Commentary on Rabbit Seasoning

[Brandon Panther]

I did a video talking about what is IMO one of the worst Bugs Bunny cartoons ever made: Rabbit Seasoning. I'm sure others will disagree with me on this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIHoh7WtlqI

[oceansoul]

Hey, what's that fake ring intro? This is a MM, not a LT.

As for the cartoon, I like it despite the slow pacing. But Rabbit Fire IMHO is far the most entertaining piece in the hunting trilogy.

[Marty26]

Hey, what's that fake ring intro? This is a MM, not a LT.

As for the cartoon, I like it despite the slow pacing. But Rabbit Fire IMHO is far the most entertaining piece in the hunting trilogy.

IMO that honor goes to Duck Rabbit Duck.

[nickramer]

I did a video talking about what is IMO one of the worst Bugs Bunny cartoons ever made: Rabbit Seasoning. I'm sure others will disagree with me on this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIHoh7WtlqI
There's a reason why I don't like the commentary for "Claws for Alarm".

[Marty26]

In response to the commentary track, I agree that this was probably the weakest cartoon in the Hunter Trilogy. But I still like it a lot. Yes, it is a little out of character for Daffy to fall for that same "mix the pronouns" joke over and over again. And there's a bit more yapping and less action than in the other two cartoons. But it's certainly not without its funny moments. My personal favorite is Daffy peaking out of Bugs's rabbit hole to see if Elmer is around and Elmer blasting Daffy's beak into the shape of a magpie schnoz. Also, Elmer's blatantly orgasmic reaction to the cross-dressed Bugs kissing him was hilarious.

[Mark J]

This is actually my favorite of the trilogy and always has, although I think all three are excellent. I don't know why anyone would waste time nit picking a classic like this when there are so many truly weak toons out there - Rabbit Romeo on LTGC 4 or Rabbit Rampage that will be on LTGC 6 are good examples of really bad Bugs toons. Try watching any late 50's/early 60's McKimson Bugs, an average late 50's Yosemite Sam/Bugs toon or an early 60's Jones Bugs and you will see how great this toon is on all levels.

[Marty26]

For me personally, the biggest problem with this cartoon is that it feels too much like a pale imitation of Rabbit Fire. Rabbit Fire was an awesome cartoon. But Rabbit Seasoning seems a bit half-assed in comparison. It uses basically the exact same forest landscape. It follows the exact same type of plot (Daffy trying desperately to convince Elmer to shoot Bugs and Bugs effortlessly thwarting his every attempt). And while the gag system was different, it just wasn't as funny or original as in its father cartoon, with Daffy in particular being uncharacteristically dim and clumsy.

[larriva9/11]

Somehow, this does not strike me as a "My Little Duckaroo" vs "Dripalong Daffy" situation--whatever the relative merits.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Try watching any late 50's/early 60's McKimson Bugs, an average late 50's Yosemite Sam/Bugs toon or an early 60's Jones Bugs and you will see how great this toon is on all levels.
Agreed!

[larriva9/11]

Somehow, this does not strike me as a "My Little Duckaroo" vs "Dripalong Daffy" situation--whatever the relative merits.

Then again, I wonder if it might have come off that way, had "Duck! Rabbit! Duck!" not come along to make it a cohesive trilogy...

[Jaime_Weinman]

Have you ever seen this thing with an audience? Because it's gangbusters. Daffy's "Pronoun Trouble!" may be the biggest laugh-getter in the whole cartoon canon (and explains why there's a long pause there; Jones knew nobody would be able to hear anything immediately after that line). The complaints about pacing would be more relevant except that there's not a single moment in this cartoon that doesn't land in the theatre, the way it was meant to be seen (unlike "My Little Duckaroo," which really is slow and dull in spots).

I think the difference between "Rabbit Fire" and "Rabbit Seasoning" is that "Rabbit Fire" is more of a Bugs-Daffy team-up adventure (they literally do team up near the end) with the characters both working together and against each other, and "Rabbit Seasoning" is more focused on the gag from the first part of "Rabbit Fire," Daffy getting repeatedly shot. It's multiple variations on one gag, but some of the best Bugs cartoons fall into that category (like "High Diving Hare").

And Daffy's not dumb here; he falls for the gag every time because he gets flustered and angry and defeats himself, while Bugs keeps his cool. That got out of hand in later cartoons where Daffy became purely evil, but here he's not evil, just hot-tempered.

[Smilodon]

I'll give you that Rabbit Fire is the better cartoon but I still think Rabbit Seasoning is really funny. I just watched all three in a row and there were things in each of them that still made me laugh and I've seen these cartoons again and again over the last forty years.

[angilbas]

This cartoon was part of Greg Ford's festival at the University of Victoria in 1976, and the house was rather quiet at the end with only a chuckle or two. All of the genuine laughter (of which there was plenty) came before Elmer and Daffy walked to the cabin. There are some good reasons why R.S. is popular with many.

If you've got to make a talky cartoon, the soundtrack had better be very well-crafted. Thank goodness Carl Stalling, Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan match their other Golden Age work.

But the visuals really save the film. The animaton looks fresh as it lend a great range of expressions to the characters. Lloyd Vaughan handles most of the early minutes, although Ken Harris appears to have come in around the "pronoun trouble" (as when Daffy presses the edge of his bill in Bugs' face at 3:04 and 3:17). At 4:15, Ben Washam comes up with a memorably sullen Daffy, eyebrows arched very high while the lids are lowered almost to a close... then he lends laughter to Daffy's sarcastic, "Ha-ha, very funny...". Washam stays through the underground sequence ("No more for me thanks, I'm driving!"). Harris returns for the disguise (and Elmer's reaction!).

The final expressions almost overcome a lazy moment of storytelling. Jones and his crew made better cartoons but this one is a hit.


-Tony

[Mr. Semaj]

"I'm sorry fellas, but I can't wait any longer."

That line by itself is what made this cartoon for me.

[thornhill]

You guys criticizing this one are crazy. It's a classic. Try watching Mad as Mars Hare or Transylvania 6-5000 for Jones shorts that never shut the hell up with worthless dialog.

[Marty26]

You guys criticizing this one are crazy. It's a classic. Try watching Mad as Mars Hare or Transylvania 6-5000 for Jones shorts that never shut the hell up with worthless dialog.

Why do so many people rave about this cartoon anyway? :confused:

[J Lee]

Why do so many people rave about this cartoon anyway? :confused:

All relative. Leonard Maltin derided this cartoon in passing in his book, but compared to the other Bugs shorts the Jones unit did in the final year of the studio's operations, this is a masterpiece, with an actual new, funny extended gag (the Abracadabra/Hocus Pocus bit).

As for Rabbit Seasoning, it's more static than the other two cartoons in the trilogy, but the most verbally clever -- almost like Bugs and Daffy doing their own riff on Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?" routine (only in this case, Costello gets shot in the beak every few moments). In that way it's more Maltese's cartoon than it is Jones, but you can't discount the visuals with the facial images, especially Daffy's (had they made this cartoon, say, at the end of Jones' WB tenure in 1962, the budget limitations on the animation would have deadened Daffy's reaction shots and turned it into a mere talkfest, like a lot of other late rabbit cartoons out of the Jones unit).

[oceansoul]

Have you ever seen this thing with an audience? Because it's gangbusters. Daffy's "Pronoun Trouble!" may be the biggest laugh-getter in the whole cartoon canon (and explains why there's a long pause there; Jones knew nobody would be able to hear anything immediately after that line). The complaints about pacing would be more relevant except that there's not a single moment in this cartoon that doesn't land in the theatre, the way it was meant to be seen (unlike "My Little Duckaroo," which really is slow and dull in spots).

I think the difference between "Rabbit Fire" and "Rabbit Seasoning" is that "Rabbit Fire" is more of a Bugs-Daffy team-up adventure (they literally do team up near the end) with the characters both working together and against each other, and "Rabbit Seasoning" is more focused on the gag from the first part of "Rabbit Fire," Daffy getting repeatedly shot. It's multiple variations on one gag, but some of the best Bugs cartoons fall into that category (like "High Diving Hare").

And Daffy's not dumb here; he falls for the gag every time because he gets flustered and angry and defeats himself, while Bugs keeps his cool. That got out of hand in later cartoons where Daffy became purely evil, but here he's not evil, just hot-tempered.

Thumbs up for this great analysis!

[speedy fast]

I think that Rabbit Seasoning was a great cartoon, but Rabbit Fire is better.

[JPox]

I always thought "Duck!Rabbit!Duck!" was the best out of the trilogy.
Funnier gags, better pacing and a slightly more original setting during the winter months.
"Rabbit Seasoning" may have clever writing, but it does move along slowly.
"Rabbit Fire" is a bit more fast-paced.

[oceansoul]

I think Rabbit Seasoning could work less slowly with recorded laughter in the funniest spots just like in modern sitcoms. I had a tape about T+J in Hollywood Bowl with such a laughter-record, and it worked well.

[Bugsy-Kun]

I find pathetic that peoples could says that "Rabbit Seasoning" is the worst Bugs Bunny short ever made when for the popular public, it's one of the best. If you want a real worst Bugs short, pick a cartoon with reused footages like "Devil's Feud Cake" or "This is a Life?" or the recent efforts from Citters or Jones. You sure changed after this.

[Brandon Panther]

I find pathetic that peoples could says that "Rabbit Seasoning" is the worst Bugs Bunny short ever made when for the popular public, it's one of the best. If you want a real worst Bugs short, pick a cartoon with reused footages like "Devil's Feud Cake" or "This is a Life?" or the recent efforts from Citters or Jones. You sure changed after this.
I did say that I felt Rabbit Seasoning was one of the worst cartoons from the classic era. Of coarse the later shorts aren't going to be much good.

[zavkram]

Then again, I wonder if it might have come off that way, had "Duck! Rabbit! Duck!" not come along to make it a cohesive trilogy...

As I understand it, referring to the three cartoons as a "trilogy" is a misconception; the Jones Unit apparently never intended them as such but rathert just decided to do another hunting cartoon with Bugs and Daffy every year or so because the last one had worked.

I actually like all three cartoons, with Duck! Rabbit! Duck! being my all-time favorite... I agree, however, that Rabbit Seasoning has the weakest pacing. Take, for example, the scene in which Daffy decides to "try it from the other end"; just after he gets blasted and approaches Bugs he says, "Ha-Ha! Very funny, Ha-Ha..." The pause that follows seems interminable until Elmer breaks the silence by saying, "I'm sowwy, fellas, but I can't wait any wonger..."

I also thought that the very ending of Rabbit Fire falls somewhat flat, but that's just me...

[oceansoul]

I love Rabbit Fire's ending.

[Brandon Panther]

Admittedly, the ending to "Rabbit Fire" is something of a deux ex machina, and seems unusual for a Chuck Jones cartoon, but wouldn't feel out of place in an Avery or Clampett cartoon.

I mostly love the ending just because we get to see both Bugs AND Daffy triumph together over Elmer.

[StillHowardFein]

I love Rabbit Fire's ending.

Me too!:D Aside from being hilarious and unexpected, it's almost a foreshadowing of the attitude of hunting being politically incorrect. "How would the hunter feel if he were being hunted? Turnabout is fare play!" While :befuddled 's "Hunting wabbits" line had been mimicked many times already by 1951, :daffy: 's twisted imitation of his laugh is the topper!

RABBIT SEASONING is probably my least favorite of the trilogy, possibly because WNEW/5, which carried both WB syndie packages, was absolutely obsessed with it during the seventies and eighties. There are still plenty of memorable lines: "Still lurking about-"; "You keep out of this- he doesn't have to shoot you now!"; "Pronoun trouble."

But RABBIT FIRE is the best of the three, with as much emphasis on sight gags and timing. Not only 'Elmer Season', but the unexplained appearance of the elephant, the role reversal, and the 'no more buwwets' routine. "Hey, laughin' boy! There was-" "I know! I know!":)

[larriva9/11]

RABBIT SEASONING is probably my least favorite of the trilogy, possibly because WNEW/5, which carried both WB syndie packages, was absolutely obsessed with it during the seventies and eighties.

Same where I came from. I wonder if those adult TV programmers thought it was more "sophisticated" because the word play wasn't just rabbit/duck season...