Looney Tunes Review: "Box Office Bunny"

I do love Looney Tunes so much. I forget how old I was when I first saw Bugs Bunny and crew. I always say to myself that I was five, but some memories have me watching The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show as early as the age of three. BB&T was a variation of The Bugs Bunny Show that aired during my childhood in the 1990s, and mostly on ABC's Saturday morning lineup--always at 10AM like clockwork. So many classic shorts appeared during that hour long block, and even some shorts that were actually released early in my lifetime. One such short I definitely remember seeing on BB&T is the subject of this review: Box Office Bunny.

The short marked Bugs Bunny's return to the theater in 27 years, and it began in typical fashion: something was being built on top of his home. In the case of this short, it was a multiplex movie theater (those were a huge deal in the 90s). Bugs hears the noise and ends up peeping out of his hole and through the theater floor, but unlike many cases where he'll rage and riot over something being on top of his home, Bugs decides to stick around and enjoy the show. The film is one of those action type movies, and I always laugh at the action hero's dialogue:

"I was born in Brooklyn, I dropped out of school in Brooklyn, and now I gotta get ready to die for Brooklyn!"

Bugs is spotted by an usher, and of course it's Elmer Fudd. Upon seeing the "wascally wabbit," Fudd points out that Bugs doesn't have a ticket and has to leave. Bugs turns the tables in typical Bugs fashion and asks for Fudd's ticket. He doesn't have one.

"No ticket, eh?!" Bugs, now dressed as a traffic cop, asks. "Well, you've got one now! You know how fast you were coming down that aisle?!"

"No, Officer," Elmer replies.

"Real fast... and weaving!" says Bugs. "And you've only got one headlight! Why, there may have been kids playing on that aisle! You're in some big trouble, that's all I know!"

Elmer pleads his case, only to realize he's been tricked. Bugs escapes, and the chase is on. That's not all that's on:

Enter Daffy Duck. Daffy rants about the price of a movie ticket (he hasn't seen anything yet) before taking his library card to use to jimmy open the back door and sneak in. He's hit by the chase and caught by Fudd, who thinks it's Bugs. Daffy corrects him and says he's no rabbit.

"Well, if he's no rabbit, then where are his ears?" Bugs asks.

Daffy's about to take the bait, but stops himself, having realized what Bugs is doing. Daffy says the discussion is over and he's come too far, adding that he's "above all that now." Only took him nearly 40 years.

"But not above sneaking into movie theaters," Bugs quips.

Daffy is about to take the bait again, but catches himself and tells Fudd to catch Bugs. The chase continues, with Daffy cheering on Fudd. They enter one of the theaters and end up stuck on discarded bubble gum, leading to a dance number to some modern music. Bugs ends up escaping, Fudd's still dancing, and Daffy gets Fudd out of it and tells him to get Bugs. The chase reaches the concession stand, where Bugs, dressed as a vendor, dishes out a large order of popcorn and a large soda at Fudd, before Daffy exposes the vendor as Bugs.

Bugs later squirts butter on the floor, causing Daffy and Fudd to slip and later trip their way into an actual movie. Daffy beams over being in a movie, until both he and Fudd see the genre: a slasher film. A hockey-masked maniac with a chainsaw appears, and Daffy and Fudd want out badly. Bugs watches as part the audience, and ends the short with the following line:

"It takes a miracle to get into pictures, and now these two jokers want to get out."

Box Office Bunny was released in theaters on February 8, 1991, the first theatrically released Bugs Bunny short since False Hare came out in the summer of 1964. This was not the first short released since that year; Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts continued to be released until 1969, but after that, we would not see Looney Tunes hit the theater until The Duxorcist in 1987. Box Office Bunny was very short (four minutes and 58 seconds, even shorter than 1962's Shishkabugs), but very very sweet, especially since this ended up being yet another chapter in the Bugs/Daffy/Elmer angle, and it adapted well to the more modern setting.

I mentioned that this short was the beginning of a new era:

This man, who has been delivering big time to classic cartoon fans such as myself for decades, is Jeffrey Allan Bergman. Born on July 10, 1960 in Philadelphia, Bergman is best known for being the very first voice for Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters following the passing of Mel Blanc on July 10, 1989 (Bergman's 29th birthday). Box Office Bunny was the first Looney Tunes short released after Blanc's passing, and the first to feature Bergman as the voice of the featured Looney Tunes characters; in this case, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. At the time, Bergman was already voicing Looney Tunes characters on Tiny Toon Adventures, which debuted in the fall of 1990. There were additional voices in this, as Jim Cummings (who would begin voicing Taz a year later) provided that action hero's line of dialogue, and the action hero's companion was voiced by Tress MacNeille.

Box Office Bunny was directed by Darrell Van Citters, who did quite a bit for Warner Bros., including working on 1988's Daffy Duck's Quackbusters, and drawing up the famous "Speechless" drawing of the Looney Tunes bowing their heads while the spolight shone on a microphone, a tribute to Mel Blanc. The short serves as one of the bonus cartoons on as part of the Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie DVD.

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