Ali Baba Bunny
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ali Baba Bunny | |
| Looney Tunes/Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck series | |
 "Him go that-a-way". Bugs tricks the slow-witted Hassan. |
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| Directed by | Chuck Jones |
|---|---|
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Animation by | Richard Thomson Ken Harris Abe Levitow Ben Washam |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl Stalling Milt Franklyn |
| Produced by | Eddie Selzer |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date | February 9, 1957 (USA) |
| Format | Technicolor, 7 min (one reel) |
| Language | English |
| IMDb page | |
Ali Baba Bunny is a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes short featuring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, directed by Chuck Jones and released in 1957.
[edit] Synopsis
The film is a very loose parody of the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
In the middle of the Arabian Desert, a rich Sultan has stored all his treasure in a cave, the door of which he closes with the command "Close, Sesame". He leaves a burly guard named Hassan to watch the cave, ordering him to let nobody enter. As the Sultan leaves on his tiny camel, the trail of a burrowing rabbit crosses the desert towards the cave. Hassan spots the burrow tunnelling under the entrance of the cave and attempts to chase out the intruders, but finds he cannot remember the command to open the door again, trying "Open, Sasparilla", "Open, Saskatchewan" and so on.
Inside the cave, Bugs Bunny and his travelling companion Daffy Duck emerge from the burrow, believing they have arrived at Pismo Beach (having once again missed that important left turn at "Alba-koi-kee"). Daffy's complaints about having to travel underground are soon silenced when he spots the mound of treasure. Determined to keep it all for himself he forces Bugs back into the burrow and dives into the treasure pile with whoops of delight.
Outside the cave, Hassan eventually remembers the correct command to open the door and storms in to deal with the intruders. He is met by Daffy, who is wheeling a trolley full of loot. Daffy, believing him to be a Redcap, asks him to call a taxi. In response, Hassan brings his sword down on Daffy's head, splitting both the diamond-adorned hat he is wearing and a single upstanding hair underneath. Daffy flees in terror and tries to bribe Bugs into saving him. Hassan rushes towards them both, sword raised, with the cry of "Hassan chop!". Daffy tells Hassan to chop the rabbit instead, but Bugs has already concocted a plan. He has squeezed into a tiny glass bottle, proclaiming to be a genie and offering Hassan a rich reward for releasing him. Hassan is fooled and shakes Bugs out of the bottle. In return, Bugs rewards Hassan by proclaiming him the new owner of the treasure (performing his "magic" to do so with a bizarre dance and chant).
Later, outside the cave, Bugs surveys the desert and concludes that he has indeed come to the wrong place. A scream comes from the cave as Daffy runs out carrying an enormous diamond, with the enraged Hassan in hot pursuit. Daffy begs Bugs to save him, and this time Bugs reluctantly complies. He sets up an Indian rope trick behind a rock, and when Hassan finds him, tells him that Daffy climbed up the rope. As Hassan disappears into the clouds, Bugs pulls the rope down, and, as with some variants of the fabled trick, Hassan has disappeared completely. With the coast clear, Daffy runs back to the cave to claim the treasure.
Some time later, Daffy has emptied the cave of treasure and is taking one last look around for any missed trinkets. He spots an old oil lamp and rubs the dust off it. A genie emerges from the lamp, but Daffy thinks the genie is after the treasure and tries to stomp him back into the lamp. The furious genie erupts from the lamp, charges Daffy with "desecreting the Spirit Of The Lamp" and zaps Daffy with magic bolts from his fingertips.
Much later, Bugs has finally made it to Pismo Beach and, while tucking into the area's famous clams, casually wonders how Daffy's encounter with the genie worked out. Opening one clam and discovering a pearl inside, he soon finds out; Daffy, shrunk to a few inches in height, dashes out of a hole in the sand and claims the pearl for his own. Bugs closes the clam on the greedy duck with the words "Close, Sesame".
[edit] Trivia
- The film was edited into two of the Looney Tunes greatest hits features: The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979), and Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982).
- In the dubbed version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Japanese anime, there is an episode where one of the main characters, Joey Wheeler, is transformed into the Duel Monster Flame Swordsman. During a scene in which is swings his sword to destroy a rival creature, he accompanies it with the cry of "Hassan chop!", parodying this film.
