Bully for Bugs (1953)

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

Director:

Chuck Jones

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Stars:

Mel Blanc

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mel Blanc	...	Bugs Bunny / Bull Gulping (voice)

Storyline

Bugs Bunny once again making that "wrong turn at Albuquerque" burrows into a bullring, where a magnificent bull is making short work of a toreador. The bull bucks Bugs out of the arena, prompting the bunny to declare "Of course you realize, this means war!" The deft Bugs' arsenal comes plenty packed, as he uses anvils, well-placed face slaps and the bull's horns as a slingshot. The bull fights back, using his horns as a shotgun barrel. The bull's comeback is short-lived; just after Bugs makes out his will, he lures the bull out of the arena, just in time to set up a rube-like device that leads to the bull's defeat.

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Plot Keywords:

bull | bullring | this means war | anvil | slingshot | 

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Genres:

Family | Animation | Comedy | Short

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 August 1953 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

7 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Chuck Jones, the idea for this cartoon came about one day while he and the writers were trying to come up with a new story for a Bugs cartoon. Their boss, the producer Edward Selzer, abruptly announced, "I don't want no gags about bullfights. Bullfights aren't funny". The thought of putting Bugs in a bullfight hadn't even occurred to Jones, who immediately hit upon it as a great idea. The resulting cartoon proved to be one of the most successful in the Bugs Bunny series.

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Goofs

When Bugs was writing his will, we see the top of the paper turned over so that the audience can read it from left to right (not upside-down). This means that the heading itself is written upside-down. The reason the word WILL was written right-side up, as Bugs was past page one, is so that all people, especially children, could know what was being written, for both children and adults.

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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?

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Crazy Credits

After the bull realizes that the door has opened, Bugs quickly sets up a trap to get rid of the bull as soon as it returned to the arena. The bull returns to the arena and is killed as it goes over the detonating dynamite keg. The bull, now dead, hit its head against a wall. Bugs quickly raises a red cape in front of the bull's rear end on which is written THE End. The two-word phrase, THE End, is in gold letters, on the red cape as the cartoon concludes.

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Connections

Referenced in Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage (1993)

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Soundtracks

"La Cucaracha"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played when Bugs leads the tip-toeing bull

User Reviews

I Should Have Taken That Left Turn At Albuquerque!

This was one of the very first Looney Tunes Cartoon shorts that I ever saw in my life, along with the countless other number of shorts that I watched. I loved it back then, but I have to reevaluate it now. I have reevaluated it, and I love it even more now than I did back then! Bully For Bugs is hysterical, Looney (yes, pun intended), ludicrous, hilarious, witty, clever, and laugh out-loud outrageous! I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque, then again, maybe it's better that I didn't, because if I would have taken that left turn, I might not have seen this at all. Well, I'm glad that I didn't take that left turn, because I am currently loving this delight animated cartoon short!

In this short, our hero Bugs Bunny accidentally takes a wrong turn at Albuquerque (by the way, he says this a lot in quite a few other cartoon shorts that he has appeared in), and he ends up the the middle of a bullfighting ring, and can you guess what happens? I'll tell you what happens. Disaster ensues. And when I mean disaster, I mean a hysterical disaster, because all the trouble that happens here is something that you are probably going to end up busting a gut at, because it is something that you might bust a gut laughing at! So all in all, Bugs Bunny has once again made another great cartoon short that certainly delivers the laughs!

So all in all, this short is another one of my all time favorite Looney Tunes cartoon shorts, and not to mention that it is one of the best ones that our lovable Bugs Bunny was ever in! Just think if Looney Tunes never existed, what would the world be like? It's probably best that we not know...

But anyway, Looney Tunes DOES exist in this world, and I am extremely glad that it does, because it really has had an impact on just about every single person out in the world! Watch this whenever you can, you won't be able to stop laugh!

10/10