This article is about the adult version of Bugs Bunny. For the baby version of the character seen in Baby Looney Tunes, see Baby Bugs.

Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character. He is best known for his starring roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of theatrical short films produced by Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American Animation. His popularity during this era led to his becoming an American cultural icon, as well as a corporate mascot of the Warner Bros. company.[2] He was originally voiced by Mel Blanc, but is now voiced by a variety of voice actors.[3]

Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray hare, famous for his relaxed, passive personality, pronounced Mid-Atlantic accent (Blanc described the voice as being a mixture of Brooklyn and Bronx accents[4]), depiction as a mischievous trickster, and his catchphrase "Eh, what's up, doc?" (usually said while chewing a carrot).

Since his official debut in 1940's A Wild Hare,[5] Bugs has appeared in various short films, feature films, compilations, TV series, music records, comic books, video games, award shows, amusement park rides, and commercials. He has also appeared in more films (short and feature length) than any other cartoon character,[6] is the ninth most-portrayed film personality in the world,[6] and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[7]

When TV Guide compiled a list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time as part of the magazine's 50th anniversary in 2002, Bugs Bunny was given the honor of number 1.[8][9] In a CNN broadcast, a TV Guide editor talked about the group that created the list. The editor also explained why Bugs pulled top billing: "His stock...has never gone down...Bugs is the best example...of the smart-aleck American comic. He not only is a great cartoon character, he's a great comedian. He was written well. He was drawn beautifully. He has thrilled and made many generations laugh. He is tops."[10]

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History

Bugs' Precursor

According to Chase Craig, who was a member of Tex Avery's cartoon unit and later wrote and drew the first Bugs Bunny comic Sunday pages and Bugs' first comic book; "Bugs was not the creation of any one man but rather represented the creative talents of perhaps five or six directors and many cartoon writers. In those days, the stories were often the work of a group who suggested various gags, bounced them around and finalized them in a joint story conference."[11] Happy Rabbit, a hare with some of the personality of Bugs (though looking very different), made his first appearance in the cartoon short Porky's Hare Hunt, released on April 30, 1938. Co-directed by Ben Hardaway and an uncredited Cal Dalton (who was responsible for the initial design of the rabbit), this short has an almost identical plot to Tex Avery's Porky's Duck Hunt, which had introduced Daffy Duck. Hare Hunt replaced the little black duck with a small white rabbit. Porky Pig was again cast as a hunter tracking a silly prey who is more interested in driving his pursuer insane and less interested in escaping. Happy introduced himself with the odd expression "Jiggers, fellers," and Mel Blanc gave the character a voice and laugh much like those he would later use for Woody Woodpecker. Hare Hunt also gave Happy the famous Groucho Marx line, "Of course you realize, this means war!" The rabbit character was popular enough with audiences that the Termite Terrace staff decided to use it again.[12][13] According to Friz Freleng, Hardaway and Dalton had decided to dress the duck in a rabbit suit. The white rabbit had an oval head and a shapeless body. In characterization, he was "a rural buffoon". He was loud, zany with a goofy, guttural laugh. Blanc provided him with a hayseed voice.[14]

Happy returned in the short Prest-O Change-O, directed by Chuck Jones, where he is the pet rabbit of unseen character Sham-Fu The Magician. Two dogs, fleeing the local dogcatcher, enter his absent master's house. Happy harasses them but is ultimately bested by the bigger of the 2 dogs.

Happy's third appearance came in Hare-um Scare-um, once again directed by Hardaway and Dalton. This short (the first in which he is depicted as a gray bunny instead of a white one) is also notable as Happy's first singing role. Charlie Thorson, lead animator on the short, gave the character a different name. He had written "Bugs' Bunny" on the model sheet that he drew for Hardaway. In promotional material for the short, including a surviving 1939 press kit, the name on the model sheet was altered to become the rabbit's own name: "Bugs" Bunny (quotation marks only used, on and off, until 1944).[15]

In Chuck Jones' Elmer's Candid Camera, Happy met Elmer Fudd for the first time. In this cartoon, Happy looked more like the present-day Bugs, taller and with a similar face—-but retaining the more primitive voice. Elmer's character design was also different: fatter and taller than the modern model, although Arthur Q. Bryan's character voice was already established.

Animation historians identify these Happy Rabbit cartoons as Bugs Bunny's early cartoons before he reaches his fame in A Wild Hare, as evident in documentaries such as The Wabbit Turns 50 from WWOR in 1990.[16]

Bugs' official debut

A Wild Hare, directed by Tex Avery and released on July 27, 1940, is widely considered to be the first official Bugs Bunny cartoon.[17] It is the first film where both Elmer Fudd and Bugs, both redesigned by Bob Givens, are shown in their fully developed forms as hunter and tormentor, respectively; the first in which Mel Blanc uses what would become Bugs' standard voice; and the first in which Bugs uses his catchphrase, "What's up, Doc?"[18] A Wild Hare was a huge success in theaters and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cartoon Short Subject.[19]

Immediately following on A Wild Hare, Bob Clampett's Patient Porky featured a cameo appearance by Bugs, announcing to the audience that 750 rabbits have been born. The gag uses Bugs' Wild Hare visual design, but his goofier pre-Wild Hare voice characterization.

The second full-fledged role for the mature Bugs, Chuck Jones' Elmer's Pet Rabbit, was the first to use the name Bugs Bunny on-screen: it appears in a title card, "featuring Bugs Bunny," at the start of the short (which was edited in following the success of A Wild Hare). However, Bugs' voice in this cartoon is significantly different, and his design was slightly altered as well. After Pet Rabbit, however, subsequent Bugs appearances returned to normal: the Wild Hare visual design and personality returned, and Blanc reused the Wild Hare voice characterization.

The name "Bugs" or "Bugsy" as an old-fashioned nickname means "crazy" (or "loopy"). Several famous people from the first half of the twentieth century had that nickname, like famous gangster, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, who disliked the nickname. It is now out of fashion as a nickname, but survives in 1950's–1960's expressions like "you're bugging me", as in "you're driving me crazy".

Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt, directed by Friz Freleng, became the second Bugs Bunny cartoon to receive an Academy Award nomination.[20] The fact that it didn't win the award was later spoofed somewhat in What's Cookin' Doc?, in which Bugs demands a recount after losing the Oscar to James Cagney and presents a clip from Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt to prove his point.[21]'

World War II

By 1942, Bugs had become the number one star of Merrie Melodies. The series was originally intended only for one-shot characters in films after several early attempts to introduce characters (Foxy, Goopy Geer, and Piggy) failed under Harman–Ising. By the mid-1930s, under Leon Schlesinger, Merrie Melodies started introducing newer characters. Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid shows a slight redesign of Bugs, with less-prominent front teeth and a rounder head. The character was reworked by Robert McKimson, then an animator in Bob Clampett's unit. The redesign at first was only used in the films created by Clampett's unit, but in time it would be taken up by the other directors, with Friz Freleng and Frank Tashlin the first. When McKimson was himself promoted to director, he created yet another version, with more slanted eyes, longer teeth and a much larger mouth. He used this version until 1949 (as did Art Davis for the one Bugs Bunny film he directed) when he started using the version he had designed for Clampett. Chuck Jones would come up with his own slight modification, and the voice had slight variations between the units. Bugs also made cameos in Tex Avery's final Warner Bros. cartoon, Crazy Cruise.[22]

Since Bugs' debut in A Wild Hare, he appeared only in color Merrie Melodies films (making him one of the few recurring characters created for that series in the Schlesinger era prior to the full conversion to color), alongside Elmer predecessor Egghead, Inki, Sniffles, and Elmer himself. While Bugs made a cameo in Porky Pig's Feat, this was his only appearance in a black-and-white Looney Tunes film. He did not star in a Looney Tunes film until that series made its complete conversion to only color cartoons beginning in 1944. Buckaroo Bugs was Bugs' first film in the Looney Tunes series and was also the last Warner Bros. cartoon to credit Schlesinger (as he had retired and sold his studio to Warner Bros. that year).[23]

Bugs' popularity soared during World War II because of his free and easy attitude, and he began receiving special star billing in his cartoons by 1943. By that time, Warner Bros. had become the most profitable cartoon studio in the United States.[24] In company with cartoon studios such as Disney and Famous Studios, Warners pitted its characters against Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco, and the Japanese. Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips features Bugs at odds with a group of Japanese soldiers. This cartoon has since been pulled from distribution due to its depiction of Japanese people.[25] He also faces off against Hermann Göring and Hitler in Herr Meets Hare, which introduced his well-known reference to Albuquerque as he mistakenly winds up in the Black Forest of 'Joimany' instead of Las Vegas.[26] Bugs also appeared in the 1942 two-minute U.S. war bonds commercial film Any Bonds Today?, along with Porky and Elmer.

At the end of Super-Rabbit, Bugs appears wearing a United States Marine Corps dress blue uniform. As a result, the Marine Corps made Bugs an honorary Marine Master Sergeant.[27] From 1943 to 1946, Bugs was the official mascot of Kingman Army Airfield, Kingman, Arizona, where thousands of aerial gunners were trained during World War II. Some notable trainees included Clark Gable and Charles Bronson. Bugs also served as the mascot for 530 Squadron of the 380th Bombardment Group, 5th Air Force, U.S. Air Force, which was attached to the Royal Australian Air Force and operated out of Australia's Northern Territory from 1943 to 1945, flying B-24 Liberator bombers.[28] Bugs riding an air delivered torpedo served as the squadron logo for Marine Torpedo/Bomber Squadron 242 in the Second World War. Additionally, Bugs appeared on the nose of B-24J #42-110157, in both the 855th Bomb Squadron of the 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) and later in the 786th BS of the 466th BG(H), both being part of the 8th Air Force operating out of England.

In 1944, Bugs Bunny made a cameo appearance in Jasper Goes Hunting, a Puppetoons film produced by rival studio Paramount Pictures. In this cameo, Bugs (after being threatened at gunpoint) pops out of a rabbit hole, saying his usual catchphrase; after hearing the orchestra play the wrong theme song, he realizes "Hey, I'm in the wrong picture!" and then goes back in the hole.[29] Bugs also made a cameo in the Private Snafu short Gas, in which he is found stowed away in the titular private's belongings; his only spoken line is his usual catchphrase.

The Postwar Era

After World War II, Bugs continued to appear in numerous Warner Bros. cartoons, making his last "Golden Age" appearance in 1964's False Hare. He starred in over 167 theatrical short films, most of which were directed by Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson and Chuck Jones. Freleng's Knighty Knight Bugs, in which a medieval Bugs trades blows with Yosemite Sam and his fire-breathing dragon (which has a cold), won an Oscar (becoming the first Bugs Bunny cartoon to win said award).[30] Three of Jones' films — Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasoning, and Duck! Rabbit, Duck! — compose what is often referred to as the "Rabbit Season/Duck Season" trilogy and are famous for originating the "historic" rivalry between Bugs and Daffy Duck.[31] Jones' classic What's Opera, Doc?, casts Bugs and Elmer Fudd in a parody of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. It was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1992, becoming the first cartoon short to receive this honor.[32]

In the fall of 1960, ABC debuted the prime-time television program The Bugs Bunny Show. This show packaged many of the post-1948 Looney Tunes shorts with newly animated wraparounds. After two seasons, it was moved from its evening slot to reruns on Saturday mornings. The Bugs Bunny Show changed format and exact title frequently but remained on network television for 40 years. The packaging was later completely different, with each short simply presented on its own, title and all, though some clips from the new bridging material were sometimes used as filler.[33]

After the Classic Cartoon Era

Bugs did not appear in any of the post-1964 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises or Seven Arts Productions, nor did he appear in the lone Looney Tunes TV special produced by Filmation Associates. He would not appear in new material on-screen again until Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals aired in 1976.[34]

From the late 1970s through the 1980s, Bugs was featured in various animated specials for network TV, such as Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special, Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales and Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over. Bugs also starred in the independently-produced documentary Bugs Bunny: Superstar during this time, as well as Warner Bros.' various compilation films.[35][36] He also appeared in The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Movie, Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales and Daffy Duck's Quackbusters.

In the 1988 live-action/animated movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit (from executive producer Steven Spielberg), Bugs appeared as one of the inhabitants of Toontown. However, since the film was being produced by Disney, Warner Bros. would only allow the use of their biggest star if he got an equal amount of screen time as Disney's biggest star, Mickey Mouse. Because of this, both characters are always together in frame when onscreen. Roger Rabbit also featured one of Mel Blanc's final performances as the voice of Bugs (as well as the other Looney Tunes characters) before his death in 1989.

Bugs later appeared in another animated production featuring numerous characters from rival studios: the 1990 drug prevention TV special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.[37][38][39] This special is notable for being the first time that someone other than Blanc voiced Bugs and Daffy (both characters were voiced by Jeff Bergman for this). Bugs also made guest appearances in the early 1990s television series Tiny Toon Adventures, as the principal of Acme Looniversity and the mentor of Buster Bunny. He made further cameos in Warner Bros.' subsequent animated TV shows Taz-Mania, Animaniacs, and Histeria!

Bugs returned to the silver screen in 1990's Box Office Bunny. This was the first Bugs Bunny cartoon since 1964 to be released in theaters and it was created for Bugs' 50th-anniversary celebration. It was followed by Blooper Bunny, a cartoon that was shelved from theaters,[40] but later premiered on Cartoon Network in 1997 and has since gained a cult following among animation fans for its edgy humor.[41][42][43]

In 1996, Bugs and the other Looney Tunes characters appeared in the live-action/animated film, Space Jam, directed by Joe Pytka and starring NBA superstar Michael Jordan. The film also introduced the character Lola Bunny, who becomes Bugs' new love interest. Space Jam received mixed reviews from critics,[44][45] but was a box office success (grossing over $230 million worldwide).[46] The success of Space Jam led to the development of another live-action/animated film, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, released in 2003 and directed by Joe Dante. Unlike Space Jam, Back in Action was a box-office bomb,[47] though it did receive more positive reviews from critics.[48][49][50]

In 1997, Bugs appeared on a U.S. postage stamp, the first cartoon to be so honored, beating the iconic Mickey Mouse. The stamp is number seven on the list of the ten most popular U.S. stamps, as calculated by the number of stamps purchased but not used. The introduction of Bugs onto a stamp was controversial at the time, as it was seen as a step toward the 'commercialization' of stamp art. The postal service rejected many designs and went with a postal-themed drawing. Avery Dennison printed the Bugs Bunny stamp sheet, which featured "a special ten-stamp design and was the first self-adhesive souvenir sheet issued by the U.S. Postal Service."[51]

More recent years

A younger version of Bugs was the main character of Baby Looney Tunes, which debuted on Kids' WB in 2001. In the action-comedy Loonatics Unleashed, his definite descendant Ace Bunny was the leader of the Loonatics team and seemed to have inherited his ancestor's Brooklyn accent and comic wit.[52]

In 2011, Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang returned to television in the Cartoon Network sitcom, The Looney Tunes Show, with Jeff Bergman returning to voice both Bugs and Daffy Duck regularly for the first time since 1992's Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers. The characters feature new designs by artist Jessica Borutski. Among the changes to Bugs' appearance were the simplification and enlargement of his feet, as well as a change to his fur from gray to a shade of mauve (though in the second season, his fur was changed back to gray).[53] In the series, Bugs and Daffy are portrayed as best friends as opposed to their usual pairing as rivals or frenemies. At the same time, Bugs is more openly annoyed at Daffy's antics in the series (sometimes to the point of aggression), compared to his usual carefree personality from the original cartoons. Bugs and Daffy are close friends with Porky Pig in the series, although Bugs tends to be a more reliable friend to Porky than Daffy is. Bugs also dates Lola Bunny in the show, although at first, he finds her to be "crazy" and a bit too talkative (he later learns to accept her personality quirks, similar to his tolerance for Daffy). Unlike the original cartoons, Bugs lives in an upper-middle-class house, which he shares with Daffy, Taz (whom he treats as a pet dog) and Speedy Gonzales, in the middle of a cul-de-sac with their neighbors Yosemite Sam, Granny and Witch Lezah. According to the episode "Peel of Fortune", Bugs' financial success comes from his invention of the carrot peeler.

In 2015, Bugs starred in the direct-to-video film Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run,[54] and later returned to television yet again as the star of Cartoon Network and Boomerang's new comedy series New Looney Tunes.[55][56]

He appears Looney Tunes Cartoons. In the series, Bugs gives his full name as Bugsworth Bunny.



