References and Further info
Been a animation student, I acquired a lot of reference material regarding cartoons and their creation. So, this subject is familiar territory for me. Admittedly, I did end up getting more research material when doing so.
Two names that crop up when researching Looney Tunes are Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald, who have authored the official chronicle of the series -
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons - Jerry Beck, Will Friedwald (Henry Holt, 1989, ISBN: 9780805008944)
Looney Tunes: The Ultimate Visual Guide - Jerry Beck (Dorling Kindersley, 2003, ISBN: 9780789497581)
Warner Bros. Animation Art - Jerry Beck, Will Friedwald (Virgin Publishing, 1997, ISBN: 1-85227-772-6)
Draw the Looney Tunes: The Warner Brothers Character Design Manual - Frank Espinosa (Chronicle Books, 2005, ISBN: 9780811850162)
Bugs Bunny: Fifty Years and Only One Grey Hare - Joe Adamson (Henry Holt, 1991, ISBN: 9780805018554)
The Birth of Bugs Bunny | THE MERRIE HISTORY OF LOONEY TUNES - KaiserBeamz (2021)
http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/McKimson/RemodelingRabbit.html
https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/chuck-jones#interview-clips
How Old is Bugs Bunny? - Jerry Beck (Cartoon Research, 2013)
Was Mel Blanc Allergic to Carrots? - David Mikkelson (Snopes)
What's the Difference Between Rabbits and Hares? - Liz Langley (National Geographic, 2014)
What’s Up, Doc? A Look at the Texas Roots of Tex Avery and Bugs Bunny - Paul Ehrlich (texashillcountry.com, 2020)
Seven Minutes: The Life and Death of the American Animated Cartoon - Norman M. Klein (Verso, 1993, ISBN: 9781859841501)
Animation Art: From Pencil to Pixel, the World of Cartoon, Anime, and CGI - Jerry Beck (HarperCollins, 2004, ISBN: 9780060737139)
Creators
“Bugs was not
the creation of any one man; however, he 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.” - Chase Craig, writer-cartoonist
Fred “Tex”
Avery put the “looney” in Looney Tunes. He began his career in animation as
an inker for Winkler studio, and then for Universal Studio Cartoons, working on
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It was during this time that Tex suffered an
accident. Someone playfully fired a thumbtack or paperclip to the back of Tex’s
head, but he turned round and it got into his left eye, blinding it. It is said
that this accident led to Tex having a good eye for 2D animation. In 1935 a pay
dispute, due to his increasing roles in storyboarding, ended his time at
Universal. In that same year, he convinced producer Leon Schlesinger that he
was experienced director, leading him to become the third full-time director at
Warner Bros. cartoon studio, which had increased in size to move to a bungalow
nicknamed “Termite Terrace.” Thanks to Tex, Warner Bros cartoons became
fast-paced and exaggerated, reversing a trend of increasing realism that was
happening everywhere else. Tex’s sense of humour attracted talents, including Charles
M. “Chuck” Jones.
Chuck started
as a washer of used cels at Ub Iwerks studio, later becoming a painter. Chuck
joined Warner Bros. as an assistant animator in 1933. He became a director in
1938. He is noted for his attention to detail and pure artistic flare.
Ben “Bugs” Hardaway
worked for Disney and Ub Iwerks before becoming a gagman for Warner Bros.
He later became a storyman. In 1937 he became a director, when Friz Freleng
briefly left for MGM. When he returned, he became a storyman again. In 1940, he
worked with Walter Lantz to create Woody Woodpecker.
Cal Dalton assisted
Bugs during his time as director. He began his career working on a Wizard of
Oz adaptation in Ted Eshbaugh Studio in 1933. He moved to Warner Bros
afterward, becoming a director from 1938 to 1940.
Children’s book
author Charles Thorson worked as a character designer in multiple
animation studios, including Disney and Warner Bros.
Robert “Bob”
Givens worked at Disney in 1937, checking the animation of Donald Duck
toons and working on Snow White, before joining Warner Bros as a layout
and storyboard artist in 1940. He’ll later work for UPA, Hanna-Barbera,
Filmation and Film Roman.
Tedd Pierce
was a writer at Warner Bros who also occasionally did voices. His work was
mostly directed by Robert McKimson, who’s credited for creating the
definitive look of Looney Tunes. He inked and painted the first Looney
Tunes cartoons, before becoming a full animator in 1931. He became a
director in 1944.
Mel Blanc
began doing voices from the age of 10. In 1927 he debuted on radio on KGW’s The
Hoot Owls. He joined the Warner Bros. team in 1936, voicing his first
cartoon a year later.
Inspiration/Conception
Rabbits have
been tricksters in myth and folklore in many cultures, one been the Br'er
Rabbit of African-American oral tradition in the South.
Charles Thorson
worked on a Disney short Tortoise and the Hare (1935), where he designed
Max Hare.
According to
unpublished memoirs, director Friz Freleng was inspired by one of his favourite
movies - the Clark Gable romantic comedy It Happened One Night (1934).
Introduced
to our world
An unnamed
rabbit character like Bugs first appeared in Porky's Hare Hunt, released
30th April 1938. This character appeared in three other cartoons,
with a few design tweaks, until the fully-formed Bugs Bunny we all know debuted
in A Wild Hare, released 27th July 1940.
Note: Looney
Tunes were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, an independent studio that
made cartoons for Warner Bros. Leon sold the studio to Warner Bros. in 1944.
Its form then on Looney Tunes were officially made by Warner Bros Cartoons Inc.
Bugs Bunny
Of the many
characters created in “Termite Terrace” at Warner Brothers studio, the one most
people think of first is Bugs Bunny. This shouldn’t be a surprise, because Bugs
Bunny is (according to Guinness World Records) the most portrayed cartoon
character and the 9th most portrayed character in general on film. Bugs’
nonchalant attitude, combined with his Brooklyn accent and habit of playing
tricks, made him one of the most popular cartoon characters created in the 20th
century. Appearing in over 160 shorts made between 1940 to 1964, Bugs became an
icon of the “golden age of American animation,” to a point that he became the
mascot for Warner Brothers. In fact, he is quintessentially as American as
Mickey Mouse and Bart Simpson. You can’t picture him coming from any other
cartooning nation. It’s no wonder he has become a feature of American culture,
featuring in multiple movies, TV shows, commercials, comics, toys, games,
amusement rides, etc. In 1985 he became the second ever cartoon character to
have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Name
His name
originates from a model sheet of from Hare-um Scare-um (1939), where the
rabbit was labelled “”Bug’s” Bunny,” after director Bugs Hardaway. Producer
Leon Schlesinger saw that model sheet and liked the sound of the name. His
publicist Rose Horsely instantly decided it was “so cute!” But Tex didn’t like
it, thinking it sounded like a Disney character. “That’s sissy,” he said.
“Mine’s a rabbit! A tall, lanky, mean rabbit. He isn’t a fuzzy little bunny.”
He wanted to call him Jack Rabbit or Jack E. Rabbit, because he hunted
jackrabbits and “thought it would please my Texas friends.”
“The eyes slant
in, which gives him a sort of elfin look – hopefully. Bugs Bunny has a tiny
nose resting on a stubby form. If your rabbit, say, has a three-inch-high head,
in this scale, then 3/16 of the mouth on either side of the nose defines the
mouth. The cheek overlaps the mouth. We noticed that cheekiness was true of
babies and an actress named Sonja Henie: she just had too chubby cheeks to make
a broad smile. So, incorporating that unlikely idea into Bugs, you must be able
to express his reactions with those little tiny 3/16ths. When he’s sad, it
turns down; when happy up.” – Chuck Jones
“Draw ears to
suit mood.” – a early Bugs Bunny model sheet
“What’s up,
Doc?”
“His first line that he ever uttered was, with the chomp of the carrot and he said, “What’s up, Doc?” and that set his entire character. He was always in command in the face of all types of danger, even a double barrel shotgun.” – Tex Avery
The catchphrase
originates from Tex Avery’s school days. He was a student of North Dallas High
School and picked up the quirk of using “Doc” in every sentence. “Doc” was the
1920s equivalent to “dude.” This later morphed into “What’s up, Doc?” becoming
a school catchphrase.
Rabbit or
Hare?
Although in the
same species family (Leporidae), rabbits and hares are different species. Hares
are larger, longer eared and less social than rabbits. Hares are fast runners
and fight during mating season. Rabbits are more passive in nature, making them
ideal pets. Hares live above ground, while rabbits live underground in burrows
– except the cottontail rabbit of the Americas, which (mostly) live in
ground-based nests. Bugs has the long ears, but also lives underground (in most
depictions), causing confusion to biologists. According to wildlife ecologist
Philip Stott, of the University of Adelaide, “Bugs Bunny is a fraud.”
War Time Star
The rabbit in A Wild Hare
proved to be a hit with audiences, leading to the demand for more cartoons with
him in it. When America entered World War II, Bugs struck a massive chord in
the American Zeitgeist. Author Richard Schickel, a moviegoer back then,
explained how …
“The Bunny’s personality perfectly
suited his times. He was a con man in the classic American mold, adept in the
techniques and ethics of survival, equally at home in the jungle of the city
and in Elmer Fudd’s carrot patch. In the war years, when he flourished most
gloriously, Bugs Bunny embodied the cocky humor of a nation that had survived
its economic crisis with fewer psychological scars than anyone had thought
possible and was facing a terrible war with grace, gallantry, humor, and
solidarity that were equally surprising.”
At home Bugs Bunny toons guaranteed
perked up cinema audiences, sometimes given equal billing to feature films. It
reached a point that the Utah Celery Company and the Broccoli Institute of
America asked Warner Bros to get Bugs to sample their products.
In the battlefields, Bugs was a
morale booster and appeared on multiple pieces of equipment. He was even made an
honorary US Marine, thanks to one cartoon - Super-Rabbit (1943)
The Evolution of Bugs Bunny
Ben Hardaway directed
(and voiced) a round, squat rabbit character (initially sketched by Cal Dalton)
for Porky's Hare Hunt.
After Chuck
Jones reused their rabbit in Prest-O Change-O (1939) he was redesigned
by Charles Thorson, creating a fuller and less cartoony version of the rabbit,
with grey far and buck teeth. This design, called Happy Rabbit, was used in Hare-um
Scare-um (1939). Happy Rabbit proved too annoying and antagonistic to the
audience, even when directed by Chuck Jones in Elmer’s Candid Camera
(1940). Chuck slowed him down and made him stand almost upright.
“Hardaway’s
Bugs would stand in a crouched, ready-to-leap fashion, as somebody who’s afraid
and prepared to get the hell out of there. … The Bugs that evolved stood
upright, a guy who’s not going to go anyplace – sure of himself.” – Chuck Jones
Tex Avery
thought Happy Rabbit had potential, but found the design “too cute,” so he
asked Bob Givens to redesign him. This slim and sleeker redesign was later
directly used by Chuck Jones in Elmer’s Pet Rabbit (1941).
Tex later
resketched it and given the sketches to Robert McKimson to refine, leading the
design used in A Wild Hare (1940). Tex Avery would later say that his
influence caused the character to greatly resembled Max Hare from Disney’s Tortoise
and the Hare (1935), saying that he “practically stole it and it was a
wonder he didn’t get sued.”
Robert McKimson
refined it further in later cartoons, giving him a larger muzzle and a cuter
nose, creating the Bugs Bunny we know today in 1943. Character designer Jean
Blanchard made him fluffier later on.
“We made him
cuter, bought his cheeks and head out a little more and gave him just a little
nose.” – Robert McKimson
Voice
Mel Blanc
voiced the rabbit character from the start, but to begin with he gave him a
cartoony voice, similar to Daffy Duck’s, because of his design at the time.
When the rabbit’s design changed, so did his voice.
“They show me a
picture of the character and then they show me a storyboard, which shows what
the character is going to do in the cartoon. From this I have to create the
voice, like Bugs, since he was a tough little stinker. So, I thought which is
the toughest in this country [America]: the Brooklyn or the Bronx, so you put
the two of them together.” – Mel Blanc, Late Night with David Letterman
(1982)
Allergic to
Carrots?
While recording a scene involving Bugs eating a carrot, Mel Blanc had to eat an actual carrot (as nothing else sounded like a carrot) and then spit the chewed remains out into a wastebasket to continue speaking (you can’t talk while swallowing). The spitting out the carrot part of this set up has led to the untrue piece of trivia that Mel was allergic to carrots. He didn’t like them, but he wasn’t allergic to them. The earliest reference to this myth this author can find comes from Great Animals of the Movies by Edward Edelson (1980).
“I don’t
especially like carrots, at least not raw. And second, I found it impossible to
chew, swallow, and be ready to say my next line. We tried substituting other
vegetables, including apples and celery, but with unsatisfactory results. The
solution was to stop recording so that I could spit out the carrot into a
wastebasket and then proceed with the script. In the course of a recording
session, I usually went through enough carrots to fill several. Bugs Bunny did
for carrots what Popeye the Sailor did for Spinach. How many lip-locked,
head-swelling children were coerced into eating their carrots by mothers
cooing, “… but Bugs Bunny eats HIS carrots.”” – Mel Blanc, from That’s Not
All Folks (1989)
Bugs and
Daffy
Bugs’ does share DNA with Daffy Duck. The rabbit in Porky's Hare Hunt is, in the words of director Friz Freleng, “Daffy Duck in a rabbit suit.” They had similar personalities initially. Then the rabbit’s hyperactivity was slowed down to make Bugs the cool wise guy character his is today, contrasting with the crazy egotistic duck. However, their body structure are similar. Bugs and Daffy first appear together on screen in Porky Pig's Feat (1943).
Notice that
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck have a similar body structure.
“Big
Chungus”
In 2017 someone
on 4chan posted an image of Bugs Bunny taken from the 1941 Merrie Melodies
short Wabbit Twouble. In this toon, Elmer Fudd is chubbier than normal
and Bugs morphs into him briefly to mock him. In March 2018 Redditor
GaryTheTaco took this image and created a mock video game case cover for a game
called “Big Chungus.” He posted it on Reddit in December 2018. Sometime later
GameStop store manager Justin Laufer made a Facebook post, telling his
encounter of a mother asking for a copy of Big Chungus for her son. The story
went viral.
“TL:DR it's
just a fat Bugs Bunny PS4 game, that got popular because a clueless mom asked a
Gamestop employee if they had it in stock, like the Battletoads trend.” –
GaryTheTaco
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