Bunny Hugged
| Bunny Hugged | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies (Bugs Bunny) series | |
|
|
| Directed by | Charles M. Jones |
| Produced by |
Eddie Selzer (uncredited) |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Voices by |
Mel Blanc John T. Smith (uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by |
Phil Monroe Ken Harris Lloyd Vaughan Ben Washam |
| Layouts by | Robert Gribbroek |
| Backgrounds by | Pete Alvarado |
| Studio | Warner Bros. Cartoons |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 10, 1951 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7 minutes 17 seconds |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Rabbit Every Monday |
| Followed by | The Fair-Haired Hare |
Bunny Hugged is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies (a Blue Ribbon re-issue) short, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. Released in 1951, the short is essentially a re-working of Jones' 1948 short Rabbit Punch, substituting wrestling for boxing.
A wrestling match pits professional wrestler Ravishing Ronald, "the de-natured boy" (a parody of Gorgeous George and "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers) against current champion the Crusher. Bugs, the mascot of Ravishing Ronald ("it's a living"), watches from a corner as the Crusher uses Ronald, tied up in his own hairnet, as a punching bag. Worried that he's losing his "bread and butter," Bugs enters the match as "The Masked Terror", wearing a mask over his face. The Crusher sees the new opponent as "fresh meat", disposes of Ronald (whose signs "HELP!," "SOS!," and "FOUL!" go unanswered) and goes after Bugs.
Bugs tries to wrestle Crusher, but Crusher isn't even fazed and literally sends Bugs flying into the audience. When he's quickly caught in Crusher's leg-scissors hold, Bugs declares "It's about time for me to employ a little stra-gedy." He then tears his mask apart, which Crusher thinks is a rip in his trunks. Bugs comes back from off-screen wearing a sandwich board advertising his services as "Stychen Tyme," a tailor. While humming the tune to "Stitch In Time," Bugs jabs a needle in Crusher's backside, causing him to fly screaming through the audience.
Crusher then comes charging back, but Bugs opens a safe door, letting Crusher run through it and bounce off the ring ropes before being slung back into the now closed door. A now disoriented Crusher is able to be pinned (literally, as Bugs puts a coat on Crusher, gets him to lie down and pins the coat's shoulders to the mat). When the match ends and Bugs is declared the new champion, Crusher snaps out of it. He offers his hand to shake Bugs' hand, despite the crowd's objections (Crusher merely growls them into silence). Bugs relents, but when Crusher tries to bite Bugs' arms he find he is instead biting through a stick of dynamite, which blows up in his face. Now finally done with Crusher, Bugs tries to flex his muscle ... but sees his muscle droop instead. Bugs simply accepts being weak, pushing his drooping muscle like a little swing.
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Wikipedia