Ballot Box Bunny

Ballot Box Bunny
Merrie Melodies (Bugs Bunny) series
The title card of Ballot Box Bunny.
Directed by	I. Freleng
Produced by	Eddie Selzer (uncredited)
Story by	Warren Foster
Voices by	Mel Blanc
Music by	Carl Stalling
Animation by	Ken Champin Virgil Ross Arthur Davis Manuel Perez
Layouts by	Hawley Pratt
Backgrounds by	Paul Julian
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date(s)	October 6, 1951 (USA)
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	7:35
Language	English

Ballot Box Bunny is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short released in 1951, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster.

Yosemite Sam is running for mayor of a small town, declaring such empty promises as: "There's enough fresh air and sunshine in this great country of ours for everybody – and I'll see to it, that you'll get your share!". Bugs Bunny is underneath the podium drinking carrot juice when Sam makes a pledge to make good on his previous promise "to rid this country of every last rabbit" if elected. Bugs then decides he needs to fight against Sam by running against him for mayor.

Bugs proceeds to quickly try and win the townspeople over with Theodore Roosevelt's famous "I speak softly, but I carry a BIG stick!" quote, even dressing up like Roosevelt. However, Sam declares "I speak LOUD and I carry a BIGGER stick, and I use it too!" (When watching this on The Bugs Bunny Show, Daffy Duck says "I speak medium, and I carry the BIGGEST stick.) Sam has more than a few tricks up his sleeve. He steals Bugs' cigar stand, to which Bugs switches his "SMELLO" cigars with five-cent ATOM Explosive Cigars ("You Will Get A BANG Out of This"). He sends a boxful of "assorted" picnic ants to steal all of the food at Bugs' picnic, to which Bugs hides a dynamite stick in a watermelon for him. Then he rigs a cannon at the front door of Bugs' headquarters and greets Bugs with friendship at the back door, but the plan backfires on him when Bugs pretends that a pretty girl named Emma who loves Sam is at the front door. Then he challenges Bugs, asking him if he can "play the pi-anna", and Bugs takes the challenge, so he rigs explosives in the piano at a certain key and presents the piano to Bugs to play "Those Endearing Young Charms" (a gag recycled from a Private Snafu short), but Bugs misplays the tune on purpose to infuriate Sam, who plays it correctly and falls for his own trap.