Gorilla My Dreams

Bugs Bunny is adrift at sea in a barrel. He lands on the island of Bingzi-Bangzi. A sign reads Land of the Ferocious Apes. They are more well-read than most apes. A wife ape is distressed with the stork not visiting her. She finds Bugs in a barrel and assumes that he's her new baby. At first, he objects, but she starts crying. He relents and plays the part to appease her. The husband ape is not so taken.

I don't really like Bugs tricking the female ape. I understand it, but he does need a better escape plan. I don't think he has an escape plan. I like my Bugs trickery to be against more deserving opponents.

Bugs Bunny has found home with his parents both being gorillas. Crazy, isn't it? Despite being crazy, this is a classic short. Once again, Bugs has to face a villain, the Gorilla Gruesome who would rather not have Bugs around and decided to 'play' rough. What are the odds he is going to regret it in the end? Very good.

Bugs, floating in a barrel in the ocean but unperturbed by it all, washes ashore on "Bingzi- Bangzi - Land of the Ferocious Apes."

After some beautiful artwork showing the jungle, we come across some apes lying around reading books with titles such as "Apes Of Wrath" and "Our Vines Have Tender Apes." That's one feature I love with these Looney Tunes cartoons: the writers loved puns, as I do.

Like Moses in the brush, Bugs is picked up by a woman (in this case, gorilla) who is thrilled at the prospect of caring for a new "baby."

This cartoon, which is part of the Golden Collection Volume Two, shows Bugs' "soft spot," as he puts it: dames crying, so if the female thinks he's hers, well, to keep her from crying any more, Bugs "goes along with the gag." What ensues is mostly funny, from the sight gags - Bugs in a pink baby outfit, and then pretending to be an ape - to his battles with the father ape "Gruesome."

The only lame part was the ending. Actually, I enjoyed the fabulous artwork in here with amazing jungle drawings, best of all, along with the puns in the beginning.

The best thing about Robert McKimson's 'Gorilla My Dreams' are the sumptuous jungle backgrounds against which the action is set. It's a lovely setting for a so-so cartoon. Bugs Bunny is washed ashore on a tropical island and immediately adopted against his will by a broody, childless mother gorilla. Her husband, Gruesome, is less than pleased by this development and sets out to render himself childless. It is from hereon in that the cartoon starts to falter with some clumsily timed sequences (the dance with the coconut tree being the prime example) and a less than satisfactory ending. It's a shame the script is so off during the main body of the cartoon because much of the animation is extremely nice, such as the beautiful chase sequence which culminates in a striking layout which charts the lengthiness of the pursuit by showing Bugs and Gruesome's silhouetted figures in several different places at once. Despite being serenaded by Bugs with several hit songs of the day, I still always think of 'Gorilla My Dreams' as a far nicer cartoon to look at than it is to listen to.

Gorilla My Dreams (1948)

*** (out of 4)

A mama gorilla is ashamed of being the only one not to have a baby but when a shipwrecked Bugs Bunny shows up she decides to take him as her own. This doesn't sit too well with her cranky husband who wants to get rid of Bugs. This is a good entry in the series, although it's certainly not one of the best. The biggest problem I had with the movie is that it ends rather abruptly and the ending, while trying to be clever, doesn't really pull off the punch it was going for. There are still some nice moments between the mama and Bugs and the action between Bugs and the dad is fast and violent.