Buckaroo Bugs
| Buckaroo Bugs | |
|---|---|
| Looney Tunes (Bugs Bunny) series | |
 Title Card | |
| Directed by | Robert Clampett |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Story by | Lou Lilly |
| Voices by |
Mel Blanc Robert C. Bruce (uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by |
M. Gould Robert McKimson Rod Scribner |
| Layouts by | Thomas McKimson |
| Backgrounds by | Philip DeGuard |
| Studio | Leon Schlesinger Productions |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 26, 1944 (USA) |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 9 minutes |
| Language | English |
Buckaroo Bugs is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in August 1944, directed by Robert Clampett.
Plot
The film is set in a small town of the "San Fernando Alley" (San Fernando Valley).[1][2] According to the narration, "Our story begins when the West was young, and early pioneers settled down to never more roam, and made the San Fernando Alley their home." [3] Despite its Western setting, the short makes references to World War II rationing. A pretend train robbery, lists as "valuable cargo": butter, gasoline, sugar, shoes, and tires – all of them items for which there was a shortage in the War due to rationing.[1] The short also has Bugs stealing all the carrots from a victory garden, which is another World War II reference.[2]
Unlike in most shorts, Bugs Bunny serves as an antagonist. In the cartoon, he plays a carrot thief called the Masked Marauder, whom Brooklyn's "Red Hot Ryder" (a parody of Red Ryder) must bring to justice. The cartoon portrays Red Hot Ryder as a dimwit who cannot distinguish Bugs Bunny from the Masked Marauder, and his good-natured slowness is consistently mocked: When Bugs Bunny as the Masked Marauder threatens to shoot Red Hot Ryder, saying, "Stick 'em up, or I'll blow your brains out," the latter treats it like a choice, replying, "Well, now, that's mighty neighborly of you." In the end, Red Hot Ryder catches on, but is unable to catch the Masked Marauder. Bugs tricks him into jumping into the Grand Canyon, and when underground Red Hot Ryder finally figures out that Bugs is the Masked Marauder. Bugs pops up from beneath the ground with a lit candle and says "That's right! That's right! You win the $64 question!" (a reference to the "big prize" on the famous radio quiz show Take It or Leave It). He then kisses him and blows out the candle.
Cast
- Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny, Red Hot Ryder, Various Villagers
- Robert C. Bruce as Narrator (uncredited)
Availability
The cartoon has been released on on laserdisc in The Golden Age of Looney Tunes by MGM/UA Home Video. It is also featured on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5 DVD set, released on October 30, 2007 and the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2 DVD & Blu-ray sets, released on October 16, 2012.
Sources
- Shull, Michael S.; Wilt, David E. (2004), "Filmography 1944", Doing Their Bit: Wartime American Animated Short Films, 1939-1945, McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-0786481699
- Young, William H.; Young, Nancy K. (2010), "Victory Gardens", World War II and the Postwar Years in America: A Historical and Cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-0313356520
References
External links
Buckaroo Bugs at the Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by Hare Force |
Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1944 |
Succeeded by The Old Grey Hare |