Rabbit Fire (1951)

Directed by

Chuck Jones

Genre

animation, comedy

Country

United States

Runtime

7 min

Rated

NR

Rating

7.5 of 10 from 144 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck argue over which one Elmer Fudd should hunt during duck season or rabbit season. Daffy tries to trick Elmer into shooting Bugs but his vanity and greed lead to his own misfortune.

fast-pacedwittyplayfulsillyanimatedcompetitiveclassicchaotic

What happens

Rabbit Fire is a 1951 Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. Directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, the cartoon is the first in Jones' "hunting trilogy"—the other two cartoons following it being Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit, Duck! It is also the first cartoon to feature a feud between Bugs, Daffy and Elmer. Produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, the short was released to theaters on May 19, 1951 by Warner Bros. Pictures and is often considered among Jones' best and most important films. The film marks a significant shift in Daffy's personality, going from being the insane "screwball" character who (like Bugs) overwhelmed his adversaries, to a much more flawed individual, full of greed and vanity and desire for attention under the spotlight. This personality change, which was previously explored by Jones in You Were Never Duckier and Daffy Dilly, and even earlier in Friz Freleng's You Ought to Be in Pictures, was done in order for Daffy to better serve as Bugs' foil. This was fueled by Bugs' popularity surpassing Daffy's quickly over the years, increasing the desire of the studio's animators to pair the two together. Since then, Daffy's earlier screwball personality has been revisited in newer Looney Tunes media such as Looney Tunes Cartoons. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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• Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (1953)
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• The Unruly Hare (1945)
• What's Up, Doc? (1950)
• Duck Amuck (1953)
• People Are Bunny (1959)
• A Star Is Bored (1956)