Beanstalk Bunny

Beanstalk Bunny is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon released on 12 February 1955. The cartoon's story is derived from the classic fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk and stars Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck as Jack, and Elmer Fudd as the giant. The cartoon was directed by Chuck Jones.

Plot

The story begins with Jack summing up recent events leading up to the start of the story:

Frustrated with having traded his cow for the three beans, Jack tosses them away and they land right in Bugs Bunny's rabbit hole. A beanstalk erupts shortly after, and Jack decides to climb it for the sake of the cartoon ("I'd better get to work climbing that thing, or we won't have any picture"). During his climb, he meets Bugs who is in bed, and kicks him away. Realizing which story is unfolding before him, Bugs decides to climb after him.

Meanwhile, Jack reaches the top of beanstalk, excited about stealing the fortune that the giant's castle holds, until he meets the giant himself. Jack's excitement turns into panic and he runs from the giant just as Bugs reaches the top. As the giant closes in on the duo, Bugs tells the giant to go after Jack instead of him, as that is whom he is supposed to be trying to catch according to the original story. Jack frantically tries to pass this off as a lie, declaring his name to be Aloysius, and that Bugs is Jack. As the two start to argue of who the real Jack is, the giant decides to "open with a pair of Jacks" and captures both of them. Inside the castle, the giant places Bugs and Jack under a glass cake dome to prepare to grind their bones to make his bread. However, they manage to escape because Bugs has an ACME glass cutter in his possession. The giant then begins chasing the two around his castle as they are trying to escape.

The chase continues until Bugs manages to trip the giant, knocking him unconscious. Bugs wants to go home, but the greedy Jack decides to stay so he can steal from the giant. As Bugs is running towards the beanstalk, he comes across the giant's equally large carrot garden ready to be eaten. Later that night, as a very full Bugs rests under one of the giant carrots he has been eating, he wonders what has become of Jack, who is revealed to be trapped inside the giant's pocket watch, acting like the minute and hour hands, while constantly making tick tock sounds.

Availability

This cartoon is now available on laserdisc and has been since its release in 1994. The cartoon itself runs seven minutes and can be seen on the disc, Hare Beyond Compare.

Edited versions

• CBS edited this cartoon to remove the scene of Elmer using champagne corks as earplugs and a cigarette to try and smoke Bugs and Daffy out of his head.
• Cartoon Network previously aired this cartoon uncensored until 2002, where the short was edited the same way as the CBS version. From 2001 to 2004, the channel flip-flopped between airing the censored version and the uncensored version. As of 2009, the censored version now airs on the channel.

See also

• List of American films of 1955

External links

• Beanstalk Bunny at the Internet Movie Database