Bugs Bunny Rides Again

It's the wild west with bullets flying down the street like traffic in Manhattan. Over at The Gunshot Saloon - Come In And Get A Slug," Yosemite Sam walks in with two smoking guns. He orders "all you skunks clear out." Of course, the last one is literally a skunk.

Well, there is one varmint left in the bar.....Bugs, who does his Gary Cooper "High Noon" imitation, walking dramatically toward Sam. At the last minute, he pulls a carrot out of his holster and says, "What's up, doc?"

Off we go with another wild Bugs Bunny animated short, filled with funny dialog which includes a lot of puns and clichés from the Old West. The scenery is also spectacular. I laughed continuously throughout this cartoon. The two of them dancing almost had me in tears, laughing so hard. This is just great material.

When Yosemite Sam, the roughest, toughest he-man ever to cross the Rio Grande - and he ain't namby-pamby - scares everyone out of an Old West town, Bugs Bunny stays and proceeds to play all sorts of tricks on Sam. Once again, Friz Freleng directed a hilarious, irreverent jab at the ordered world (whether it was Friz Freleng or Chuck Jones directing, they always did a great job; not to mention Mel Blanc's voices). I will say that when Sam said "cut the cards", I knew what was going to happen before Bugs did it, but other than that, everything's a real surprise. "Bugs Bunny Rides Again" is one cartoon that will truly live on forever. Because remember, this town is big enough not only for the two of us, but also for Gary Cooper.

It is the wild wild west and bullets are flying. Yosemite Sam arrives in town and squares off against Bugs Bunny. This is fine Bugs Bunny. Bugs elevates everything and makes this better. I would still make a few changes. When Sam orders him to dance, I want Bugs to put on a dress and twirl Sam around. The line thing is funny, but it needs to end with Bugs walking on air and Sam unable to. Of course, the card game needs to be poker and Bugs needs to push all in. In that, he needs to put everything and the literal kitchen sink on top of the table. As for the ending, it is great although I figured on Hollywood instead of Miami.

Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

The setting is the roughest town in the West where Yosemite Sam will shoot whoever tries to stand in his way of anything. Then Bugs comes to town and the two start their battle. This is yet another winning short to feature Bugs and Sam and this just gives further proof that the two, when working together, were one of the greatest comedy duos out there. There's one great joke after another but my favorite sequence comes at the very end when the two sit down to play cards to determine who leaves town. How the card game ends and everything that follows is just priceless. Another winning sequence happens early on when the two start walking towards one another getting ready to shoot.

I particularly enjoyed this Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny cartoon for the following reasons: 1. Not only were there the slapstick jokes typical of cartoons with these two main characters, but there were also an unusual (for this type of cartoon) amount of witty speeches, coming from Bugs, which I really liked. This may not be a highlight to Looney-Tunes-Slapstick fans, but I LOVE wittiness in this cartoon series. 2. The slapstick jokes were generally unexpected, fast-paced and amusing and even the farce was enjoyable (which occurs in about the middle of the episode). 3. Bugs Bunny did well, as he usually does in YS+BB cartoons, he provided most of the humour in this one, including slapstick and speaking humour. 4. There are a few memorable scenes in this cartoon which you can watch and enjoy without seeing the whole thing (e.g the dancing scene and the card scene).

I cannot rate this a 9 or a 10 because a select few of the jokes were predictable and slapsticky, but this is little to quibble over.

Anyway, in "Bugs Bunny Rides Again," there is a huge gunfight going on in a town (reminiscent of the later "Drip Along Daffy") and Yosemite Sam steps into a bar with seemingly tough criminals, however they all cower when Yosemite Sam speaks. The newcomer manages to make everyone flee out of the bar, except for a bunny who is willing to oppose him. Will Bugs Bunny succeed in outsmarting Yosemite Sam..? I recommend this cartoon to people who enjoy Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny cartoons in general and to people who usually find YS+BB episodes too slapsticky and would prefer watching one with more witty jokes. Enjoy "Bugs Bunny Rides Again"! :-) 8 and a half out of ten.