| Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Based on | A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens |
| Screenplay by | Tony Benedict John W. Dunn Friz Freleng |
| Directed by | Friz Freleng |
| Starring | Mel Blanc (all voices) |
| Music by | Doug Goodwin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Hal Geer |
| Editors | Richard S. Gannon Robert T. Gillis |
| Running time | 8 minutes |
| Production companies | DePatie–Freleng Enterprises Warner Bros. Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | November 27, 1979 (1979-11-27) |
Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol is an eight-minute animated film produced byWarner Bros. Television andDePatie–Freleng Enterprises, and aired onCBS on November 27, 1979 as the first segment of the Christmas special,Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales.[1]
The cartoon is an adaptation of theCharles Dickens 1843 novellaA Christmas Carol, featuringYosemite Sam asEbenezer Scrooge andPorky Pig asBob Cratchit.[2]Bugs Bunny plays the ghost ofJacob Marley and Scrooge's nephew, Fred. Scrooge's dream-journey into his past, present, and future is omitted; instead, Fred dresses up asMarley's ghost to scare the unhappy protagonist straight.
Scrooge is counting money in thecounting house of his firm whenBob Cratchit comes in, wanting to borrow a lump ofcoal as he is freezing. Scrooge refuses ("I gave you a lump of coal a week ago; you should've made it last."), and tells him to just work faster so he'll keep warm. Then Scrooge's nephew Fred comes in withChristmas decorations andmistletoe. He is tossed out, and decides that "somebody oughta teach that little man some Christmas spiriting". Fred then borrows a piece of coal and places it in the office of Cratchit, who graciously thanks him.
However, Scrooge's catSylvester notices this and warns him. Scrooge takes back the coal, throwing him out along with thecarolersElmer Fudd,Pepe Le Pew andFoghorn Leghorn whom Fred let into the office, and fires Cratchit...who invites Fred to dinner. Fred is introduced to Bob's wife and their offspring, including youngest sonTim. Suddenly, the local Light Company shows up and takes the Cratchits' last candle (because their bill is past due). After that comes a notice, from none other than Scrooge, that the family's mortgage is being foreclosed; the Cratchits must vacate their house by midnight. Fred angrily vows to save Bob's domicile however he can.
Fred starts by annoying Scrooge with more carolers; when Scrooge goes out to deal with this, he slips in a pile of snow. Next, Fred putssnow into Scrooge's hot bath, turning it ice-cold as Scrooge jumps in. Fred then dresses up as the ghost of Scrooge's late business partnerJacob Marley...dragging aroundchains and beats adrum. Investigating, Scrooge accidentally slips down the stairs and into the cold along with Sylvester. When they return to bed, the ghost of Marley reappears. Sylvester promptly flees, slamming the door behind him and cutting off Scrooge. The ghost of Marley threatens to take Scrooge to see "the man in the red suit" (theDevil, though Scrooge first guessesSanta Claus).
Scrooge promptly changes his ways for the better. To prove himself reformed, he dresses up as Santa Claus and runs through the streets at night...shouting "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" and pelting total strangers with fistfuls of cash. He also rehires Bob Cratchit by making his new partner in the firm, succeeding Marley. Tweety raises a toast to him, and Fred kisses him. Scrooge (now going by the name of Sam) still hates kissing, though.
This story is the first part ofBugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales. As the second one featuringWile E. Coyote andThe Roadrunner (Freeze Frame) begins, Bugs congratulates Sam for making Scrooge a charitable character, but Sam tells Bugs that it was all a play, and demands Porky and the gang give all his money back to him.
| Preceded by | Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1979 | Succeeded by The Fright Before Christmas |