Bully for Bugs (1953)

Director:

Chuck Jones

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Release Date:

8 August 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Animation | Comedy | Short

Plot:

Bugs Bunny takes a wrong turn at Albuquerque and winds up in a Mexican bullring fighting one heck of a big bullying bull.

Plot Keywords:

Bull | Bugs Bunny | Bullring | This Means War | Slingshot

Cast

Mel Blanc

...

Bugs Bunny / Bull Gulping (voice)

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #15579) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) | UK:U

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The sounds of the crowd were recorded from a genuine bull-fighting crowd in Barcelona.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bugs Bunny: Well, here I am. Hey, just a cotton-picking minute. This don't look like the Coachella Valley to me.
[picks up map]
Bugs Bunny: Hmm, I knew I should've taken that left turn at Albuquerque. Oh well, I'll just ask this gent in the fancy knickerbockers. Eh, I beg your par...
[the matador runs right past Bugs; Bugs chases him]
Bugs Bunny: Eh, pardon me, sir, but could you direct me to the shortest route to the Coachella Valley and the big carrot festival therein?
[the matador climbs the fence]
Bugs Bunny: Eh, what's up, Doc?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Tiny Toon Adventures: Starting from Scratch (#1.11)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

La Cucaracha

Not the best of Bugs Bunny.

Unlike most of the people on this website, I do not think that this Bugs Bunny episode is a classic. It is not bad, I do quite like it, but I cannot see how so many people would consider this a "classic Looney Tune".

I do find this short quite funny, but I find the animation and the theme quite mediocre. Bugs Bunny is clever, but he is not clever enough... I can understand why Bugs Bunny would have been fooled in his earlier cartoons, but not this one.

In this episode, Bugs Bunny is trying to reach a carrot festival, but has ended up in Mexico in the middle of a dangerous bullfight. He replaces the matador and tries to fight the bull. Who will eventually earn his true victory?

I recommend this to people who like very slapsticky Bugs Bunny episodes and to people who only like Looney Tunes because it is funny. Other people may like it, but not all that much. Enjoy "Bully for Bugs"! :-)

7 and a half out of ten.