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Bugs Bunny is an Academy Award-winning fictional animated rabbit who appears in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated films produced by Warner Bros., and is one of the most recognizable characters in the world.
According to his biography, he was "born" in 1940 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York and the product of many creators: Ben "Bugs" Hardaway (|who created a prototypical version of Bugs Bunny that appeared in 1938's Porky's Hare Hunt, 1939's Prest-O Change-O, 1939's Hare-um Scare-um and 1940's Elmer's Candid Camera) [Bob Clampett]], Tex Avery, Robert McKimson (created the definitive Bugs Bunny character design), Chuck Jones, and Friz Freleng. According to Mel Blanc, his original voice actor, his accent is an equal blend of someone from the Bronx and someone from Brooklyn.
Bugs is noted for his feuds with Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, Beaky Buzzard, Daffy Duck, Witch Hazel, Rocky and Mugsy, Wile E. Coyote and a host of others. Bugs is the traditional winner of these conflicts, a plot pattern which recurs in Looney Toons films directed by Chuck Jones. Concerned that viewers would lose sympathy for an invariably triumphant protagonist, Jones had the antagonist characters repeatedly bully, cheat or threaten Bugs. When offended by the antagonism, Bugs' catchline was "Of course you realize, dis means war!" (this line was taken from Groucho Marx) or, alternatively, "You realize this is not going to go unchallenged!". Other directors, such as Friz Freleng, characterized Bugs as altruistic. When Bugs meets other successful characters, (such as Cecil Turtle in Tortoise Beats Hare, or, in World War II, the Gremlin of Falling Hare) his overconfidence becomes a disadvantage.
Bugs Bunny's nonchalant carrot-chewing standing position, as explained by Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng, originated from a scene in the film It Happened One Night, in which Clark Gable's character leans against a fence, eating carrots rapidly and talking with his mouth full to Claudette Colbert's character. This scene was well-known while the film was popular, and viewers at the time likely recognized Bugs Bunny's behavior as satire.
The carrot-chewing scenes are generally followed by Bugs Bunny's most well-known catchphrase, "What's up, Doc?". The phrase was written by director Tex Avery for his first Bugs Bunny short, 1940s "A Wild Hare". Avery explained later that it was a common expression in Texas, where he was from, and that he did not think much of the phrase. When the short was first screened in theaters, the "What's up, Doc?" scene had a tremendously positive audience reaction. As a result, the scene became a recurring element in subsequent films and cartoons.
Bugs Bunny has some similarities to figures from mythology and folklore, such as Br'er Rabbit, Nanabozho, or Anansi, and might be seen as a modern trickster (for example, he repeatedly uses cross-dressing mischievously). Unlike most cartoon characters, however, Bugs Bunny is rarely defeated in his own games of trickery. The name "Bugs" or "Bugsy" as a nickname means "crazy" (or "loopy"). Wikipedia |
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