Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection.png|(2020) DVD Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection, Disc 2
=== Streaming ===
Lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2022)
Lt max.jpg|Max (2024 - )
File:Lt itunes.jpg|iTunes ( - ) (restored)
== Notes ==
* Working titles according to the production notes:
** "I'm Witch You"
** "Hare Witch You"
** "Witch's Hare"
** "Hare-O-Ween"
** "Hobgoblin Hare"
** "Which Hare Has the Toni?"
* This is the first Warner Bros. short for which June Foray provides the voice of Witch Hazel. Jones had wanted Foray to replicate the voice she had provided for a different Witch Hazel in Disney films when he directed the earlier "Bewitched Bunny". However, Foray initially refused, fearing that it would bother Disney producers and put her in danger of losing future jobs. Jones was forced to substitute Bea Benaderet. Similarly, when Hazel becomes beautiful near the end, she is a caricature of June Foray herself.
** This idea was carried over to an episode of Duck Dodgers.
* This cartoon had some of its animation be reused for the Daffy Duck cartoon, "A-Haunting We Will Go".
*This is the only Witch Hazel cartoon that received a Blue Ribbon reissue, alongside the first Bugs Bunny cartoon and second cartoon overall to be reissued after the closure of the original cartoon studio. Due to low budgets from DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, the original titles were not altered in the reissue.
* This cartoon was used in the Halloween TV special Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special.
* This short plays in PAL audio when shown on Cartoon Network and Boomerang.
* Witch Hazel summons her broom by shouting, "Hi-yo, Flivver!" in parody of the Lone Ranger's catchphrase, "Hi-yo, Silver!" The short was shown with a film adaptation of The Lone Ranger starring Clayton Moore, the actor most identified with the role.
== Gallery ==
BroomstickBunnyCredits1.png
BroomstickBunnyCredits2.png
46013270 280381655945209 3877419461770215424 n.jpg|Lobby card
Broom-StickBunnyModelSheet.jpg|Model sheet of Witch Hazel
Broom-StickBunnyColorModelSmall.png|Color Guide
Broom-StickBunnyLayoutDrawing7A.jpg|Layout drawing
Broom-StickBunnyLayoutDrawing9.jpg|Layout drawing
File:11872753853 bc4f6db335 z.jpg|Layout drawing
Broom-StickBunnyProductionBackgroundSc-26-1385.jpg|Production background
Broom-StickBunnyProductionBackgroundSc-40-1385.jpg|Production background
Broom-StickBunnyLayoutDrawing41.jpg|Layout drawing
Broom-StickBunnyProductionBackgroundSc-47-1385.jpg|Production background
File:Broom Stick my dick.jpg|Animation drawing
Broom-StickBunnyLayoutDrawing60.jpg|Layout drawing
Broom-StickBunnyLayoutDrawing64-2.jpg|Layout drawing
Broom-StickBunnyLayoutDrawing64-106.jpg|Layout drawing
Broom-StickBunnyProductionNotes.jpg|Production notes, circa 22 June 1954
Category:Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:1956
Category:Witch Hazel Cartoons
Category:Looney Tunes Shorts
Category:Bugs Bunny Chuck Jones
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons animated by Richard Thompson
Category:Cartoons animated by Abe Levitow
Category:Cartoons with music by Milt Franklyn
Category:Halloween Cartoons
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by June Foray
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 backgrounds by Philip DeGuard
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Ernest Nordli
Category:Caricatures of real people
Category:Cartoons animated by Bob Bransford
Category:Cartoons animated by Alex Ignatiev
Category:Cartoons animated by Al Pabian
Category:Cartoons animated by Ron Maidenberg
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist