The Great Carrot Train Robbery

The Great Carrot Train Robbery
Directed by	Robert McKimson
Story by	Cal Howard
Produced by	William L. Hendricks
Starring	Mel Blanc Pat Woodell Billy Strange
Edited by	Hal Geer
Music by	William Lava
Animation by	Ted Bonnicksen LaVerne Harding Jim Davis Ed Solomon
Layouts by	Bob Givens Jaime Diaz
Backgrounds by	Bob McIntosh
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation
Distributed by	Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Vitagraph Company of America
Release date	January 25, 1969 (1969-01-25)
Running time	6 min
Language	English

The Great Carrot Train Robbery is a 1969 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. ^[1] The short was released on January 25, 1969, and stars Bunny and Claude in their second and last short. ^[2]

The short is the final "classic era" Warner Bros. cartoon with the voice of Mel Blanc.

Plot

Bunny and Claude return and head to a train station, wanting to board the Carrot Express. The ticket attendant tells them that they cannot board, but Claude grabs the ticket's attendant shirt and he surrenders. Bunny and Claude introduce themselves to the ticket attendant, who passes out just before the train arrives. As Bunny and Claude board the train and enter one of the cars holding carrots, the ticket attendant calls the sheriff. The ticket attendant explains to the sheriff how he saw Bunny and Claude, and the sheriff hears and quickly jumps into his car.

The sheriff drives onto a road parallel to the railroad track, and he drives over several bumps, each bouncing him to a different spot in the car. The road intersects the railroad and just as the sheriff is crossing the tracks, the Carrot Express crashes into it, breaking half of the sheriff's car. The sheriff stops on top of a bridge, and just as the train passes below, he jumps into the funnel, causing him to become black from the ash, and then blown up into the air when he walks by the whistle. However, when the sheriff is walking on top of the cars, Claude comes out from a trapdoor on one of the cars and spots the sheriff, who gives chase. The sheriff chases Bunny across several cars, but misses a jump. As Claude runs back to his original car, the sheriff climbs back up onto the top of the train, but hits a tunnel.

Once Claude goes back into the car, the sheriff squeezes his way through the trapdoor and Bunny and Claude are forced to hide in two barrels. Not knowing Bunny and Claude are hiding, the sheriff hides in another barrel. Claude nails the sheriff's barrel closed and inserts a stick of dynamite before throwing it out, wishing the sheriff to have a "barrel of fun". The barrel bounces down several hills before exploding.

The sheriff uses a handcar to catch up to the train, but on an uphill section of track, Claude unhooks a section of the train, causing it to roll downwards towards the sheriff. The sheriff changes direction and the loose cars bump into him several times before the sheriff pedals himself into a closed track and hits a bumper.

Bunny and Claude finally stop the train, and Claude tells Bunny that the carrots are theirs. The sheriff, meanwhile, pays a farmer money to use his horse to catch Bunny and Claude. Just as Bunny and Claude are loading their car with carrots, the sheriff catches up to them and catches the duo red-handed. As the sheriff explains to Bunny and Claude that crime doesn't pay and carrot is the root of all evil, his horse eats some of the carrots! When the sheriff yells at the horse, Bunny and Claude manage to escape along with the remaining carrots from the train. The cartoon ends when sheriff chases Bunny and Claude into the horizon on his fat horse, which bounces when it gallops.

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. 366. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 62. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.

External links

• The Great Carrot Train Robbery at IMDb