A Month of Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny as Star of the Month turned out to be a single week, but what a week it was!
I grew up watching The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show and saw almost all of the specials, so I'm well-versed in the cartoons of Bugs Bunny and Warner Bros., so it was a real treat to find out that TCM is the new home of all these wonderful cartoons and that they'd be featured for a full week before 31 Days of Oscar began.
What I wasn't expecting was how nostalgic these cartoons would make me feel. I used to love Saturday morning cartoons and got to act like I was experiencing it all over again. And watching these cartoons made me excited for the gags I'd forgotten about, and then it inspired me to make a list of what my favourite Bugs Bunny cartoons are (non-inclusive: Robin Hood Daffy, The Fair-Haired Hare, Wackiki Wabbit, Hare-Way to the Stars, What's Up, Doc?, Boobs in the Woods, Hare Do, Beanstalk Bunny, and Dough for the Do-Do would probably rank at the top; and I love cartoons that feature Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, and Witch Hazel).
A Wild Hare (1940)
"I AM A WABBIT!" A fine early introduction to Bugs Bunny before he got his makeover.
Rabbit of Seville (1950)
So many great sight gags in this one.
What's Opera, Doc? (1957)
How are kids learning classical music these days if not through the Looney Tunes? (I don't have kids, so I can't attest to whether or not children's cartoons are doing this still.)
Tortoise Beats Hare (1941)
I love this trilogy of cartoons, and the one that kicks it off, when Bugs walks through the title card and spits out his carrot as he reads "Tortoise Beats Hare."
Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943)
This might be my favourite of the trilogy. Love the added elements of the other rabbits betting on Bugs, and how each tricked the other.
Rabbit Transit (1947)
Modern transportation is taken into consideration in this final match-up between the tortoise and the hare; still so many great gags!
Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948)
I love a Yosemite Sam cartoon if only for the fact that he's a smart foil against Bugs and I always loved the design of their cartoons best.
The Fair Haired Hare (1951)
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I included this one on my list up at the top, but of all the cartoons that aired over the week, this was my favourite! I remember watching this one all the time as a kid, and so many of the gags are still so hilarious. Filling the rabbit hole with dynamite. Spinning that orange drink around the tabletop to figure out who'd drink it. Bugs popping up through the bearskin rug. I love it!
Sahara Hare (1954)
"When I say WOAH! I mean WOAH!"
Pretty sure this is how I learned what 'mirage' and 'oasis' means.
Buccaneer Bunny (1948)
Hilarious!
Mutiny on the Bunny (1950)
Give me every Yosemite Sam cartoon!
Haredevil Hare (1948)
I always loved Marvin the Martian cartoons because I used to be obsessed with space as a child (as in, wanted to be an astronaut before I realized that I am bad at math and science), and I love the mid-century designs of outer space in cartoons.
The Hasty Hare (1952)
This is going to sound insane, but I never realized that Marvin the Martian was supposed to be ant-like in his design until I was reading his Wikipedia page while watching these cartoons. Not sure what I thought he was, but here we are. I love the flutter of his feet when he's pacing angrily!
Hare-way to the Stars (1958)
Okay, if The Fair-Haired Hare was my favourite cartoon that aired this week, surely this is second. I always loved this one for its design of outer space/Mars, the gag with the alien and Bugs racing on those scooters, and then at the end when all the capsule aliens enlarge underground and you see their head antennas breaking through the concrete.
A Corny Concerto (1943)
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I always loved the lil black duck in the Blue Danube swan part. Also, who's teaching kids classical music?!
To Hare Is Human (1956)
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Buddy, we still sing "Carrots wait for nooooo one, so I pick them now!" in my family. As foundational as any biblical hymn or Backstreet Boys song.
Bewitched Bunny (1954)
I love the fairy tale tone of the Witch Hazel cartoons, and the backdrops!
(Also: "Hansel? Hansel?")
Broom-Stick Bunny (1956)
So many great gags in this one, including how Witch Hazel gets transformed into a gorgeous witch at the end (I think it was Ben Mankiewicz who said that her updated design was based on June Foray, who voiced her at the time?) and hates it because she never wants to lose her ugliness.
A Witch's Tangled Hare (1959)
Another fun Witch Hazel cartoon!
Rabbit Fire (1951)
They picked some great Daffy Duck cartoons for the Friday night cartoons, I'll tell ya!
Rabbit Seasoning (1952)
Another fun entry into the 'Duck season! Rabbit season!' cannon
Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (1952)
The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961)
Another one of my faves from childhood!
Beanstalk Bunny (1955)
ALSO WATCHED:
Gorilla My Dreams (1948)
Hurdy-Gurdy Hare (1950)
Apes of Wrath (1959)
Captain Hareblower (1954)
Hair-Raising Hare (1946)
Water, Water Every Hare (1952)
Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (1964)
Bugs and Thugs (1954)
Bugsy and Mugsy (1957)
The Unmentionables (1963)
Rhapsody Rabbit (1946) - did always love it when Bugs would look annoyed at the audience and then haul up the screen to reveal the title card
Baton Bunny (1959)
Operation Rabbit (1952)
Rabbit's Feat (1960)
Baseball Bugs (1946)
Rabbit Punch (1948)
Bully for Bugs (1953)
Ali Baba Bunny (1957)
Show Biz Bugs (1957)
Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944)
Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (1944)
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March's Star of the Month: George Brent. I've seen a lot of his melodrama work with Bette Davis et al., but I'm excited to see more of his work!
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