8 Ball Bunny

Bugs Bunny's peaceful sleep is interrupted by a stray baby penguin. Unable to turn away such a little cutie, with big, sad eyes, Bugs makes it his duty to take him back home. When he finds out home is actually in the South Pole he wishes he hadn't.

So begins a long trek south, through Mexico and jungles and mountains. It's quite funny and Bugs' antics are wonderfully amusing as usual. I'm not sure what the deal is with the hobo who looks like Humphrey Bogart but it's obviously a reference to a movie I've not seen.

Like the best of Looney Tunes cartoons, this one ends with an hilarious twist.

Bugs and an ice-skating penguin: now there's a new storyline. The penguins is part of the "Brooklyn Ice Frolics." One problem: the show closed and they left without the little guy! He wanders around and winds up falling into Bugs' hole outside the city.

Bugs freaks out: "It's a boid - a boid in a tuxedo!! Hey, playboy, what's the idea of crashing in here in the middle of the night and disrupting an honest rabbit's slumber?"

To make a long story short, the little penguin's tears get Bugs' sympathy so he takes him to where he thinks all penguins belong: the South Pole. They begin by hitching rides aboard a train, a la hobos, headed for "the Deep, Deep South."

Their adventures take them to the steamship "Admiral Byrd" and a few other spots. I won't divulge any more because there is still over half the story to go, at this point.

Suffice to say Bugs' is both funny and a very good protector of our little guy, who applauds every time something good happens. It's very cute and a really great cartoon overall with plenty of laughs and charm. Bugs adds to the humor just by the way he pronounces a lot of words in here. Having Humphrey Bogart make a guest appearance didn't hurt, either!

This is outstanding entertainment.

8 Ball Bunny (1950)

*** (out of 4)

A small penguin gets separated from his traveling circus but thankfully he runs into Bugs Bunny who agrees to take him back home to the South Pole. This Warner/Looney Tunes short isn't going to be mistaken for a masterpiece as it doesn't contain enough laughs or action but there's no denying that the story itself is cute enough as is the penguin. For the most part this short moves well enough and the pacing is certain good enough to make the 7-minute running time go by very quickly. The highlight of the film is the rather funny map that shows the progress that the two are making. Of course, the scenes in between the maps really aren't all that clever or funny. One such example is a scene where Bugs is playing guitar while the penguin makes them a boat. It's just not funny. The one thing that does work is a few cameo spots by Humphrey Bogart playing the character from THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.

Classic Bugs Bunny short directed by Chuck Jones from a story by Michael Maltese. This one tells of Bugs' efforts to get a little penguin home to the South Pole. The journey involves hobos, cannibals, crocodiles, Humphrey Bogart, and more. The animation is crisp and attractive with some great action. Love the colors. The music is exciting and fits the action well. The voice work is phenomenal. In addition to the incomparable Mel Blanc, here we have the talents of impressionist Dave Barry doing a perfect Bogart (he had previously voiced Bogart in 1947's Slick Hare). It's a hilarious short with an adorable character that doesn't get in the way of the laughs, as sometimes happened when Looney Tunes got too cute. The Bogart caricature, for me, is the highlight. Love those scenes.

This has got to be one of my all-time favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons, mostly because it's one of the first ones that we actually feel really sorry for poor Bugs. After coming across a lost little penguin who was accidentally left behind, he promises to help him find his way home... only to discover that penguins live at the South Pole! Bugs and the little penguin set off to bring the little penguin home, through starving hobos, a tax to cross the Panama Canal, getting attacked by a hungry tribe of cannibals, not to mention getting followed by a certain celebrity from The Treasure of Sierra Madre, they finally make it to the South Pole. However, Bugs discovers one tiny little problem: this penguin was raised in captivity in Hoboken, New Jersey!!!

If you're like me, you'll fall in love with that cute little penguin (who can resist melting when he cries ice cubes?) and laugh as Bugs strains himself to help him out. Definitely a classic to love and watch over and over.