Bully For Bugs
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| "Bully for Bugs" | |
| Looney Tunes series | |
 |
|
| Directed by | Charles M. Jones |
|---|---|
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Animation by | Ken Harris Lloyd Vaughan Ben Washam |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date | , 1953 (USA premiere) |
| Format | Technicolor, 7 min., 12 sec. (one reel) |
| Language | English |
| IMDb page | |
Bully for Bugs is a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released on 8 August 1953. It was directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese.
The cartoon starts as a nervous matador faces Toro the bull in a bull fight (the bullring is most likely in Mexico). Toro can tell the matador is scared from the expression on his face and gives a ferocious smile in return. As Toro prepares to charge, the matador slowly backs away from the cape he holds out. Toro bolts and the matador flees in terror leaving his cape hanging in midair. Toro runs through the cape leaving a bull shape hole in center and causing the spectators to boo. As Toro chases the matador, Bugs Bunny pops out of a freshly made tunnel in the center of the bullring under false pretense that he is at the "The Big Carrot Festival" in the Coachella Valley, but to discover he is somewhere else (having missed, of course, that "left toin at Albuqoique").
He consults his map to get a straight bearing, but to no avail. So he decides to get directions from "the gent in the fancy knickerbockers". He runs up beside the matador and ask for help. But the matador jumps the fence without saying a word leaving Bugs to fend for himself. While he goes over his map to backtrack again, Toro runs up to Bugs and breathes steamy air from his nostrils on Bugs' tail. This annoys the rabbit and prompts him to slap Toro on his nose. A less-than-pleased Toro responds by head-butting Bugs out of the bullring (after a momentum-building charge), prompting Bugs to utter his famous declaration "Of course you realize, this means war." while in midair.
This opening was largely animated by Ken Harris.
As Toro bows to the crowd's applause the Cuadrillas doors open and Bugs is standing very cooly in matador attire cape draped over his right shoulder.
Toro charges at him, and Bugs holds up the cape for Toro. Toro runs into the cape only to slam head first into a hard object knocking him senseless. Bugs moves the cape to reveal an iron anvil, then walks out in view of the spectators who cheer and throw flowers.
Bugs however, isn't through with Toro. He marches up to the bull and holds up the cape prompting him to charge, but all Toro does in his disoriented state is stare at the cape. Bugs lowers the cape and Toro lowers his head still fixated on the cape. Seeing an opportunity Bugs skips backwards while waving the cape causing Toro to follow both stepping in sync to the tune of "La Cucaracha". Then hanging over a bull shield he holds the cape down at the center of shield and Toro rams it head on. Bugs sees Toro horns sticking out on his side, he takes a hammer and hammers them down in place like two nails. Bugs laughs at this and starts calling Toro names, "What'a gulla-bull, what'a nin-cow-poop!" The sneering Toro appears over the shield, revealing he can detach his horns, and blasts Bugs on the head with his hoof, knocking him out.
Shortly after, Toro is sharpening his horns in a grinding wheel. Bugs approaches him and places one end of a large rubber band on the end of his horns and pulls on the other. At a far enough distance Bugs takes a wrecking ball size boulder, which he places on the band and releases. This causes the boulder to slam into Toro's face like a slingshot. As Bugs bows excessively to the spectators, Toro runs up and head butts Bugs into a wall. Bugs sticks his head out of the now rabbit shaped hole in the wall and laments, breaking the fourth wall in the process. Toro then in the same manner bows excessively to the cheering spectators.
Then Bugs, wearing a sombrero, skips over to Toro and slaps him to the tune of Las Chiapanecas. This prompts Toro to follow in the same manner, but Bugs manages to slap him again. They do this a few time until Bugs ballet-jumps to his hole while rhythmically waving the sombrero behind him. Finally Bugs leaps into his hole leaving the sombrero to cover the hole. Toro stops in front of the sombrero and Bugs’ hand reaches out from under the sombrero and honks Toro’s nose.
The now-enraged Toro continues to sharpen his horns. In a sequence animated by Ben Washam, Bugs stands a ways back stating he’s ready and the bull charges while Bugs holds cape in left hand and a rifle in the other ("whenever you can spare da time"). He breaks the fourth wall by informing the audience that it's a booby trap, and results in losing the rifle as Toro runs by in the process. When Toro comes to a halt and flicks his now rifle shaped tail, one of his horns fires a bullet. He does it again and the other fires (apparently, he swallowed the rifle!). One wicked smirk is all it takes for the rabbit to see the danger. He runs for it with Toro in hot pursuit, he fires shot after shot at the rabbit and Bugs dodges each one. Eventually Toro hears clicking from his horns indicating that he's out of bullets. He grabs a box marked "Acme Elephant Bullets Explosive Heads" and swallows the contents. He flicks his tail once more only this time he explodes and his horns droop. Bugs, standing at the gate door laughs and calls Toro more names: "What'a imbes-sal, what an ultra maroon." Then he sees a now-ballistic Toro charging his way, he looks to run away but to his dismay he's trap from all sides due the large stands that are protruding into the ring. So he make out his last will in testament and prays. However as luck would have it the large door behind Bugs has lifting hinges. So he grabs the bottom of the door and lifts the door as well as himself up to stadium level, causing Toro to run out the gate, out of the bullring, down the road, and to the edge of the horizon where it occurs to him what just happened causing him to come to a screeching stop. This buys Bugs some time, so he grabs some tools and begins sawing and hammering a booby trap. Suddenly Toro becomes royally enraged and runs back to the bullring just as Bugs finishes and puts his back to the wall to stay out of sight. When inside Toro runs into a trail of axle grease which cause him to slide uncontrollably to an incline that sends him flying a little ways off the ground across the bullring over a placed paintbrush that spreads a coat of glue on his belly. So treated, Toro contacts a strip of sandpaper that sticks to his belly. The sandpaper ignites a match, which lights a fuse that burns ahead of Toro to a barrel of gunpowder that explodes knocking him senseless.
He the crashes head long into a bull shield leaving his tail sticking out. Bugs then breaking the fourth wall one last time by walking over nonchalantly, faces the audience and holds a cape up in front of Toro's back side that the words etched on it The End.
[edit] Video game adaptations
Bully for Bugs has been adapted into various levels in Bugs Bunny video game.
- Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage has a level where Bugs tricks Toro to run into steel girders.
- Bugs Bunny In Double Trouble level has Bugs searching underground for various items for the booby trap.
- Bugs Bunny Lost in Time features Bully for Bugs as a bonus level. Where Bugs in his signature matador outfit faces Toro, forces him to run into anvils hidden behind Bugs' cape.
- The Sega Genesis game Taz: Escape from Mars; Toro appears as the end-of-world boss in Mexico.
[edit] Trivia
- Chuck Jones said that he made this cartoon after producer Eddie Selzer told him that bullfights were not funny. Eddie, Jones notes, had an unerring sense for audience appeal: Anything he didn't think was funny, the audience inevitably would. Eddie was also responsible for the camel in Sahara Hare, which he inspired by asserting that camels were not funny.
- The sounds of the crowd are recorded from a genuine bull-fighting crowd in Barcelona.
- Despite the fact that it has carrots, some fans have come to the conclusion that Bugs' reason for his journey to the carrot festival was to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (This opinion is not supported by the August release date).
- The boulder to the face gag was reused from Rabbit Punch which was also directed by Chuck Jones five years earlier.
- Toro the bull can be seen in the beginning of Who Framed Roger Rabbit auditioning with other bulls at the Maroon Cartoon Studios for a part for in a cartoon
- Toro also appears in Space Jam , Looney Tunes: Back in Actionand the video game "sheep raider" also known as "sheep dog and wolf.
- In the Tiny Toon Adventures episode "Starting from Scratch" Bugs' apprentice Buster Bunny tries the now famous slap dance on a bedbug only to backfire on him. Prompting Buster to remark "Well it worked for Bugs Bunny."
- In the Codename: Kids Next Door episode M.A.T.A.D.O.R., the opening scene is similar to Bully for Bugs.
