Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid

Looney Tunes were part of my childhood and still hold a special place in my heart. Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid may not be quite classic status but it is a truly great cartoon indeed. The pacing is not as crisp and somewhat manic as it is in many other Looney Tunes cartoons, but again this is a matter of preference and there is so much to love about Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid anyway. The animation is colourful and fluid, with both characters well-drawn, while the music- especially in the big-band dance sequence- is cleverly orchestrated and enhances the humour so well. The humour here is more verbal than it is physical, but that is not a hindrance in any way, as the dialogue is fresh and witty and the gags are equally inspired. In terms of standout scenes, I did love the animal bone and "take a shower" gags but the highlight was definitely the big-band dance sequence, magnificently choreographed and perhaps among Bugs' best overall scenes out of all his cartoons. Bugs is on fine form, doing what he does best, while Beaky Buzzard while stupid is cute and funny rather than overly-dumb and annoying. These two work really well together. I have nothing to criticise in regard to Mel Blanc's vocals either. All in all, a great cartoon but not quite a classic. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942)

**** (out of 4)

A mama buzzard sends her four children out to get food but the dimwitted one, named Beaky Buzzard, is unlucky as he has to bring home a rabbit and he just happens to run into Bugs Bunny. This here has always been one of my favorite animated shorts because Bugs and Beaky just make the ultimate duo because both are just so damn cute here. The animation is perfectly done and the story contains enough great moments for two films. The best sequence is when Bugs goes to "take a shower" before going with Beaky who finally starts to realize a joke is being played on him. What happens next is just priceless. The final joke with Bugs also gets a big laugh just for the wonderful voice. To me what works best is actually Beaky because he's just so adorable and stupid at the same time. The voice work is downright brilliant and in itself brings a lot of laughs.

Mama buzzard directs her kids to go get their own food. The runt doesn't want to go. So his mother tells him to at least get a rabbit and kicks him out of the nest. That is exactly what he encounters, a rabbit named Bugs Bunny.

The buzzards look like vultures and I assumed that they are vultures. As vultures, the design is fine. It doesn't make senses since vultures eat dead animals. It doesn't matter that it has good gags. I just thinking that a vulture wouldn't eat a live rabbit. Second, the skeleton is gruesome and morbid. It is too morbid to be truly funny. In that one, I'm always thinking about the skeleton and not the gag. This is not my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon.

A mother buzzard sends her children out to catch food, however the dopey one refuses to go. She sends him off to catch her a rabbit nonetheless - just his bad luck that the first rabbit he comes upon is a slippery Bugs Bunny.

Bugs Bunny is a strong enough character and has a strong enough basic repertoire to overcome a potentially weak cartoon. Here this is a potentially weak cartoon. The animation is not great and even Bugs himself looks like he was drawn in a bit of a rush, the bird character is not great either and doesn't look like he'll be a good partner for Bugs.

However the bird is actually quite amusing although I don't totally get why he is played all dumb and `oh schucks' about everything. Bugs still works well and the bird has his moments. There are a handful of chuckles or amusing moments and the short keeps it moving along well enough.

The ending ain't great and the whole product doesn't ever really get to a point where I could use any words other than passable or reasonable, but it still works OK thanks in main to another good bit of work from Bugs.

This was Clampett's third Bugs Bunny cartoon, but it marks the first time Bugs Bunny looks like the rabbit we all know. Prior to this Bugs had a more oval head giving him a rat-like appearance. It was as an animator in Clampett's unit that Robert Mckimson developed the model sheet of Bugs that all the other units eventually used. In the cartoons of the other directors at this time Bugs looked pretty ugly while he kept getting better looking in the Clampett cartoons. This is also the first appearence of Beaky Buzzard, a Mortimer Snerd caricature. This cartoon is funnier than Clampett's first two Bugs films and the animation is pretty solid, especially Mckimson's. However, Clampett would go far beyond this one with such cartoons as What's Cookin', Doc?, The Old Grey Hare, The Big Snooze, and Tortoise Wins By A Hare. Overall, a good cartoon, though.