| Wabbit Twouble | |
|---|---|
 Lobby card | |
| Directed by | Bob Clampett |
| Story by | Dave Monahan |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Sid Sutherland |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 8:22 |
| Language | English |
Wabbit Twouble is a Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions and released on December 20, 1941, by Warner Bros. Pictures. [1]
Elmer Fudd embarks on a journey to Jellostone National Park, aiming for a tranquil retreat. Upon arrival, he sets up his campsite, unknowingly positioning his tent over Bugs Bunny's rabbit hole. A mischievous Bugs Bunny plays a series of pranks on Elmer, including altering the time on his alarm clock and leading him to believe it is nighttime when it's actually daytime.
As Elmer tries to go about his routine, Bugs continues his antics, leading Elmer into perilous situations such as hanging off a cliff and encountering a grizzly bear. Despite Elmer's attempts to confront Bugs, the rabbit always manages to evade him, leading to further chaos and frustration for Elmer.
Eventually, Elmer's frustration boils over, and he vandalizes a park sign out of anger, leading to his arrest for destruction of government property. In an ironic twist, Elmer finds himself sharing a jail cell with Bugs and the bear he encountered earlier, adding to his woes.
This is the first of several Bugs Bunny films that refer to Elmer Fudd's speech impediment, with the names of Bob Clampett, Sidney Sutherland, and Carl Stalling, as well as the roles of Story, Supervision, and Musical Direction, intentionally misspelled in the credits to match the speech impediment.
Tex Avery began the project which Clampett finished; Avery is not credited on screen. [2] This was the first Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd cartoon directed by Clampett, with a story by Dave Monahan and musical direction by Carl W. Stalling. Although Sid Sutherland is the only credited animator, the short was also animated by Virgil Ross, Rod Scribner, and Robert McKimson. Mel Blanc provided the voices for Bugs and the bear, and Arthur Q. Bryan provided the voice for Elmer.
For the cartoon, Elmer was redesigned as a fat man (based on voice actor Arthur Q. Bryan's own physique) in an attempt to make him funnier. The "fat Elmer" would only make three more appearances in the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies canon – The Wabbit Who Came to Supper , The Wacky Wabbit and Fresh Hare , in addition to a cameo appearance in the war bond advertisement Any Bonds Today? – before returning to the slimmer form by which he is better known, for The Hare-Brained Hypnotist . This cartoon was the only time, though, that the "fat Elmer" also had a red nose. This is also the only cartoon with the "fat" version of Elmer still under copyright; all other "Fat Elmer" cartoons are in the public domain. Cartoon Network's anthology series ToonHeads later focused an episode on this particular design for Elmer in 1999 with "The Year Elmer Fudd Got Fat", which included Wabbit Twouble.
Animation historian David Gerstein writes, "Wabbit Twouble represents a variant on the trickster of fable and myth who doesn't wait to pester first. Clampett's Bugs invades others' lives for the fun of it—especially when those others seem, like Elmer, to be easy targets... Bugs has immediately identified Elmer as the perfect patsy and mocks his girth and mannerisms. From the point of view of the classic trickster, some people simply deserve a hard time." [3]
In December 2018, a still from the short depicting Bugs mocking Elmer by imitating his likeness became an Internet meme. The meme originated from fictitious cover art for a video game titled Big Chungus (with "chungus" being a neologism coined by video game journalist James Stephanie Sterling in 2012) [4] which featured the still and was popularized by a Facebook post by a GameStop manager in Colorado Springs, who alleged that a customer had inquired about purchasing the fictional game as a gift for her son. [5]
In April 2021, the character was added to the mobile game Looney Tunes World of Mayhem. [6] [7] Big Chungus was briefly featured in the 2021 film Space Jam: A New Legacy , [8] and eventually received a trademark from Warner Bros. themselves. [9]
British politician Nigel Farage has recorded several paid videos on the platform Cameo per request that mention memes such as Big Chungus and Among Us imposters. [10]
Bugs Bunny is a cartoon 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.
Looney Tunes is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside the related series Merrie Melodies, during the golden age of American animation. Following a revival in the late 1970s, new shorts were released as recently as 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.
What's Opera, Doc? is a 1957 American Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on July 6, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.
The Big Snooze is a 1946 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon planned by Bob Clampett and finished by Arthur Davis, who were both uncredited as directors. It features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, voiced by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan.
A Wild Hare is a 1940 American animated comedy short film directed by Tex Avery, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and distributed by Warner Bros. as part of the Merrie Melodies series. The film was released on July 27, 1940, and features Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny, the latter making what is considered his first official appearance.
Elmer's Pet Rabbit is a 1941 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on January 4, 1941, and features Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny.
Rabbit Seasoning is a 1952 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. Released on September 20, 1952, the short stars Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd.
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on October 28, 2003. The first release of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD series, it contains 56 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements. The set won the Classic Award at the Parents' Choice Awards.
The Old Grey Hare is a 1944 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on October 28, 1944, and features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, voiced by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan respectively.
The Wabbit Who Came to Supper is a 1942 Merrie Melodies cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. It was released on March 28, 1942, and directed by Friz Freleng.
Easter Yeggs is a 1947 Looney Tunes theatrical animated short. The cartoon was released on June 28, 1947, and features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. The title is a play on "Easter eggs" and on "yegg", a slang term for a burglar or safecracker. The voice and characterization of the Easter Bunny in the short is a reference to a character that Mel Blanc performed on the Burns and Allen radio show, the morose Happy Postman, even including the character's catch phrase, "Remember, keep smiling."
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.
Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk is a 1943 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Friz Freleng and starring Bugs Bunny, with all of the voices provided by Mel Blanc.
The Unruly Hare is a 1945 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series directed by Frank Tashlin and written by Melvin Millar. The cartoon was released on February 10, 1945 and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. The film was one of only two Bugs Bunny cartoons directed by Frank Tashlin at Warner Bros., the other being 1946's Hare Remover.
The Wacky Wabbit is a 1942 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. It stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.
This Is a Life? is a 1955 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Friz Freleng, written by Warren Foster, and produced by Edward Selzer, with music directed by Milt Franklyn. The short was released on July 9, 1955, and stars Bugs Bunny. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan, and June Foray in her first work for Warner Bros. This is one of the few Bugs Bunny cartoons whose title does not contain Bugs, bunny, rabbit/wabbit or hare.
Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antagonizing characters. He speaks in an unusual way, replacing his Rs and Ls with Ws, so he often refers to Bugs Bunny as a "scwewy" (screwy) or "wascawwy (rascally) wabbit". Elmer's signature catchphrase is, "Shhh. Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits", as well as his trademark laughter.
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.
