Box-Office Bunny | |
---|---|
Looney Tunes (Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck/Elmer Fudd) series | |
Directed by |
Darrell Van Citters Supervisor asst. animator: Diane Keener |
Produced by | Kathleen Helppie-Shipley Production design: Michael Giaimo |
Story by | Charles Carney |
Voices by |
Jeff Bergman Additional voices: Jim Cummings Tress MacNeille (both uncredited) |
Music by | Hummie Mann |
Animation by |
Ed Bell Mark Kausler Toby Shelton Lennie Graves Key animation: Chris Buck Bob Scott Greg Vanzo Tony Fucile Assistant animation: Karenia Kaminski Nancy Avery Alan E. Smart Ken Bruce Shawn Keller Kathi Castillo George Goodchill Tom Mazzocco Bronwen Barry Dori Littel-Herrick Hyunsook Cho Key assistant: Harry Sabin |
Backgrounds by |
Alan Bodner Patricia Keppler Rose Ann Stire |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date(s) | February 11, 1991 |
Color process | Technicolor |
Running time | 4 minutes |
Language | English |
Box-Office Bunny, released in 1991, is a 4-minute Looney Tunes short starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. It was shown in theaters as well as the VHS and Laserdisc release with The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter. This was Warner Bros.'s first Bugs Bunny theatrical release since 1964. It was issued to commemorate Bugs' 50th anniversary. It is included as a special feature on the DVD for The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie.
Jeff Bergman voiced the three main characters, thus becoming the first person besides Mel Blanc, who had died a year before the cartoon was released, to provide Bugs' and Daffy's voices.
The short was directed by Darrell Van Citters, who went on to direct the first two "Hare Jordan" Bugs Bunny/Michael Jordan commercials for Nike.
In the late 1980s, Warner Bros. Animation started producing new theatrical animated shorts, featuring the Looney Tunes characters. The Duxorcist (1987) and The Night of the Living Duck (1988) were well-received individually. Both were then incorporated to the compilation film Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988). They marked a return to prominence for fictional character Daffy Duck. They were followed by Box-Office Bunny, the first theatrical short featuring Bugs Bunny since 1964.
According to director Darrell Van Citters, the Warner Bros. studio was uncertain what to do with the film. It was reportedly completed six to nine months before its actual release. Its release was delayed because the studio wanted to release it alongside one of their feature films, but could not decide which could best serve to spotlight it. It was finally released alongside The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990). The under-performance of the feature film at the box-office is thought to have negatively affected the fate of the short.