Hasen-Rebell

When I saw the title and first minute of "Rebel Rabbit", I sort of assumed that it would be a Robin Hood-style story. Boy was I wrong! It portrays Bugs Bunny getting insulted when he finds that the government has placed exorbitant bounties on foxes and bears, but only 2 cents on rabbits (after all, rabbits are such cute little creatures). So, the carrot-chomping rascal proceeds to make a complete mess of the United States. The final scene reminded me of the Peter Sellers-Ringo Starr movie "The Magic Christian", how they ridiculously brought in the most elaborate weaponry to deal with so simple an animal (then again, Bugs isn't so simple to catch).

I especially agreed with one scene: Bugs cuts Florida off from the rest of the country. Considering that the Sunshine State is home to the rich Cubans who fled when Fidel Castro's army took over in Cuba, we should break that state off from the rest of the country and send it down to Cuba so that the current government there can prosecute Fulgencio Batista's henchmen.

But I digress. The point is, this is a really funny cartoon. That southern senator was obviously Mel Blanc doing Foghorn Leghorn's voice. Really neat.

Robert McKimson's 'Rebel Rabbit' is an extremely original cartoon that casts Bugs Bunny as an egotistical anarchist to terrifying effect. Outraged that the bounty for hunted rabbits is only two cents each, Bugs visits Washington and demands it be raised. When his request is refused, he sets about proving that rabbit's are more dangerous than people think by causing chaos up and down the country until the bounty on his head reaches a million dollars. 'Rebel Rabbit' is one of McKimson's finest cartoons. Beginning with a novel premise, McKimson takes his time by having Bugs deal with all the administrative side of things first. When this approach fails, the cartoon goes crazy as Bugs lets himself off the leash. From hereon in, all bets are off as Bugs commits senseless acts of assault, vandalism and general indecency. McKimson heightens the anything-can-happen atmosphere by interspersing the animated antics with live action footage. Bugs's nationwide rampage is a thrill to behold and the unexpected result makes for a very satisfying climax. All in all, 'Rebel Rabbit' is a fascinating and fun character experiment that comes highly recommended.

Maybe the best cartoon Bugs has ever had- he goes too far, and ends up in a heap of trouble, all because the bounty for a rabbit had been set at 2 cents...

Bugs' bounty becomes 1,000,000 dollars..

a classic- one of if not the best ever!

a classic that until a recent DVD release had not seen the light of day release wise unless you counted laser discs.. thanks Warner bros. for finally letting many see this classic cartoon! I'd rank it very highly, and would recommend this short to anyone who considers themselves to be fans of bugs and looney tunes.. a classic, and well worth the effort to see. Released April of 1949

Bugs Bunny finds that there is $50 bounty for a fox. It is $75 for a bear. For a rabbit, it is only 2 cents. He is incensed. He mails himself to Washington in order to confront the Game Commissioner. He feels further insulted and goes on a rampage across the country. In response, the country goes to war against Bugs Bunny and raises his bounty to $1 million.

Bugs is a trickster and he can be downright rude. In this one, he is diving fully into the petty confrontation and it is glorious. I don't know which one of America's wonders is the most impressive. Each one gets their own great makeover.

I really enjoyed this original, hilarious, clever, America-spoofing episode! I enjoyed it for the reasons above (this episode does not spoof America in an insulting way, just really pokes at the things America loves and is proud of) and I also enjoyed it for Bugs Bunny's over-dramatic character, the animation, the plot idea and the way it is carried out. If there was one thing that I slightly did not enjoy about the episode, it is the fact that Bugs Bunny does very horrible things in this cartoon, which surely he would dislike if someone else did them, but I guess he had just gone psychotic in this episode.

Anyway, in "Rebel Rabbit", we see Bugs Bunny in the woods reading fox and bear hunting posters, which say that $50 will be awarded for a dead fox and $75 will be given for a dead bear. When Bugs Bunny comes to a rabbit poster, saying that 2 cents will be given for a dead rabbit, the bunny is FURIOUS, saying that he is "worth more" and goes all the way to Washington to complain. Will Bugs Bunny earn his revenge..?

I highly recommend this episode to any Looney Tunes watcher, anyone who likes Bugs Bunny and to anyone who loves crazy, screwball ideas in a Looney Tunes cartoon. Enjoy "Rebel Rabbit"! :-)

P.S Included in this cartoon are some full-blown (and crazily over the top for the cartoon) military scenes, including tanks, men on horses and aeroplanes. It does not need to be taken seriously (unlike some of the war references in Looney Tunes episodes such as "Scrap Happy Daffy" and "Daffy Duck Commando") and is a pretty good addition to the cartoon.