Looney Tunes: "Easter Yeggs"

Premiered June 28, 1947.

"Every year, I get some dumb bunny to do my work for me."
-The Easter Rabbit (Mel Blanc)

Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc) is relaxing, reading a book when he hears someone crying.

It's the Easter Rabbit.  He's says he's "supposed to be happy and gay" while delivering eggs, but his feet are killing him.  Bugs is sympathetic and offers to deliver the "technicolor hen fruit" for him.  As Bugs hops away, the Easter Bunny breaks the 4th wall and tells us that every year he gets another rabbit to do his work for him.

Bugs' first stop is the home of a child known as "Dead End Kid".

Yikes!

The child immediately attacks Bugs, when Bugs tries to retaliate, Dead End Kid's family shows up armed to the teeth and turns their guns on Bugs.

YIKES!!

Bugs goes back to the Easter Rabbit and tells him he's changed his mind.  The Easter Rabbit convinces Bugs to try again.  The next home he visits is the residence of Elmer Fudd (Arthur Q. Bryan), who says he will turn the Easter Rabbit into "wabbit stew".

 
Bugs is prepared this time and smashes an egg in Fudd's hands.  They engage in a battle of wits, with Bugs enraging Fudd, causing him to pull a rifle on our hero.

While this is going on, the Easter Rabbit watches and keeps encouraging Bugs to deliver the eggs.  
Will Bugs stick with it?


J.A. Morris says:

I've mentioned in prior reviews that I'm a huge fan of classic Warner Brothers cartoons.  But I have mixed feelings about Easter Yeggs.

It gets off to a good start, with Bugs reading a book called How To Multiply.  And it gives us another great gag, with the classic "Bugs outline" as he runs out the door.

And the animation is great as usual.  Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan are always fun to hear voicing Bugs and Elmer.

The portrayal of the Easter Bunny as lazy was certainly cynical.  It was also somewhat refreshing compared to other holiday cartoons.  But the same cynicism and the presence of more guns than usual means it probably shouldn't be shown to very young children.

Lobby card for Easter Yeggs.

But I have one big problem with Easter Yeggs.  Bugs Bunny should NEVER lose a fight to a little boy (even one who sucks on a gun!).  And if he does, he should go back to the house and triumph in the end.  I'm aware that Robert McKimson specialized in "unconventional" Bugs shorts (his Rebel Rabbit is one of my favorites), but this cartoon goes too far.

Easter Yeggs has been released on DVD.  It can be found on Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3. 

If you want a dash of cynicism in your Easter programming, check out this short.  But Bugs' defeat by Dead End Kid costs it an egg.

J.A. Morris' rating:

2 and a half Easter Eggs.

RigbyMel says:

There is lots of anarchic fun to be had in this Warner Brothers short and as J.A. Morris says, the lazy, cynical Easter Rabbit's conning of Bugs is an interesting deviation in tone from the typical holiday cartoon.

That being said,  I cannot get behind the Dead End Kid being shown sucking on a gun like a bottle.   It's a gag that just doesn't play well to my mind.    Like J.A. Morris, I was also disappointed that Bugs didn't get to give the Dead End Kid (or at least his family) some kind of comeuppance.  Maybe Warner Brothers was hesitant to have Bugs Bunny wreck havoc on a child?

 I did not see this short when I was a child, but if I had, I think I might also have been a bit upset by the notion of Elmer Fudd wanting to shoot the Easter Bunny!  So this is not a Looney Toons short that I would recommend for very young children.

Bugs turns Fudd into an Easter Egg!

That being said, there are enough silly gags and Easter anarchy to make this worthwhile for older children and for adult cartoon connoisseurs.

RigbyMel's rating:

2 and a half Easter Eggs.

Looney Tunes: "Ballot Box Bunny"

Premiered October 6, 1951

"As I stand on this platform, I stand for union - Union suits and Union stations! For the little people. There's enough fresh air and sunshine in this great country of ours for everybody, and I'll see to it that you'll get your share!"

Yosemite Sam (Mel Blanc) is running for Mayor.  He promises he will rid the country of all rabbits, if elected.

Bugs is disgusted by Sam's rabbit elimination platform

Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc again) overhears this from underneath Sam's stage and cannot let it go unchallenged. He decides to fight fire with fire and take on Sam in the mayoral election.  "This calls for stragety!"

Bugs Bunny "drums up" support for his campaign

Bugs begins his campaign to win the votes of the townspeople by becoming a one-rabbit band.

He then makes his own stump speech. 
"From the rock-bound coasts of Maine to the smoggy shores of Cal-ee-forn-eye-ay.  Dat is a long walk!"

Bugs speechifying in a Teddy Roosevelt costume

Bugs adds some theatrics to his stump speech by channeling Teddy Roosevelt and assuring the voters that he'll "speak softly but carry a big stick."

Naturally, Sam interrupts saying he'll speak LOUDLY and carry a BIGGER stick.

Sam finds a baby to kiss in old-school politician fashion

 And he LOOOOVES babies ... he just doesn't count on Bugs dressing up as one and accusing him of biting his "wittle nose" when he tries to kiss "baby" Bugs.

Bugs - disguised as a baby - plants a smacker on Sam

The ladies of the town do not react well.

The crazy campaigning continues with Sam trying to play dirty tricks on each of Bugs' maneuvers. 

Bugs offers grub in hopes of grassroots support

He sends ants to ruin Bugs' grassroots picnic.

"Assorted Picnic Ants" - another ACME Co. specialty?

Bugs retaliates by putting a stick of dynamite in a watermelon for the ants to take to Sam.

Sam also takes over Bugs' cigar distribution table, but Bugs manages to work this to his advantage by swapping out the regular see-gars for some of the exploding variety. 

"A wise guy, eh?"

Things become increasingly chaotic with chase scenes:

And even more explosive action!

To see who wins this election,  check out this cartoon on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 DVD set.

RigbyMel says:

This is classic Warner Brothers hilarity at its finest.   It takes the lunacy of regular political campaigning and pushes it to humorous extreme.  (I an betting there are a few politicians out there who really might like to deliver a stick of dynamite to a political enemy via watermelon, if they could get away with it.)    The gags in this animated short come thick and fast -- so much so that repeat viewing is recommended.

This cartoon provides some nice levity for election season viewing.

RigbyMel's rating:
4 Ballot Boxes

 J.A. Morris says:
A great cartoon, an example of director Isadore "Friz" Freleng at his best.  Yosemite Sam (created by Freleng) was the best adversary Bugs ever faced (meaner and smarter than Elmer Fudd).  Having these two compete in an election was a stroke of genius. 

When I was a kid, this short often aired on Saturday mornings during the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show.  But the ending was censored, if you watch it on DVD, you'll understand why.

If you're looking for relief from all the negative ads that have aired during this election season, Ballot Box Bunny is the perfect antidote. 

J.A. Morris' rating:
4 Ballot Boxes

Broom-Stick Bunny

Premiered February 25, 1956

On Halloween,Witch Hazel (June Foray) asks her talking magic mirror (Mel Blanc) "who's the ugliest of them all?"

The mirror says it's her.

"By my troth, I will avow, there's none that's uglier than thou!"

Bugs Bunny (Blanc again) is trick or treating, wearing a "witch" mask.  When he knocks on Witch Hazel's door, she is surprised to see another witch and comments that she hasn't "seen her at any of the union meetings."

"Evening Granny,  do you have any goodies for a Halloween witch?"

She is concerned at Bugs' apparent witchy hideousness, and the mirror says this witch is definitely uglier than Witch Hazel.  Hazel invites Bugs in for tea and whips up a potion that will make her rival pretty.  Hazel serves it in a tea kettle.

"A cup of tea, a cookie and you ...!" 

Bugs has to take off his mask to sample the brew, thereby informing Witch Hazel that he's a rabbit dressed as a witch for Halloween.  This gives her a new idea.  Hazel checks her potion book and notices the recipe calls for a rabbit's clavicle to complete the potion she's been working on all evening.

Just one more ingredient needed!

She chases Bugs all around her house.

Bugs' delicate inner sense of danger warns him that there is something faintly unhealthy in the atmosphere of this cottage!

Bugs cannot resist a carrot!

Witch Hazel manages to catch Bugs due to his weakness for carrots.   She ties him up in the kitchen while she sharpens up her meat cleaver. 

Uh-oh! 

If you cannot remember what happens next, this cartoon is readily available on DVD and various other sources!

RigbyMel says: 

This is a wonderful Chuck Jones-directed short.   Bugs Bunny and Witch Hazel are an amusing duo.   I love the bits where Hazel attempts to figure out Bugs' ugliness regimen and the fact that she is so concerned that a masked bunny might be worse looking than she is.   There are some great sight gags and puns as well - something that always appealed to me.  For example,  check out Witch Hazel's union membership card: 

This is a cartoon that  I enjoy watching every year.  It's well worth re-visiting or visiting for the first time.  

RigbyMel's rating: 

4 Jack O'Lanterns

J.A. Morris says:

We're in total agreement here, this is not only a classic Halloween short, it's one of the best Warner Brothers cartoons ever produced.  Mel Blanc And June Foray are gods of cartoon voices and they're great in this short.  Ted Pierce also deserves credit here for writing a great story, same goes for musical director Milt Franklyn. 

"Boy, this trick or treatin' is a pretty nice racket, pity it only comes once a year."

Some "trivia" notes about this short:

While Witch Hazel prepares her poison, she sings "A cup of tea, a cookie and you-oooo!"  This is a take-off on an old song called "A Cup Of Coffee, A Sandwich And You".  This was something I was curious about for years.

 Near the end, Witch Hazel is transformed into a "prettier" woman, a fate worse than death for a witch.  According to Foray, it's based on the way she looked at the time. 

Broom-Stick Bunny has been a favorite of mine for years and is highly recommended.  My Halloween "season" isn't complete without at least one viewing of this classic cartoon.

J.A. Morris' rating:
4 Jack O'Lanterns.