Easter Yeggs

Th Easter Bunny comes down with a bout of the sickness so Bugs Bunny (no relation) offers to deliver the eggs to an ungrateful brat of a kid, as well as Elmer Fudd in disguise. As those who know me can attest to, I'm not a big fan of McKimson directed Bugs shorts (to put it mildly( And for good reason as most of said shorts were sub-par and not nearly as good as any of the rest of the Bugs cartoons. I would've been happy if McKimson just stayed making Foghorn Leghorn films, but being a Looney Tunes fad, it's just a sad matter of life that you'll going to have to sit through these sooner or later. For a Mckimson short it's good but it's still nothing compared to other non-McKimson directed ones. This animated short can be found on Disk 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 set.

My Grade: C+

I grew up on Warner Bros. cartoons, and thought I had seen them all. Somehow I missed this one until I found it on a laserdisc collection. It is now one of my favorites because it contains two of the funniest lines in all of the WB cartoons (see quotes).

We see a funny sight right off the bat: Bugs Bunny reading a book titled, "How To Multiply." He seems to be enjoying it. Nearby someone is sobbing out loud. Bugs checks it out and finds it's the "Easter Bunny," who is worried about delivering his colored eggs on this day because his feet are killing him. Bugs volunteers to deliver the "Technicolor hen fruit."

His first stop is a house that says "Dead End Kid" on it. If you've seen any of the Dead End Kids movies you'll know what to expect.

After narrowly escaping with his life, Bugs quits, but get talked into trying one more delivery. It turns out to be Elmer Fudd's house. Bugs tries to get into the spirit of the holiday but it's knda tough when the recipient is waiting inside with a shotgun to blow your head off! Most of the rest of the story has Bugs and Elmer going back and forth with each other. It's okay, but nothing worth noting.

The ending was a bit of a shock, but knowing the "Ain't I A Stinker?" Bugs Bunny attitude, maybe it wasn't.

The lazy Easter Bunny tricks our redoubtable Bugs into delivering his eggs for him. Bugs Bunny is happy to do it until he encounters a nasty little toddler who sucks a pistol for a pacifier. After nearly getting killed by the boy's hillbilly family, Bugs tries to give the eggs back to the Easter Bunny, who whines some more and gets Bugs to continue with the job. Elmer Fudd is eagerly awaiting the Easter Bunny: he wants "Easter Wabbit stew." Bugs will thwart Elmer by cuddling him in the Tunnel of Love, performing a magic act on his watch, and sending the sadistic brat to beat him on the head. Then Bugs will realize it's time to take revenge on the Easter Bunny.

Elmer Fudd wants to kill the Easter Bunny just to get some food? This contradicts his character and offends comic logic. One, Elmer is too childlike to plot such an act without being manipulated into it. Think of the Elmer Fudd from "Rabbit Seasoning." Two, we already have the main premise: the Easter Bunny tricks another rabbit into doing his work. We don't need a second idea competing with the first—especially when the second idea is so weird.

Still, the gags in this short are so funny it's hard to complain too much. Mel Blanc borrows his characterization of Mr. Beasley the mailman (from the Burns and Allen radio program) to use for the Easter Bunny. He even uses the mailman's catchphrase, "And remember: keep smiling!" Unlike the mailman, the Easter Bunny is a jerk, which makes the ending highly satisfying.

This cartoon is available on the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume Three," Disc 1.

Robert McKimson's 'Easter Yeggs' is an up and down cartoon that works in fits and starts. Crammed with ideas (perhaps too many), 'Easter Yeggs' pits Bugs against a lazy Easter Bunny, an annoying young child and his gangster family and a gun-toting Elmer Fudd. These threads are all drawn together with pleasing smoothness at the end but the jumping between them makes the cartoon seem a little lumpy and overstuffed. Another problem is the character of the Easter Bunny, who is whiney and entirely unappealing. Nevertheless, he gets the best moment in the cartoon when he makes an unexpected cameo in the middle of one of Bugs's heckles. Despite all it's flaws, I do like 'Easter Yeggs'. It's never going to be considered a classic by anyone but it is at least bright, colourful and inventive and there are enough decent jokes to counterbalance the dull spots.