Prest-O Change-O

Last updated
Prest-O Change-O
Prest-O Change-O Lobby Card.jpg
Blue Ribbon re-release lobby card, 1949
Directed by Charles Jones
Produced by Leon Schlesinger
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Rudy Larriva
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release dates
  • March 25, 1939 (1939-03-25)(original)
  • February 5, 1949 (1949-02-05)(Blue Ribbon reissue)
Running time
7 minutes
LanguageEnglish
A video in the restored version for the short.

Prest-O Change-O is a 1939 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones, and first released on March 25, 1939, by Warner Bros. [1] It is the second appearance of Bugs Bunny as a manic white hare who made his first appearance in Porky's Hare Hunt , a cartoon that was produced and copyrighted in 1937 and released in April 1938, featuring him in the same early design. This is also the character's first appearance in a Merrie Melodies color film. The prototype of Bugs Bunny the screwy rabbit makes his third appearance in the next hare-based short film, Hare-um Scare-um (1939).

Contents

Plot

The Two Curious Puppies, one big and one little, are being pursued by a dog catcher until they hide in an abandoned house. They soon discover the house is owned by Sham-Fu, a magician who is unseen over the course of the short. As a result, each puppy (both of whom are separated from each other shortly after entering the house) encounters all manner of magic tricks, including Sham-Fu's pet hare. The bigger puppy is left to defend himself against the hare, itself a more than competent illusionist capable of all sorts of acts of cartoon physics, while the little one is engaged in a reckless battle with a Hindu rope and a magic wand, the latter of which he ends up accidentally swallowing, giving him bizarre hiccups throughout the rest of the movie.

The puppies and the hare all end up crashing into each other, at which point both puppies immediately attempt to pack everything back into Sham-Fu's trunk. Inexplicably, the little dog hiccups out a balloon containing the mischievous hare. However, this time, when the hare attempts another disappearing act, the bigger puppy who has had enough of the hare's tricks is able to stop it in its tracks and punches the hare as hard as possible. The scene irises out on the hare, whose eye is blackened and covered with a lampshade and sitting in a goldfish bowl with his feet sticking out.

Home media

The short was released on Blu-ray on the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2 , Disc 2.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bugs Bunny</span> Looney Tunes character; mascot of Warner Bros.

Bugs Bunny is a fictional character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films, produced by Warner Bros. Earlier iterations of the character first appeared in Ben Hardaway's Porky's Hare Hunt (1938) and subsequent shorts before Bugs's definitive characterization debuted in Tex Avery's A Wild Hare (1940). Bob Givens, Chuck Jones and Robert McKimson are credited for defining Bugs's design.

<i>Looney Tunes</i> Warner Bros. animated short film series and media franchise

Looney Tunes is an American animated comedy short film series created by Leon Schlesinger, Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising and distributed by Warner Bros. The series originally ran from April 19, 1930, to September 20, 1969, concurrently with its partner series Merrie Melodies, during the golden age of American animation. There are shorts that had been produced after the golden age, with the latest theatrical short under the Looney Tunes banner released on June 10, 2014. The two series introduced a large cast of characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig. The term Looney Tunes has since been expanded to also refer to the characters themselves.

Charlie Dog is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes series of cartoons. The character was featured in nine cartoons between 1941 and 1958. He is generally characterized as a friendly wise guy.

<i>Merrie Melodies</i> Cartoon series owned by Warner Bros. (1931–1969 and 1988–1997)

Merrie Melodies is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. It is the companion series to Looney Tunes, and featured much of the same characters as the former series. It originally ran from August 2, 1931 to September 20, 1969, during the golden age of American animation, though it had been revived in 1979, with new shorts sporadically released until June 13, 1997. Originally, Merrie Melodies placed emphasis on one-shot color films in comparison to the black and white Looney Tunes films. After Bugs Bunny became the breakout character of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes transitioned to color production in the early 1940s, the two series gradually lost their distinctions and shorts were assigned to each series randomly.

Cecil Turtle is a fictional character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of films. Though he made only three theatrical appearances, Cecil has the unusual distinction in that he is one of the very few characters who were able to outsmart Bugs Bunny, and the only one to do so three times in a row and at the rabbit's own game.

Beans (<i>Looney Tunes</i>) Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Beans the Cat is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Cartoons series of cartoons from 1935–1936. Beans was the third Warner Bros cartoon character star after Bosko and Buddy. He is voiced by Billy Bletcher and occasionally by Tommy Bond. He was created by director Friz Freleng. The character was featured in nine cartoons made in 1935 and 1936.

<i>Tortoise Beats Hare</i> 1941 Bugs Bunny cartoon

Tortoise Beats Hare is a 1941 Merrie Melodies animated short supervised and laid out by Tex Avery. It was released on March 15, 1941. The short, loosely based on Aesop's fable The Tortoise and the Hare, stars Bugs Bunny and, in his first appearance, Cecil Turtle. Bugs "tears up" the title card.

<i>Hare-um Scare-um</i> 1939 Bugs Bunny cartoon

Hare-um Scare-um is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton. The short was released on August 12, 1939, and is the third short to feature the rabbit that would evolve into Bugs Bunny.

<i>False Hare</i> 1964 film by Robert McKimson

False Hare is a 1964 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on July 18, 1964, and stars Bugs Bunny.

<i>Hare Force</i> 1944 film by Friz Freleng

Hare Force is a 1944 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Friz Freleng. The cartoon was released on July 22, 1944, and stars Bugs Bunny.

<i>Hare Remover</i> 1946 film

Hare Remover is a Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, released in 1946. The film was the second Bugs Bunny cartoon to be directed by Frank Tashlin, the first being The Unruly Hare (1945). It was also the last short Tashlin directed before leaving Warner Bros. in 1944 to direct live-action films. His animation unit was handed over to Robert McKimson upon his departure.

<i>Stage Door Cartoon</i> 1944 film by Friz Freleng

Stage Door Cartoon is a 1944 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on December 30, 1944, and features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

<i>Hare Ribbin</i> 1944 film

Hare Ribbin' is a 1944 animated short film in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Robert Clampett and featuring Bugs Bunny. The plot features Bugs' conflict with a red-haired hound dog, whom the rabbit sets out to evade and make a fool of using one-liners, reverse psychology, disguises and other tricks. It was released in theaters by Warner Bros. on June 24, 1944. The title is a pun on "hair ribbon".

Clyde Bunny is a cartoon character who appears in three Looney Tunes shorts. He is the nephew of Bugs Bunny.

This is a listing of all the animated shorts released by Warner Bros. under the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies banners between 1940 and 1949.

This is a listing of all the animated shorts released by Warner Bros. under the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies banners between 1950 and 1959.

The character that would evolve into Bugs Bunny appeared in four cartoon shorts before his first official appearance in Tex Avery's A Wild Hare. While this early version is commonly referred to as "Happy Rabbit", animation historian David Gerstein disputes this, saying that the only usage of the term was from Mel Blanc himself; the name "Bugs Bunny" was used as early as April 1938, from a model sheet made by Charles Thorson which was used for the short Hare-um Scare-um. Bugs was also mentioned by name from an August 1939 review of the short in the Motion Picture Herald.

<i>Foxy by Proxy</i> 1952 film

Foxy by Proxy is a 1952 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on February 23, 1952, and features Bugs Bunny and Willoughby the Dog, in the latter's last appearance. Mel Blanc voices Bugs Bunny, while an uncredited Stan Freberg voices Willoughby and one of the dogs that talks in the short. This cartoon is considered a remake to Of Fox and Hounds from 1940; in fact, the opening sequence was "borrowed" directly from the original.

<i>Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3</i> 2005 DVD compilation of Looney Tunes animated short films

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 is a DVD box set from Warner Home Video that was released on October 25, 2005. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical short subject cartoons, nine documentaries, 32 commentary tracks from animators and historians, 11 "vintage treasures from the vault", and 11 music-only or music-and-sound-effects audio tracks.

References

  1. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 85. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
Preceded by Bugs Bunny prototype Cartoons
1939
Succeeded by