Bewitched Bunny

This is one of the all-time classic Bugs Bunny Cartons. It is so funny, I find myself rolling on the floor with laughter every time that it is on. Witch Hazel is a scream. Look for it the next time Lonney Tunes are on.

I always like it when someone accompanies voice genius Mel Blanc in one of these Looney Tunes cartoons. It gives us a little more variation of the characters since Mel's voice - even with different characters - is pretty easy to spot. Here, Bea Benaderet of "Petticoat Junction" TV fame, adds to the fun with several voices of her own in this offbeat tale of "Hansel And Gretel."

The story involves Bugs rescuing some kids from the mean old "Witch Hazel," who plans to eat them for dinner.....but then later decides a nice rabbit might be a better meal!

There are some clever, dark comedy humor in this cartoon, such as the witch reading a book of recipes for eating children ("waif waffles," "urchin pie," "smorgas boy," etc.)

If you have the opportunity, check out this cartoon on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 because the restoration on it makes this a real visual feast. The colors in here are spectacular!

This cartoon alone may be enough for me to buy the newest DVD collection. The Looney Tunes, especially with Bugs, have done some great twists on fairy tales and this is one of their best - I love Chuck Jones' take on Hansel and Gretel as walking ham hocks with blank doll eyes!

This one takes the flattened-out, stylized UPA-style graphics of the time to a unique level in Witch Hazel's house interiors, that loudly defy gravity and physics. Hazel herself scuttles crablike across the screen as a hilarious and literally two-dimensional presence. I'm impressed at how seamlessly the classic Looney characters fit into this new design scheme in this and other cartoons of the time.

Anyhow, what I liked about this Bugs Bunny cartoon were the following things: the witch (who also appears in "Broomstick Bunny"), Bugs Bunny, the fairytale theme and quite a few of the jokes. The animation is also worth noting, it is done in a quite "comfortable" style and it fits the fairytale theme in the episode.

In this Looney Tunes short, Bugs Bunny is walking in a forest, reading aloud the tale of Hansel and Gretel (who have very noticeable German accents). By pure coincidence, he spots a little cottage and a witch outside it welcoming a little boy and girl, who she invites in. Bugs Bunny realizes that the fairytale he is reading is beginning to come true and he is ready to rescue...

I do not understand why the makers of this cartoon added an anti-feminist joke at the end. It was very annoying. The rest of the cartoon was good - a little too farcey - but good.

I recommend this amusing episode to people who like fairy tales, to people who like Witch Hazel (if the people have watched "Broomstick Bunny") and to people who just love Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes in general. Enjoy "Bewitched Bunny"! :-)

In Witch Hazel's first appearance, she tempts Hansel (Hansel?) and Gretel into her house, only to have Bugs Bunny intervene; of course, he might be just as tasty. If absolutely nothing else, it's always great to see the various and sundry tricks that Bugs comes up with on the spot - always helped, natch, by the fact that any useful substance is immediately at hand. If "Bewitched Bunny" has any problem, it's that the cartoon sort of stereotypes Germans (the children have accents like the characters in "Fargo"). But no matter, this cartoon is purely a joke, and it's impossible not to like. I'd say that Witch Hazel, with her lovable cackling, did as much to advance the cause of witchcraft as Harry Potter or Samantha on "Bewitched". A real classic.