On July 27, 1940, the animation world got another shock. On that day, Warner Bros. released the Merrie Melodies short “A Wild Hare,” which introduced the world to Bugs Bunny. In the 75 years since, Bugs became a cultural icon and even one of Warner Bros.’ corporate symbols.
Bugs was a wacky character and instantly helped separate the Warner Bros. animation unit from Walt Disney cartoons. Like the films that made the studio during the ‘30s, Bugs and his friends were streetwise, impolite and often purely crazy. Bugs often had to fool hunter Elmer Fudd with his brilliant plans, which are on display in A Wild Hare. He instantly asks the befuddled Fudd, “What’s up, doc?” It’s a phrase we’ve heard more times than we can count, but audiences heard it the first time here.
A Wild Hare was a Tex Avery cartoon and features all the zaniness his work was known for. As Time notes, Bugs is actually animated by Virgil Ross in the short, but Chuck Jones’ work is far better known. Bugs developed like Mickey Mouse, starting out as a simple hare and developing into a more complex character as the years went on. Jones pushed aside whatever limits there were in reality and took the Looney Tunes characters to space, to the opera, to the American West and everywhere inbetween. You also can’t forget Mel Blanc, who was the voice behind Bugs and so many other great characters.
Sadly, Warner Bros. hasn’t had much use for Bugs in recent years. The studio’s animation team is fully dedicated to LEGOs. Cartoon Network’s The Looney Tunes Show is already over and the network’s sister station Boomerang is going to air another series, titled Wabbit, later this year. There have also been recent direct-to-video movies. Hopefully projects like these will keep Bugs and the Looney Tunes team alive.
Merrie Melodies - A Wild Hare (1940) by Cartoonzof2006
And here’s one of the greatest moments in animation: when Bugs met Mickey.