The Wacky Wabbit
| The Wacky Wabbit | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies/Bugs Bunny series | |
| Directed by | Robert Clampett |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Story by | Warren Foster |
| Voices by |
Mel Blanc Arthur Q. Bryan (uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by |
Sid Sutherland Robert McKimson (uncredited) Virgil Ross (uncredited) Rod Scribner (uncredited) |
| Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date(s) | May 2, 1942 (USA) |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 8 min (one reel) |
| Language | English |
The Wacky Wabbit is a Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series. It aired on May 2, 1942. It was directed by Robert Clampett. It stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd (voiced by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan, respectively).
The cartoon begins with the fattened version of Elmer Fudd prospecting for gold, singing "Oh! Susanna", except that instead of 1849, the cartoon is set during World War II, with the implication that Elmer hopes to donate the gold to the war effort: "Oh, Susanna, don't you cry for me, I'm gonna get me wots of gold, V for Victory!", as well as a "Buy US Savings Bonds and Stamps" sign shown early into the short.
Bugs Bunny appears during the second verse while wearing a cow skull and greets Elmer ("Uh, hi neighbor!") and Elmer greets him back ("Oh, hewwo.") and Bugs joins in and finishes the song with Elmer, singing in harmony, until singing "Good evening, friends!" and goes underground without the cow skull and Elmer checks the skull to find Bugs but he's gone, and Elmer becomes suspicious ("Hey, there's something awfuwwy scwewy going on awound here.") and continues investigating the hole until Bugs appears from behind, munching on his carrot, and getting Elmer's attention ("Eh, what's up Doc?"). Elmer, after telling Bugs what happened ("Well, one of the stwangest things I-"), runs from Bugs after being scared by a "Boo!" and Bugs tells the audience that Elmer is a "smart boy" and Elmer returns with an angry look on his face and Bugs runs while screaming. After that Elmer tells the audience that "[Bugs] was that scwewy wabbit. Oh well". From that point on, in a role change from the usual, Bugs pesters Elmer without apparent provocation, as he did in Wabbit Twouble, from cutting off Elmer's suspenders and revealing the girdle he's wearing ("Don't waugh. I'll bet pwenty of you men wear one of these.") to burying Elmer in the hole he was digging (while singing Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie)
Instead of fleeing, this time Elmer turns toward revenge, especially when he observes that Bugs has a gold-filled tooth ("Wabbit, I'm came hewe for gold, and I'm gonna get it!"). As Bugs tries to reason with the enraged Elmer, a furious fight ensues, and Elmer comes up the apparent "winner", holding up a gold tooth ("Euweka! Gold at wast! Heh-heh-heh-heh!") Elmer grins and laughs his usual laugh, and at the same time Bugs mocks Elmer with the same words, dropped-"r" and laugh, revealing that his tooth is intact and that Elmer is holding his own knocked-out gold tooth. So now it turns out that Bugs is the actual winner. So Elmer and Bugs both win: Elmer gets gold and Bugs gets to keep his gold tooth.
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