Bunny Mooning

I remember seeing this short back when my sister made my dad buy this VHS tape at a check out counter at Walmart many years ago. It had this short and another short called Hawaiian Birds. But we're discussing Bunny Mooning here, and honestly it's okay.

The short doesn't really have a plot per se. It revolves around a bunny couple getting married and the animal people getting ready for it. Thats really it. Really the whole short is just a series of animal related gags. It's enjoyable though, the charming animation and the song that's sung through it really make this otherwise pretty bland short worth watching.

I remember seeing this as a little kid and even then I was surprised at how there wasn't really any conflict to speak of. I thought there was going to be an issue when the Bunnies making their way to the wedding place but no. But I still liked watching it though. Sometimes having something that doesn't really have any substance but is still a pleasant watch that gives you a warm feeling is okay sometimes. That's probably why these Color Classic shorts aren't all the well known because they never really stood out from the cream of the crop, being Disney, Warner Bros and MGM. But they're still worth watching for the pure joyful nothing that they are.

It's worth a watch thanks to it's charm but be please note that the short does contain one brief out of date racial depiction.

No one did such a wide range of funny animals in one cartoon the way the Fleischer Bros. did in their Color Classic cartoons of the 1930s, e.g "An Elephant Never Forgets" (1934) and "Dancing on the Moon" (1935). "Bunny Mooning" (1937) is designed along those lines and features all sorts of animals converging on the wedding of Jack and Jill Rabbit in the forest one bright sunny day. Filmed in Technicolor, it gives us a goose barber shaving the quills of a porcupine, a male lion getting a manicure (by grindstone!), a giraffe putting on a succession of stiff collars, a female hippo painting on lipstick, and a bear hair stylist applying a "permanent" to a female elk's antlers (a neat trick since female elks aren't supposed to have antlers). At the wedding ceremony, a monkey uses its tail to chime the flower "bells," a hen sings "Love in Bloom," and a peacock officiates. Wedding gifts include a succession of high chairs of descending sizes, a typical cartoon "rabbit gag."

It's not as filled with incident as the earlier cartoons I mentioned, nor are the gags worthy of any more than a chuckle here and there, but it's still a cute and colorful cartoon and it gives us the chance to hear Mae Questel doing other voices outside of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl.

Not everything Fleischer Studios did was great, very few studios in the world are exempt from disappointments, especially their 40s work which was the complete opposite of when they were making good to great cartoons in the 30s. Nothing in their vast output was unwatchable, even when a few series in their decline betrayed the vastly inferior quality in comparison to their early work, but the best of the studio's work when it was on form were gems.

'Bunny Mooning' is neither among Fleischer Studios' best or worst. It is pleasant and cute, as well as well made and scored, but rather unexceptional and somewhat bland at the same time. It is something of a disappointment in a way, due to it being made and released in a contender for the studio's best period (the late-30s). One did miss pre-code Betty Boop (the best of which being among Fleischers' best) but it was a particularly great period for the Popeye series, where the quality was remarkably consistent in a good way. It is part of the uneven "Color Classics" series, of which it is a middling effort, again neither among the best or worst, also again though the late-30s cartoons from that series generally were infinitely better than the 40s ones.

Almost every film, television dramas/shows, filmed stage productions and cartoons in existence have both good and bad points, though tending to either have good things outweighing bad or vice versa. There are certainly a good deal of exceptions, where one can find next to nothing wrong or if they can't find anything redeeming. 'Bunny Mooning' is an example of the both good and bad points, with the good just slightly outweighing the not so good. Starting with what is good, as with pretty much all the "Color Classics" cartoons, even in the 40s ones, the best assets are the animation and music. While there are more visually innovative cartoons of theirs, the attention to detail in the backgrounds, the lush and atmospheric colours and the smooth way everything is drawn is really lovely to watch. The music never works against the action and fits very well with it instead, it is also characterful and cleverly and beautifully orchestrated.

The animal characters are amusing and 'Bunny Mooning' does well in giving them distinct personalities. There could have been more gags, but the cartoon is not devoid of humour and some of it does bring a smile. It is cute without generally being too sentimental. The voice acting from Fleischer regulars Jack Mercer and Mae Questel is well done and fit their characters appropriately.

For all those good things, 'Bunny Mooning' does have caveats. The story could have done with more energy and despite being a short length there is just not enough content to it to sustain the length, on the whole it is rather routine and flimsy. Some of it is a bit too cute for my tastes and while 'Bunny Mooning' does have humour present there is nothing really hilarious here. The leads are on the bland side.

It will be said that nothing here is executed awfully and there are well done elements. There is just not an awful lot special here.

Worth a look certainly but not a gem and more a one-time-watch sort of cartoon rather than one worth repeated viewings. 6/10