Rabbit Hood (1949) User Reviews

Particularly funny. :-D

[Mightyzebra · 8/10 · 7 February 2010]

I very much enjoyed this Bugs Bunny cartoon for the following reasons: 1. The way they played on the Robin Hood + Little John + Sheriff of Nottingham stories. 2. Bugs Bunny's character and how he reacts to the cartoon's situations, here he is a very intelligent bunny. 3. The humour, it is often very witty and quite unexpected. When it is slapsticky and predictable, though, it is still pretty well pulled off. 4. The background animation, very lovely colours and animation style. 5. The cameo appearance of a famous actor at the end, obviously taken from a film.

If there was anything that I felt was imperfect about the cartoon, it was the fact that it was slightly slapsticky at points (there is one dragged out slapstick bit near the end which the makers could have cut a little).

In this cartoon, Bugs Bunny has unknowingly arrived at the castle grounds of the King in Robin Hood's time and has picked a carrot from the King's Carrot Patch. Unfortunately, the King has a strict policy for whoever steals his carrots and it seems to be the rack for Bugs Bunny if he does not manage to escape...

I recommend this cartoon to anyone who likes Bugs Bunny and to anyone who likes a good enough mixture of slapstick and witty humour in a Looney Tunes cartoon. Enjoy, "Rabbit Hood"! :-) 8 and a half out of ten.

P.S Did anyone else notice that the tune for the opening credits was the same one they used for "Duck Amuck" in about 4 years time?

Some of the funniest dialog in a Warner's short can be found here

[llltdesq · 9/10 · 19 December 2006]

This is a very funny short and very dialog-centered, with visual gags relatively scarce. The verbal gags are beautiful, for the most part. Because I want to discuss some details, this is a spoiler warning:

We see all kinds of signs in the beginning that strongly prohibit poaching anything (including eggs) on the King's property and then we see Bugs try and pick a carrot from the Royal Garden, only to trigger an alarm attached to the carrot itself. He's then caught, "crimson-fisted" by the Sheriff of Nottingham and manages to fool him and get away when we come up on the running gag-a gargantuan Little John showing up to declaim, "Don't you worry, never fear-Robin Hood will soon be here!", only no sight of Robin Hood is to be seen.

The sheriff catches up to Bugs, only to be given a high-pressure sales pitch which has him buying a piece of royal ground (rather than lose it to "a couple from Kansas City". The sheriff starts building a house, until it dawns on him what he's doing. His slow burn is probably the best visual bit in the short.

Bugs drops into Little John's arms for an installment of the running gag and escapes the sheriff by introducing the two men to one another over and over again and then sneaking off. It's a funny bit.

The best gag in the short, hands down, is Bugs tricking the sheriff into thinking that Bugs is the King. Bugs announces that the sheriff is to be knighted for his service to the crown. With each "title" granted the sheriff, Bugs belts him on the head with an imposing scepter which progressively becomes more and more dented with each blow. The "titles" include Baron of Munchausen, Essence of Myrrh, Milk of Magnesia and Quarter of Ten. Bugs then observes of the sheriff that he's "Got lots of stamina!" and at the end, the sheriff thanks his "Majesty". While the sheriff is singing "London Bridge", Bugs elaborately (and rapidly) bakes and frosts a cake-so that the sheriff has something to fall face-first into when he finally collapses.

Once again, we see the running gag, to which Bugs launches an inspired rant, about "helping the needy and the oppressed" and "skipping through Sherwood Forest", when Robin Hood finally shows in a beautiful close which I won't spoil here.

This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 4 and is well worth watching. Recommended.

"It's the rack for you, me long-eared knave!"

[utgard14 · 9/10 · 28 September 2015]

Bugs Bunny is caught stealing carrots from the King's carrot patch by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Classic short directed by Chuck Jones with a story by Michael Maltese. This one's lots of fun. Beautifully animated with well-drawn character and backgrounds. The lovely Technicolor is always a plus. Great voice work the incomparable Mel Blanc as Bugs, the Sheriff, and the dimwitted Little John who has a funny recurring bit. Rousing score from Carl W. Stalling. Lots of great gags and lines. Two of my favorites are the real estate scam and the classic knighting gag. The Errol Flynn cameo at the end (via footage from a certain movie that should be too obvious for me to bother naming) always brings a smile to my face.

Clever and witty Looney Tunes classic

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 11 February 2010]

This cartoon is a classic, just great fun from start to finish, with a perfect mix of slapstick and humorous wit, particularly when Bugs tricks the Sheriff into thinking he is the King. The animation is lovely and colourful, and the music is rousing like the sort of thing you would hear in a swashbuckler. The dialogue is truly funny, definitely some of the best dialogue in any Looney Tunes cartoon, and there are a great many like the Hunting Trilogy with terrific dialogue. The Sheriff is a great supporting character, and Bugs is still his rascally self with a touch of arrogance here too. Additionally adding to the enjoyment is the ending, the snippet from the 1938 classic The Adventures of Robin Hood was an inspired touch, while Mel Blanc as always is superb. All in all, I love this, for how clever and witty it is. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Movies About Movies

[tedg · 1 March 2007]

You know, the world of movies was different before the late fifties. Once you released a film, it had a run, hopefully a long one. Then it was gone, as if it never existed. Then we had TeeVee that started to show just-out-of-release movies, then Ted Turner showing old movies from collections he purchased, and then tapes and DVDs. Now movies can be seen by anyone at any time.

But not then, and if it was big, the studios could rerelease it, and get a second round of return. Such was the case with "Robin Hood." And to increase the buzz, they commissioned this, essentially an ad and featuring a publicity still of Errol Flynn.

There's something a bit wonderful about how Bugs grew up as a character, and its pretty sophisticated what happens here. Bugs is treated as if he were an actor hired to play a part, a Robin Hood part. Its highly introspective humor this. No joke is funny, but the very idea is miraculous.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

See it, thou knave!

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 6 September 2006]

In "Rabbit Hood", Bugs Bunny makes mincemeat of a guard after trying to steal some of Prince John's royal carrots while Little John idiotically claims that Robin Hood is coming. Knowing that this is Bugs Bunny, you can probably guess what sorts of tricks he has up his sleeve (or wherever he keeps them).

Cartoons like this just go to show that the creators really reached their apex in the late '40s and early '50s. I learned from "Bugs Bunny Superstar" that Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, and that whole crowd liked to act out their cartoons during lunch breaks. I can imagine how much fun they must have had acting this one out! All in all, a great cartoon. It shows that entertainment just needs to be clever.

Bugs as Robin Hood

[didi-5 · 7/10 · 12 February 2005]

This clever cartoon has Bugs Bunny playing both Robin Hood and the king, as he plots to steal the carrots from the Royal garden. A one-joke film, perhaps, but it does have as its crowning glory a snippet from the 1938 'Adventures of Robin Hood'.

Is it any good? Most of the early Bugs Bunny films (of which this is one) were sharp - relying on the genius of Mel Blanc and Chuck Jones to deliver the laughs and the situations their audience were looking for. 'Rabbit Hood' is no exception. Bugs is at his usual foolish and arrogant best, with his spluttering catchphrases and his withering looks at the hapless people he cons (the Sheriff of Nottingham, of course, here).

MY FAVORITE CHUCK JONES BUGS BUNNY EVER!!!

[mjsmith · 10/10 · 19 April 1999]

Forget "What's Opera, Doc?"!!!

This is THE Chuck Jones Bugs Bunny cartoon that I admired the most!

The reason for it, is of the ending, which use two short snips from the Errol Flynn Classic, "The Adventures Of Robin Hood", to Classic Use!

Chuck Jones & Michael Maltese ought to give the public thanks for that one instead!!!

As an erstwhile Home Economics major . . .

[pixrox1 · 7/10 · 25 October 2021]

. . . I feel that this animated short may raise unreasonable expectations among our young sons, or--taking the long view--America's pool of future husbands. RABBIT HOOD implies that it is possible to whip up a cake in no time flat. Bugs Bunny concocts such a dessert in a second or two, which is a briefer time span than any self-respecting baker would require to locate the desired recipe card or cookbook page PRIOR to embarking upon the shopping trip usually necessary to complete the ingredients list for said confection. When viewing Bugs' "accomplishment," an experienced kitchen hand can only think "What a crock!"

A lesser celebrated classic. One of the great cartoon scripts

[phantom_tollbooth · 10/10 · 9 January 2009]

Of all the many Robin Hood based cartoons that came out in the wake of the wonderful Errol Flynn epic 'The Adventures of Robin Hood', 'Robin Hood Daffy' remains the most famous and best. Chuck Jones's 'Rabbit Hood', however, runs a very close second. A lesser known classic, 'Rabbit Hood' has an absolutely superb script by Michael Maltese. Chock full of literate dialogue and extremely unexpected and elaborate gags (the house building gag is one of my all-time favourites), 'Rabbit Hood' is hysterically funny. The Sheriff of Nottingham is a great foil for Bugs, displaying a natural tendency towards being duped rivalled only by Elmer Fudd but which is offset by his exaggerated olde timey British style lines. Bugs is great in this cartoon too, an example of the character at his most innately likable as was typical of Jones's most common depiction of Bugs. The ending, which I won't spoil here, is a wonderful surprise. All in all, 'Rabbit Hood' is an absolutely terrific piece of work and deserves more praise than it usually gets. I highly recommend the spectacularly beautiful 2 disc special edition DVD of 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' which not only features the classic feature film but also offers both 'Rabbit Hood' and 'Robin Hood Daffy' as extras.

"Never fear, Robin Hood will soon be here!"...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 13 February 2008]

It's almost as if Warner Bros. was preparing audiences for the re-release of THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD by having this proclamation made several times by Little John in this Bugs Bunny cartoon, RABBIT HOOD. And perhaps it was planned that way, because the feature was released to theaters around this time.

Anyway, it's another Bugs Bunny romp with the Sheriff of Nottingham catching him poaching carrots from the King's Garden. From then on, it's the usual shenanigans with Bugs putting one over on the Sheriff, even donning disguises in an effort to convince the man that he's the king. All of it, of course, is extremely silly but leads toward a good finish with footage of Flynn actually appearing when Robin Hood finally does show up.

As amusing as it is, it's not one of my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons--there were so many others that were much funnier than this. Mel Blanc does a terrific job on the voices.

Single funniest moment in movie history!

[rjeffb · 8/10 · 4 October 2005]

Great wiseacre comedy, like every Chuck Jones Bugs Bunny. One of the few that incorporated live-action cameos. Pay close attention when the Sheriff of Nottingham comes to an immense clearing and spies (to a rapid drumbeat) something red in the distance. He strains and squints to make it out, but all we can see is a red line moving slowly across the meadow straight for him. As it approaches it picks up speed and we can see it is a red carpet rapidly unrolling itself. It finishes unrolling directly at the Sheriff's feet, revealing Bugs dressed as the king of England...and no matter how many times you have seen it, Bugs' expression of serene tranquility and the Sheriff's reaction of utter astonishment and discombobulation will have you on the floor! "I knight you," King Bugs proclaims, "Sir Loin of Beef..."

Harewood Forest

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 11 July 2015]

This is an 8-minute cartoon from 65 years ago. It was made by Chuck Jones, Michael Maltese and Mel Blanc as most of the other famous Looney Toons from back in the day. This one here deals with Robin Hood and even has 2 short sequences of live action from the Errol Flynn movie. Quite uncommon really for the Warner Bros cartoons. Bugs gets in trouble when he is caught red-handed trying to steal one of the King's carrots. The alarm application attached to it was pretty funny actually. And so were some of the scenes in which Bugs goes against the dim-witted Sheriff of Nottingham. Really one of the easiest opponents of all time for the favorite cartoon rabbit and he really is not a match for him at any time. Solid short film which put a smile on my lips and not only recommended to Bugs Bunny fans, but also to people who love the Robin Hood character or movies. Good stuff here. Check it out.

This 'Robin Hood' Missed The Mark

[ccthemovieman-1 · 5/10 · 17 August 2007]

The first half of this eight minute cartoon is good but the second half is dreadful. The humor is so lame, I couldn't believe it. I kept waiting for the usual clever Bugs Bunny remarks or sight gags and they never came...until the last 10 seconds when Errol Flynn shows up!

Early on, it looked like Bugs Bunny was in trouble and need of Little John and Robin Hood in this old tale. However, Bugs rarely needs help and he usually can talk his way out of anything, plus he's usually up against a total moron. That's the case here as his foe is the Sheriff Of Nottingham, who is dumber than Elmer Fudd. Little John, whom we also see, is stupid, too. Unfortunately, that makes for some lame humor Somebody who can't recognize a human being from a rabbit is funny? No, this was just stupid.

The only funny part of the short was in the beginning when Bugs gets caught pilfering one of the king's carrots. You know it belongs to him because each carrot has its emblem on it!

The only consistently good part of this animated short was the artwork. You knew this was going to be different just by the opening credits, done in Old English. The cartoon features some beautifully dawn scenes, and kudos to the restoration team at Looney Tunes for making this, as well as all of them on the Golden and Spotlight collection sets look fantastic.

However, as everyone knows, the humor varies greatly from 'toon to 'toon, and this one was a disappointment, especially after reading all the rave reviews by others here.

Great LT Short

[Michael_Elliott · 8 January 2012]

Rabbit Hood (1949)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

The master Chuck Jones directed this hilarious spoof on the Robin Hood tale. The film starts off in the King's carrot garden where we're told that there's to be no trespassing. Flash over to a hairy arm coming out from behind a sign and it's Bugs Bunny trying to get a carrot, which sets off an alarm and soon he's doing battle with one of the King's men. This here is without question one of the best Looney Tunes out there as we get all sorts of great action as well as some funny twists throughout the film. The action includes Bugs constantly trying to outsmart this guy with all sorts of good violence including a very funny bit where he dresses as the King and beats the man over the head. Another great scene takes place in the King's rose garden where Bugs convinces his chaser to buy it from him. There's a nice twist at the end with Errol Flynn doing a cameo and it's pretty priceless and especially Bugs response.

Warner Bros. continues its Campaign for Wealth Redistribution . . .

[oscaralbert · 8/10 · 28 April 2016]

. . . with this animated short, RABBIT HOOD. Following up on its classic live action feature ROBIN HOOD, this cartoon concludes with an archival footage cameo by that future Castro Boy Freedom Fighter himself, Errol Flynn. (Though most historians contend that John Wayne fingered Flynn for CIA Black Ops assassination because he felt that Errol was muscling in on his bridal pool with the release of CUBAN REBEL GIRLS, a significant minority of pundits argue that Il Duce never got over Bugs Bunny's tribute to the dashing Aussie here, getting his revenge over this slight a decade later.) Real Life Games of Thrones aside, RABBIT HOOD has many other notable aspects. Bugs Bunny goes through more costume changes that Frank Morgan did as THE WIZARD OF OZ, with each set of clothes similarly making a new man (or, in his case, rabbit). In his final King get-up, Bugs crowns the hapless Sheriff of Nottingham seven times, with his arise litany beginning, "Arise, Sir Loin of Beef." This part is topped only by the earlier bit in which Bugs bakes and frosts a cake made from scratch, finishing just in time for the woozy sheriff to catch a face full.

I say... this was actually funny!

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 7/10 · 20 March 2011]

This eight minute Looney Tunes cartoon is the longest of the three on the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD of Adventures of Robin Hood from 1938. Bugs is hunted by The Sheriff of Nottingham following orders by the King for poaching a royal carrot, as he tricks him over and over in the usual style of these. Little John makes appearances as well(with *really* pronounced lips, not sure how that happened). I've watched a bunch of these at this point, and this is one of the only ones that genuinely made me laugh. Repeatedly. Are the gags entirely original to these, are they the most memorable, is there more than one truly clever play on words and is there a lot of the then-patented breaking of the fourth wall and meta-humor? Yea...-no. But it gets the job done. There is some "old English" in the dialog. The animation is nicely done and holds up well. This is well-paced, and it isn't boring at any point, no bits really go on for too long. There is cartoony violence and moderately disturbing content(if it is handled in a light tone) in this. I recommend this to fans of Merrie Melodies. 7/10

"What's up, forsooth."

[slymusic · 27 August 2009]

"Rabbit Hood" is a classic Bugs Bunny cartoon written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones. In Sherwood Forest, the pesky wabbit unknowingly steals from the King's carrot patch, prompting the Sheriff of Nottingham to give him a hard time. Just one more adversary whom Bugs can have fun with.

My favorite sequences from "Rabbit Hood" include the following (do not read any further if you have not yet seen this cartoon). Bugs pulls a clever switch on the Sheriff and shows him Ye King's Royal Rose Garden (for the purpose of building a house) to the musical accompaniment of "I'm Looking over a Four-Leaf Clover" and "There's No Place Like Home"; the Sheriff must have worked many months building his house before he realizes he has been duped! When Bugs masquerades as the King, he knights the Sheriff with many puns and whacks to the head. I also love Bugs' "Sheriff of Nottingham, meet Little John" routine.

"Rabbit Hood" is a cartoon that definitely delivers a lot of laughs. You could place Bugs Bunny in any time period and it would still be funny!