| Rabbit Fire | |
|---|---|
 Lobby card | |
| Directed by | Charles M. Jones |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Produced by | Eddie Selzer |
| Starring | Mel Blanc Arthur Q. Bryan |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Ken Harris Phil Monroe Lloyd Vaughan Ben Washam |
| Layouts by | Robert Gribbroek |
| Backgrounds by | Philip de Guard |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7:33 |
| Language | English |
Rabbit Fire is a 1951Looney Tunes cartoon starringBugs Bunny,Daffy Duck, andElmer Fudd.[1] Directed byChuck Jones and written byMichael Maltese,[2] the cartoon is the first in Jones' "hunting trilogy"—the other two cartoons following it beingRabbit Seasoning andDuck! Rabbit, Duck! It is also the first cartoon to feature a feud between Bugs and Daffy. Produced byEdward Selzer forWarner Bros. Cartoons, the short was released to theaters on May 19, 1951 byWarner Bros. Pictures and is often considered among Jones' best and most important films.
The film marks a significant shift in Daffy's personality, going from being the insane "screwball" character who (like Bugs) overwhelmed his adversaries, to a much more flawed individual, full of greed and vanity and desire for attention under the spotlight. This personality change, which was previously explored by Jones inYou Were Never Duckier andDaffy Dilly, and even earlier inFriz Freleng'sYou Ought to Be in Pictures, was done in order for Daffy to better serve as Bugs' foil. This was fueled by Bugs' popularity surpassing Daffy's quickly over the years, increasing the desire of the studio's animators to pair the two together. Since then, Daffy's earlier screwball personality has been revisited in newerLooney Tunes media such asLooney Tunes Cartoons.
Daffy Duck orchestrates a ruse to lure Elmer Fudd to Bugs Bunny's burrow, initiating a cycle of mistaken identity. Initially, Daffy incites Elmer to target Bugs under the false pretense of rabbitseason, only for Bugs to counter that it is duck season. Daffy, indignant, engages in a verbal duel with Bugs, unwittingly validating Bugs' assertions and prompting Elmer to fire upon him repeatedly.
Subsequently, Daffy's attempt to reverse the verbal game results in his repeated defeat, culminating in his apparent demise at the hands of Elmer. However, Daffy's resilience persists as he cunningly disguises himself as Bugs, leading to a further escalation of the hunting season debate. Through a series of costume changes and sign manipulations, Bugs and Daffy perpetuate the confusion, ultimately turning the tables on Elmer and subjecting him to their own brand of humor.
As tensions escalate, Elmer's patience wanes, prompting a final confrontation where Bugs and Daffy adopt various personas to outwit him. The climax unfolds as they inundate Elmer with a barrage of "Rabbit Season" and "Duck Season" signs, ultimately declaring it to be "Elmer Season." With Elmer now in the crosshairs, Bugs and Daffy assume the role of hunters and stalk Elmer with shotguns in hand.
Rabbit Fire is generally considered amongChuck Jones andMichael Maltese's best works, and is noted for its use of dialogue gags in lieu of the physical gags more typical in animation.[3] Besides the two sequels to this film, a number of other Jones shorts, includingBeanstalk Bunny andAli Baba Bunny, paired quick-witted Bugs and self-serving Daffy with (or rather against) each other.
In this episode, Mel Blanc showcased his ability to make one character imitate another character's voice, in this case, Daffy Duck impersonating Bugs Bunny and vice versa. Actor and voice actorHank Azaria pointed out that as a voice actor, it is almost impossible to accomplish. At one point, he tried to do that inThe Simpsons, along with the other cast members, but none of them could do it.[4]
The "rabbit season/duck season" argument from this short became one of the references in theLooney Tunes franchise to have been analyzed both by scholars and by Jones himself (although this gag was actually used by Daffy against Porky six years earlier in the cartoonDuck Soup to Nuts). According to an essay by Darragh O'Donoghue,Rabbit Fire "stands in close relation to human experience, striving and generally failing to grasp an elusive quarry or goal."[5] Richard Thompson said that in the film, there is "the clearest definition of character roles: Elmer never knows what's going on; Bugs always knows what's going on and is in control of things; Daffy is bright enough to understand how to be in control, but never quite makes it." Jones himself refers toRabbit Fire as a "corner" picture, among his works that, "as in turning a corner in a strange city, reveal new and enchanting vistas."
The short earned an honorable mention for animation historianJerry Beck's list ofThe Fifty Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1000 Animation Professionals. Its 1952 sequel,Rabbit Seasoning, made the actual list at number 30. The style, setup, and plot ofRabbit Fire were adapted into the opening sequence of Warner Bros.' 2003 filmLooney Tunes: Back in Action.
Thenon sequitur elephant character based onJoe Besser was the inspiration forHoratio the Elephant, a recurring character onPBS'Sesame Street.[citation needed]
The Elephant fromThe Major Lied 'Til Dawn reappeared, but was redesigned.
Rabbit Fire is one of several shorts where Bugs Bunny performs drag to trick his enemies. Multiple scholars analyzeRabbit Fire to argue that Bugs Bunny’s drag performances demonstrate thecultural construction of gender,[6][7][8][9] as well as animation’s ability to expose “the constructedness of gender and sexuality through parodic redeployment.”[6]
This cartoon is available on theLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1, Disc 2,The Essential Bugs Bunny, Disc 1, theLooney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, Disc 2, and theBugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection, Disc 2.
| Preceded by | Bugs Bunny cartoons 1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Daffy Duck cartoons 1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Elmer Fudd cartoons 1951 | Succeeded by |