Bugs Bunny

## **Biography**

### **Porky's Hare Hunt(1938)**

The short begins with several rabbits, who are eating carrots and ruining crops. 2 rabbits later hopped towards the crops until a gunshot rang, forcing the rabbits to look at the camera. But the rabbits aren't paying attention about what is going on. After 1 other rabbit hopped along the view, another rabbit warns them to evacuate by saying "Jiggers, fellers!". They all rushed as fast as they could as the rabbits left the scene. Soon, Porky and his dog Zero were later sneaking by the scene in which the dog told Porky to quiet it down, the rabbit however is right behind Porky. Porky meets this rabbit and try to outwit him in the forest. The rabbit taps Porky's shoulder, as Porky turns around. Porky then turns to the right and finds the rabbit and he doesn't have any brainstorms to protect him as the rabbit started to point his head. He immediately turns to the left as he tries to shoot the rabbit with his rifle, forcing many bullets to lose control, shooting the entire set of crops but immediately missed the rabbit. Porky got in a long, long fight and soon the hare thought he had won the battle. Zero later returned with the rabbit laughing in excitement. Porky told Zero to go get that rabbit. The chase then began, but ended up leaving Zero near a tree stem. He looked inside and looked all around. There was no wood on the stem's base. The sneaky rabbit later returned out of the stem in a sneaky way and the rabbit pulled out a wind-up rabbit toys from inside the stem. He winded it up, and the mechanical toy started to hop. The dog then started to sniff, but the mechanical toy kicked the dog's nose. Zero later attacked the toy, forcing damage to the toy. All gears were shown including the spring, which connected to the bunny's head. Porky later returned finding the rabbit with his rifle, who acted like a dog. The rabbit later was spotted inside a tree while the 2 holes of the rifle were aiming funny at the rabbit. The rabbit then got a plan by putting a cup of pepper all over the gun. The gun sneezed, forcing the tree to blow off the scene. The rabbit however, survived in a flash, hiding. The rabbit showed Porky a bottle of Hare Remover from a company called Whizz. He pulled the cap off and started to drink the whole entire bottle forcing the rabbit to go invisible. Porky however then tried to look around while the rabbit held the bottle. The rabbit smashed the bottle by hitting Porky, dazing him, with the gun flying. The rabbit then pulled off a magic trick, visible enough with a dirty top-hat. Porky found the rabbit and tried to shoot the rabbit, with bullets flying, missing the rabbit. After wasting dozens and dozens of bullets, Porky ran out of bullets or ammo from his rifle and started to calm himself down. The rabbit felt tired afterwards for a moment. He then pulls out a bullfighter's cape, and did the pose to Zero the dog. Zero then tried to act like a bull. He then started to rush to the cape with the sounding of a miniature mechanical siren. The rabbit moved the cape next to the hat as Zero continued to rush until he got hit by barrels, a bit dazing Zero. The same thing occurred to the other side, but instead Zero got hit, with his head inside a log. His head was stuck, but thanks to his legs for getting his head off inside the log, yet again a bit dazed, even bitter. The same thing happens once again but the rabbit, caught the dog with his cape and makes multiple tricks. He first rolls it up like a carpet, throws it, and a moment of staring. And then he blows the dog off of his cape like a paper-ball spitter. Porky was loading his rifle until Zero hits Porky near Porky's neck. The rabbit laughs. And later he starting to twist his ears, making it to form like a mix of an airplane and a helicopter. He takes off like a helicopter and then dives down like an airplane, aiming at Porky and Zero, missing them twice. The rabbit later hides next to a nearby tree to where Porky and the dog is. He then continues to do tricks with the rabbit swinging multiple trees nearby. He enjoys the senses in life while bouncing onto trees and paths as Zero chases the rabbit again until a pile of logs came along, forcing Zero to sniff. Porky came along afterwards. He sneaked up to the other side of the logs, where the rabbit is eating a carrot. Porky angrily finally caught the rabbit, as he aims his gun to the rabbit as his carrot throws off-screen, making the rabbit to yell that he does not want to get shot. The rabbit walked backwards while whimpering to where Porky is angrily walking forwards to. Porky and the rabbit then managed to show his head photo of himself and of how many children he has with his wife. However, Porky unfortunately throws the piece of paper, and angrily puts the 2 holes of the gun outside the rabbit's stomach near a tree, with an entrance hole at the side. And then, when Porky's about to shoot him while the rabbit covers his face, the gun immediately fails. He tries to fire the ground to fix the solution, but the rabbit walked by happily. Porky looks at the 2 holes inside the gun.

After Porky attempts to shoot down and procure the rabbit, he immediately takes Porky's rifle, and smashes it by his legs, smashing in half. However, he then asks Porky: "Do you have a hunting license?" As Porky tries to find it, but reaches for his coat pocket to obtain the document, the hyper-hare suddenly snatches it out of Porky's grasp, rips it in two, remarks, "Well you haven't got one now!" and starts to laugh again while doing backflips and rolls. He then again makes a getaway by twisting his ears as though they were a helicopter propeller, flying away. But Porky suddenly throws a rock, right on target at the hovering hare which sends him dying down, and crashing into a haystack. He emerges from the stack, appearing injured, as he started to choke near the haystack as Porky arrives near the rabbit. He then lies down near Porky's shoes, but suddenly the rabbit fakes his death by standing up, putting his head close to his face with his hat jump off his head, telling: "'Of Course you realise that this means war!" (in a Groucho impression). He then gets out a flute, and goes marching like one of the spirits of '76, marching around the haystack. Porky however starts to be even more angrier than before. He grabs, crushed his hat, and throws it down to the ground. Porky then rushes to where the rabbit started marching. The song continues to play when the rabbit marched through the paths, faintly fading him in film. Porky then rushes to the same path. The song then stops as the rabbit stops running near by a pile of rocks, with a box of "explosive" dynamites next to the hole. Porky looks through the hole, and then turns to the left to find dynamites. He grabs one, and then grabs a match to strike up the dynamite. Porky throws the stick of dynamite into the cave in which the rabbit is hiding, and he throws the dynamite back at him when Porky prepares to cover his ears. Ultimately, it explodes, and the rabbit wins. Later, Porky is in the hospital laying in bed with an injury to his head and a broken leg attached with rope, and the opposite side of the rope tied with an anvil. Porky then turns to the right, with the rabbit, comes to him while holding some flowers. Porky tells the rabbit that he'll be out in a few days. "That's what YOU think!", the rabbit declares, then he immediately pulls on the anvil (with a sound of a wigwag) in Porky's bed with flowers falling off to the floor, his blanket all messed up, adding to his injuries and runs off into the forest with a similar laughing in the sound of Walter Lantz's Woody Woodpecker in which he jumps out the window with his front and backflips as the cartoon ends with Porky being a bit dazed off.

Porky had previously had similar trouble hunting a Duck which would become Daffy Duck. He had decided to try hunting rabbits instead.

### **Prest-O Change-O-(1939)**

Bugs Bunny had grown older somewhat and found work as a magician's rabbit.

The Two Curious Puppies, one big and one little, are being pursued by a dog catcher until they hide in an abandoned house. They soon discover the house is owned by Sham-Fu, a magician who is unseen. As a result, each puppy (both of whom are separated from each other shortly after entering the house) encounters all manner of magic tricks, including Sham-Fu's pet hare. The bigger puppy is left to defend himself against the hare, itself a more than competent illusionist capable of all sorts of acts of cartoon physics, while the little one is engaged in a reckless battle with a Hindu rope and a magic wand, the latter of which he ends up accidentally swallowing, giving him bizarre hiccups throughout the rest of the movie.

The puppies and the hare all end up crashing into each other, at which point both puppies immediately attempt to pack everything back into Sham-Fu's trunk. Inexplicably, the little dog hiccups out a balloon containing the mischievous hare. However, this time, when the hare attempts another disappearing act, the bigger puppy is able to stop it in its tracks and punches the hare as hard as possible. The scene irises out on the hare, whose eye is blackened and covered with a lampshade and sitting in a goldfish bowl with his feet sticking out.

The Rabbit was falsely blamed for the chaos by the magician since the dogs had left and was fired.

### **Hare-um Scare-um(1939)**

A man (named as John Sourpuss) reading a newspaper comes across an article stating that meat prices have soared and the consumers are sore. Angry, he declares that he'll hunt his own meat to get back at the government for the price inflation. He takes his dog with him, revealing he is going hunting for rabbits.

In the woods, a rabbit leads the dog into a hollow log and pushes the log down a hill, where it smashes into a tree. Meanwhile, John sees several rabbits hopping over a hill. He fires his gun several times and runs to where the rabbits were. When he gets there, he finds two spinning wheels with pictures of rabbits on them, giving the perception of moving rabbits.

He then sees the rabbit sleeping. The hunter starts pouring salt on the rabbit, who quickly gets up and holds a stick of celery under the stream of salt. The rabbit then runs into a cave, and the hunter runs after him. Before he reaches the cave, a pair of elevator doors closes, which the hunter runs into.

The bunny then dresses as a female dog, successfully seducing the hunter's dog. When the dog finally realizes he's with the rabbit rather than another dog, he resumes his chase. The rabbit then pretends he's a policeman, citing the dog for numerous crimes (speeding, running on the wrong side of the street, intoxicated "driving", etc.).

After confusing the dog and running away, the rabbit begins singing a song about how crazy he is. When he finishes his song, he turns to find the hunter with his gun aimed at him. The rabbit, trying to gain sympathy, begs for his life, explaining how poor and sick he is. John begins crying, feeling sorry for the rabbit. Despite this, the rabbit shocks John with a joy buzzer. The hunter then shouts that he can whip the rabbit and his whole family. Suddenly, a large group of rabbits surround John, looking for a fight

The rabbits attack the hunter in a cartoon smoke cloud and then run away. The smoke clears up to show the hunter disheveled. The rabbit returns to give the hunter his busted rifle saying "You oughtta get that fixed. Somebody's liable to get hurt." He then returns to his looney self, bouncing on his head like a pogo stick down the road. The hunter becomes enraged, but then does the same thing the rabbit does.

### **Elmer's Candid Camera(1940)**

The first meeting with Elmer Fudd.

Elmer is reading a book on how to photograph wildlife. He walks and whistles at the same time when holding the camera. He finds a rabbit and wants to take a picture of him. The rabbit finds himself a convenient victim to harass as Elmer tries to photograph him. Elmer points to where the rabbit was sleeping and tells him that he wants to take a picture of him. This tormenting eventually drives Elmer insane, causing him to jump into a lake and nearly drown. The rabbit saves him, ensures that Elmer is perfectly all right - and promptly kicks him straight back into the lake. Then, the rabbit throws Elmer's "How To Photograph Wildlife" book on his head, thus ending the cartoon as the screen irises-out.

Angered at this, Elmer Fudd vowed to make The rabbit pay leading to...

### **A Wild Hare(1940)**

Seen as the official debut of Bugs Bunny as by this time(unlike the previous times) they settled on his design and he is now named Bugs Bunny.

The cartoon begins with Elmer tiptoeing and telling the audience his famous line, "Shh. Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm hunting wabbits." Elmer then approaches one of Bugs' holes, puts down a carrot, and hides behind a tree. Bugs' arm reaches out of the hole, feels around, and snatches the carrot. He reaches out again and finds Elmer's double-barreled shotgun. His arm quickly pops back into the hole before returning to drop the eaten stub of Elmer's carrot and apologetically caress the end of the barrel. Elmer shoves his gun into Bugs' hole, and thus causes a struggle in which the barrel is bent into a bow.

Elmer frantically digs into the hole while Bugs emerges from a nearby hole with another carrot in his hand, lifts Fudd's hat, and raps the top of his head until Elmer notices; then chews his carrot and delivers his definitive line, "What's up, Doc?". When Elmer replies that "[he's] hunting 'wabbits'", Bugs chews his carrot and asks what a wabbit is; then teases Elmer by with every aspect of Fudd's description until Elmer suspects that Bugs is a rabbit. Bugs confirms this, hides behind a tree, sneaks behind Elmer, covers his eyes, and asks "Guess who?".

Elmer tries the names of contemporary screen beauties whose names exploited his accent, before he guesses the rabbit. Bugs responds "Hmm..... Could be!", kisses Elmer, and dives into a hole. Elmer sticks his head into the hole and gets another kiss from Bugs; whereafter he wipes his mouth and decides to set a trap. When Bugs puts a skunk in the trap, Fudd blindly grabs the skunk and carries it over to the watching Bugs to brag; and when Elmer sees his mistake, Bugs gives him a kiss on the nose, whereupon Fudd looks at the skunk, who winks and nudges Elmer. Fudd winces and gingerly sends the skunk on his way.

Bugs then offers a free shot at himself; fakes an elaborate death; and plays dead, leaving Elmer miserable with remorse; but survives the shot and sneaks up behind the despairing Fudd, kicks him in his rear, shoves a cigar into his mouth, and tiptoes away, ballet-style. Finally, the frustrated Elmer walks away sobbing about "wabbits, cawwots, guns", etc. Bugs then remarks, "Ya know, I think the poor guy's screwy", and begins to play his carrot like a fife, playing the tune *The Girl I Left Behind Me*, and marches with one stiff leg towards his rabbit hole (recalling *The Spirit of '76*).

Bugs makes a cameo in *Patient Porky* from 1940. He announces to the audience that 750 rabbits have been born.

### **Elmer's Pet Rabbit(1941)**

Bugs Bunny was found and placed in a pet store.

Elmer buys Bugs Bunny in a pet shop (for 98¢) intending to eat him. When they get home, Elmer builds an enclosure for Bugs, and then serves him dinner (a bowl of vegetables) which Bugs acts angrily towards. Then Bugs is seen grumbling in the night and he eventually takes Elmer's bed as his own. Throughout the short, Bugs irritates Elmer in various ways—from dancing to attempts getting in the shower, etc.—which culminates when Elmer brutally attacks Bugs (in a dark room with humorous fireworks exploding) and sends him out of the house. However, Bugs manages to get back inside and reclaim Elmer's bed.

### **Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt(1941)**

Bugs's first official work as a Toon. He tells the story of Hiawatha and it is recounted between him and Elmer Fudd.

The short received an Academy Award nomination that year. The fact that it didn't win the award was later mentioned by Bugs in 1944 in which Bugs demanded a recount (claiming to be a victim of "sa-bo-TAH-gee") after losing the Oscar to James Cagney and presenting a clip from *Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt* to prove his point.(The reason this is an in universe short and others aren't is because of how it is mentioned as a short much later in the timeline as mentioned above).

### **Tortoise Beats Hare(1941)**

Another Bugs Bunny cartoon appearance.

As the opening credits appear, Bugs Bunny comes on the screen while eating an obligatory carrot and absent-mindedly begins reading them, grossly mispronouncing all of them in the process (e.g. /əˈvɛrɪ/ for "Avery" over the correct /ˈeɪvərɪ/) except for the word "story," the first names of Dave Monahan and Fred Avery, and all of Carl W. Stalling's name. As he finishes, he sees the name of the cartoon and becomes exasperated, spitting out his mouthful of the carrot he was eating. After a brief tirade involving ripping apart the opening credits, he finds Cecil Turtle and bets him ten dollars he can win against him in a race. Cecil accepts and, ringing up his cousins on a telephone, devises a scheme in which they will double as him at significant points along the track while he himself crosses the finish line ahead of Bugs and claims the money. After Bugs realizes he may have been tricked the entire time, Cecil and his cousins appear behind him, each with a dollar in hand, and kiss him.

### **World War II**

By 1942, Bugs had become the number one star of *Merrie Melodies*. The series was originally intended only for one-shot characters in films after several early attempts to introduce characters (Foxy, Goopy Geer, and Piggy) failed under Harman–Ising. By the mid-1930s, under Leon Schlesinger, *Merrie Melodies* started introducing newer characters.

### **Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid(1942)**

The cartoon begins with a mother buzzard instructing her children to go out and catch something for dinner. Three take off like jets from an aircraft carrier. One stays behind, his back turned. This is Beaky Buzzard (Killer) who is shy, easily embarrassed, and a little on the slow side. Against his will, his mother kicks him out of the nest with instructions to at least catch a rabbit. Beaky spots Bugs Bunny and, after sneaking around some clouds 'stalking' his prey, soars down to catch him. Bugs makes like an air-traffic controller and "guides" Beaky down, purposely causing him to crash.

Beaky then lands on the ground unable to move or speak. Bugs rises out of his hole and says the phrase, "What's up, doc?" Bugs asks Beaky what he is having, then Beaky grabs Bugs' shoulders and says, "I am going to eat Wabbits." Bugs goes into his rabbit hole to have a shower. Beaky stares at the Fourth wall when he says the line, "I think he's-a-tricking me." Then Beaky pulls Bugs out of his rabbit hole. Bugs, (disguised as a girl) then pops out of his rabbit hole and says, "You naughty naughty boy." in a feminine voice. And as soon as he said that, Beaky went all gibberish and embarrassed with a red face going, "Oh no no, oh no." Then Bugs whacked Beaky's bottom with his towel, then as soon as Beaky reached the ground, Bugs hid behind the rocks. Beaky was looking for Bugs when he suddenly jumped out from behind the rocks and played with his throat.

After some heckling and trickery from Bugs, a chase ensues. Beaky manages to grab Bugs in his talons and swoops away. Bugs tickles the buzzard with one of his own tail feathers, resulting in Bugs being released and falling. There is the skeleton of a dead animal resting on the ground and, as Bugs' bottom half is actually driven into the earth, he disturbs the bones and the wildflowers around them. They all come to land around his top half, making it appear that the remains are his. Thinking he is dead, Bugs sobs ("Gruesome, isn't it?", he briefly confides to the audience in a Jerry Colonna-like aside). As he wails, his feet pop out of the ground; when Bugs sees them, then feels them, he laughs with relief and then suggests he knew all along that he was fine. As Bugs wanders along enjoying a carrot, Beaky leaps out and grabs him. After a struggle, the two start jitterbugging together. Bugs says, "Why don't we do this more often," to which Beaky replies, "Ya mean just what we're doing tonight?" This is a quote of the first line of the song "Why Don't We Do This More Often?" After a 'dip', Bugs releases Beaky into a spin; the buzzard twirls like a top over to the skeleton, spins into the earth and himself ends up in the same position Bugs was earlier. He screams "Oh, MA!" and his mother shows up. At first the mother buzzard thinks Bugs did something to Beaky. Bugs assures her 'the kid' is okay, and pulls Beaky out of the ground. Seeing that Beaky is unharmed, the mother abandons her desire to eat Bugs and declares him her hero and kisses him. A blushing Bugs copies Beaky's shyness and embarrassment.

### **Tortoise Wins by a Hare(1943)**

Two years after the events in *Tortoise Beats Hare*, Bugs is watching footage of that cartoon, determined to learn how it was that Cecil managed to beat him (the cartoon seems to depict Cecil as having won fairly, rather than the truth, which was that the turtle engaged his cousins to cheat and help him win). Bugs then goes to Cecil's house disguised as an old man (a parody of Bill Thompson's "Old Timer" character from *Fibber McGee and Molly*) to ask about the turtle's secret for winning. Cecil is not the least bit fooled by the disguise, but goes along with the gag, claiming that his streamlined shell ensures his success; he produces a set of blueprints for his "air-flow chassis." He also adds that, in contrast, the long ears of a rabbit only serve as "wind resistance", which slows the rabbit down. The turtle ends the conversation with the comment, "Oh, and another thing...Rabbits aren't very bright, either!" just before slamming the door in the enraged bunny's face. Not getting the hint that the turtle's story is a humbug, Bugs builds a shell of his own and prepares for the new race.

Meanwhile, the bunny mob learns of the match-up, places all its bets on Bugs, and hints that "the toitle" will not even finish the race. Initially, Bugs takes the easy lead, after dressing up in his new chassis. The rabbit mob, mistaking Bugs for Cecil and, despite Bugs' insistence to the contrary, attack the rabbit. Cecil does not help Bugs' cause by dressing up in a rabbit suit. The rabbit mob fall for it and cheer Cecil as the real rabbit, causing the turtle to remark to the audience, "I told you rabbits aren't very bright." Bugs still manages to regain the lead and nearly wins, until the mob stalls him right at the finish line, while other rabbits rush Cecil over the line and to victory. Bugs then bursts out crying, rips off his chassis and reveals that he was the real rabbit. In despair, the rabbit mob replies, "Ehhh, *now* he tells us," and kill themselves with a single bullet through all their heads.

### **Bowery Bugs(1949)**

Bugs Bunny is standing at the base of the famous Brooklyn Bridge, (about half a mile from the southern end of the actual street called the Bowery), telling an old man a story, in carnival-barker style, about how and why Steve Brody jumped off the bridge in July 1886 in the form of pictures: Brody had a terrific run of luck...all bad. He decided he needed a good luck charm...ideally, a rabbit's foot. But he couldn't find one in the city, so he tried looking in the country forest.

At this point the story is animated. Brody cycles to Flatbush and finds Bugs' house. Brody, holding a knife, pulls Bugs (singing "All That Glitters Is Not Gold") out of his home and tells him that he needs a good luck charm and that "he is it". However, Bugs explains why rabbits feet are *not* all that lucky and directs Brody to "Swami Rabbitima". Brody decides to chance it on the condition he'll come back for Bugs if it doesn't work.

The Swami (Bugs in disguise) asks Brody to enter. Just as Brody starts explaining his bad luck, he has his palm "read" (painted red) then Bugs starts reading the bumps on his head after hitting Brody over the head with a hammer several times. Brody angrily starts chasing Bugs who quickly deals out playing cards for cartomancy. He tells Brody that he has a meeting coming up with a man wearing a carnation (also Bugs in disguise), who will be his lucky mascot at gambling; Brody's luck does not change, though. Bugs' craps shot of 7 suddenly turns up snake-eyes, then Brody plays a slot machine that comes up with three lemons that literally roll out of the machine and into his hat. Fed up, Brody tries to attack Bugs and is promptly kicked out of the gambling establishment by a gorilla bouncer.

Brody goes back to the Swami who realizes that the cartomancy failed. For his second attempt, Bugs spins a zodiac wheel which lands on the sign of the wolf. He tells Brody that it means he is lucky with love, but his flirting with a "lady" (also Bugs in disguise) only results in a multiple bonking by a policeman for being a "masher".

Brody returns to the Swami and is about to pulverize him when he is asked precisely *why* he wants his luck to change. Taking Brody's answer literally ("So I can get me hands on some *dough*!"), Bugs sends him to 29 River Street, home of "Grandma's Happy Home Bakery". When Brody arrives there and demands the "dough" at gunpoint, a baker (Bugs yet again) gladly obliges with "a mess of dough" which Brody gets stuck in and is baked into a pie.

Unmasking the baker as Bugs, Brody retraces his steps to unmask Bugs' previous disguises, leading Brody to believe that "everybody's a rabbit!". When Brody looks into what he thinks is a mirror (but is actually a window) and sees Bugs looking back at him, he thinks *he* has turned into a rabbit and snaps, hopping down the street and turning onto the Brooklyn Bridge, hysterically shouting "What's up, doc?!"

Seeing a police officer staring contemplatively at the East River from the middle of the bridge, Brody comes up behind him and begs for help. Turning, the officer reveals himself to be Bugs, demanding (in a thick Irish accent) "*What's all this about rabbits, Doc?*". That being the last straw, Brody leaps off the bridge, apparently as suicide. The scene freezes with Brody in mid-air to a poster seen behind Bugs.

Bugs ends the story there, and the impressed old man says: "That's enough, son! I'll buy it!" and hands Bugs some money (though it's unclear if he bought the Bridge or the rights to the story).

(Steve Brody, though spelled Brodie, was indeed a real person famous for jumping the bridge and then turning up alive much later. Here his motivation was Bugs).