Bunny à la carte

French Rarebit (1951)

** (out of 4)

Bugs Bunny finds himself in Paris, walking down a street when rival chefs start fighting over which one will have Bugs on their menu that night. Soon Bugs joins the fighting in order to make both of them look like fools. This was never one of my favorite Bugs shorts and I'd probably say this is one of the least entertaining over all. There's some nice imagination and good animation but outside of that this thing is pretty lifeless. You expect a lot more in terms of laughs but there's not a single one here, which is rather shocking. Another problem are the two chefs and how bland and boring they are. Not once did they make me laugh and they even manage to bring Bugs down to their unfunny level.

I do agree that this is not one of Bug's better efforts, but it is an amusing little cartoon. What doesn't make it as good is that the first two minutes or so is a tad slow and unfunny, but once the action moves to the kitchen it is then when it gets quite amusing. There are a number of good things, particularly the art work, as the Parisian backgrounds are beautiful to look at. The music is great, and the sight gags in the latter half range from pretty good to very good indeed. Bugs himself is great, and the two chefs are not too bad either, personally it would have been better with just one chef but oh well. Finally, Mel Blanc's vocal characterisations are stellar as always. Overall, slow to start with, but it is really quite amusing once it kicks off. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Bugs arrives in Paris via a delivery truck carrying carrots from the US. As he's walking down the street, he catches the attention of not one but two French chefs who want to cook him for dinner. The rest of the cartoon has the two rival chefs trying to see who gets Bugs, all the while Bugs is easily outsmarting them both. It's a perfectly enjoyable cartoon but, as others have said, not one of Bugs' best. The gags are amusing but nothing really hilarious. The voice work from Mel Blanc and Tedd Pierce (who also wrote the story) is great. The music is energetic and fun. I love the animation in this one. The colors are lush and bright. The characters are well-drawn and the backgrounds are quite detailed, which wasn't always the case for a Looney Tunes short.

Bugs Bunny gets caught between two snooty Parisian chefs trying to turn him into their main course. Once again, the team behind the Looney Tunes cartoons created a clever, irreverent litany of wackiness. If "French Rarebit" has any problem, it's that the cartoon stereotypes France. But hey, this is a joke here! The point is to luxuriate in Bugs's antics. And believe me, you're sure to have a good time. As we should all know by now, nothing is sacred to Bugs, as he trashes the rules day in and day out. It's a hoot from start to finish. In conclusion: Vive la France! Because we might just all be the pickle.

Moan-sirs and madame-oizels. Ha!

Mention the name Robert McKimson to any TRUE Looney Tunes fan and you're likely to get a sad sigh in return. The man just did not know how to make good Bugs Bunny cartoons. This one about Bugs in France mixing it up with two rival chefs who each want the rabbit for their own respective cuisines, is not an exception to the rule. On the contrary, it proves the rule by being yet another lackluster effort by McKimson indeed. I mean any bugs is good bugs, but his shorts are pretty mundane and I find myself saddened when I have to sit through one. This animated short can be seen on Disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

My Grade: C