Rabbit Fire

If you ask Looney Tunes fans, I predict the vote would be even with regards to which is better: this or "Rabbit Seasoning". My vote goes to this one but "Rabbit Seasoning" is also excellent. They compliment each other very well. The verbal interplay is great, the elephant bit is inspired as well as unexpected and the ending is very clever.

. . . to utilize when teaching young tykes the basics of firearm safety. The character portrayed during RABBIT FIRE by Daffy Duck appears to be totally clueless concerning Making Peacemakers Safe Again 101. Daffy seldom if ever seems to know whether there's a bullet in the chamber of the shooting irons in his vicinity. While Bugs Bunny, the wily rabbit, seems to be slightly more adept than Daffy when it comes to avoiding self-inflicted bullet wounds, this certainly is not saying very much. As the original Cyclops noted, "In the land of the vision-impaired, the one-eyed giant can rise up to become King.

The "Hunting Trilogy" of Rabbit Fire (1951), Rabbit Seasoning (1952), and Duck! Rabbit! Duck! (1953) should be considered the comedic high water mark of the Chuck Jones-Michael Maltese collaboration. While they are seldom mentioned in lists of the "greatest" or "most important" cartoons in the history of animation, they are certainly THE FUNNIEST cartoons I've ever seen. Michael Maltese never got the credit that directors like Jones, Freleng or Avery got, but it's his dialogue and situations that make Warner Bros. cartoons, and these three in particular, some of the FUNNIEST ever made.

Rabbit Fire has some of the absolutely funniest lines and sight gags that have ever been seen on film. It is one of three cartoons done as more or les a series and is, in my opinion, the best of them. From Elmer's opening line to the hilarious final line, this is an unalloyed delight. There's also a beautiful gag with an elephant. Much as I love Tex Avery, Chuck Jones's work here and elsewhere is the equal (and, sometimes, superior) to Avery's best. Very much recommended.

This is the first short in the "Hunting Trilogy", that included this, 'Rabbit Seasoning' and 'Duck, Rabbit, Duck!'. All of the three are classics. This short has so many classic sequences and holds so many laughs, thats it's a wonder that it could be crammed into a seven minute cartoon. This definitely ranks as one of the best Looney Tunes shorts ever. And with the other two aforementioned cartoons constitutes quite possibly THE best cartoon trilogy ever. Not just Looney Tunes, but the best of ANY cartoon trilogy!! This superbly great cartoon is on Disk 2 of the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1"

My Grade: A+