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Friz Freleng's 'Ballot Box Bunny' was one of my favourite cartoons as a child and watching it today it's easy to see why it appealed to my anarchic young mind. Barely a minute goes by without some kind of explosion, be it from a joke cigar, a cannon, a stick of dynamite or a booby trapped piano. The premise of Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam running against each other in the Mayoral elections is just an excuse for these various time-honoured routines. The most famous gag, used again and again in cartoons, is the piano with the booby trapped key which sets off some TNT. This old joke takes so long to tell that it always bores me nowadays unless it is timed impeccable. In 'Ballot Box Bunny' it is performed in a pretty uninteresting manner. There's a few other slip ups in timing throughout this cartoon, most noticeably the ludicrously late spit-take Bugs does at the beginning of the short. Despite relying on safe, predictable jokes for the most part, 'Ballot Box Bunny' is a fast paced cartoon which manages to avoid being dull despite the audience being one step ahead of every scene in Warren Foster's script. The plus side of this is that it makes the brilliant, slightly macabre ending all the more unexpected and funny.

Ballot Box Bunny (1951)

*** (out of 4)

Another winning Looney Tunes episode this time finds Yosemite Sam running for Mayor when Bugs Bunny shows up and decides to run against him. With the two in a battle for the job you just know one of them are going to get blown up. The word explosion is the key here because there are many throughout the short and all of them get some very big laughs. We have an exploding cigar, piano, canon and all of them give some hysterical laughs. Sam's character is wonderful here and really steals the film, although there's no doubt he was one of Bug's greatest co-stars. What I also enjoyed was the look of Sam after being blown up countless times. Each time gave Sam a new look and I loved all of them.

Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam run against each other for mayor in a small town. Needless to say, they have all sorts of dirty tricks to play on each other; Karl Rove has got nothing on these guys. I wish to assert that politics would be better if it was more like what "Ballot Box Bunny" portrays. Sure, you may say, politics is already dirty enough - especially with George W. Bush getting us into the Iraq War and the recent revelations of Mark Foley's creepy activities. But seriously folks, wouldn't you prefer Bugs and Sam's actions to politicians running touchy-feely ads telling us how they'll lead us through prosperity and adversity? All in all, a classic cartoon. And don't forget to vote on November 7!

Yosemite Sam runs for Mayor and builds himself as Honest Sam. He is running on an anti-rabbit platform. Bugs Bunny hears this and decides to fight fire with fire.

This is a simple Bugs vs Yosemite Sam in an election fight. There are some very good gags. Theodore Roosevelt is a great bit and it offers terrific violence. Kissing babies is an obvious one and Bugs gets to dress up. The cigar bit is a little off topic. I have never seen people hand out cigars for an election. Maybe they could do something else like the candidates' buttons or balloons filled with gas. The picnic and ants are a solid gag. Again, it may not be directly on target, but it is adjacent. The piano gag is a classic which does get often recycled. I don't mind repeating it if it is comedy greatness. I really like the "Dark Horse" resolution. The Russian Roulette is rather dark, but darkness is part of the Looney Tunes legacy.

Hilarious Bugs Bunny short that takes a poke at politics. It's directed by Friz Freleng with a story by Warren Foster. Yosemite Sam is running for mayor on an anti-rabbit campaign. Bugs hears this and decides to enter the race to oppose Sam. One laugh after another with great lines and gags. Very nice animation with well-drawn characters and backgrounds. Wonderful Technicolor is always a plus. Excellent voice work from the incomparable Mel Blanc. He does some of his best Yosemite Sam work here. Energetic music from Carl Stalling. My favorite bits were the cee-gar bit and the Emma joke. Oh and that ending is classic. A great Bugs & Yosemite Sam cartoon that is sure to please most fans.