A Ponte de Brooklyn

To paraphrase what kev keefe has already observed in his comment, Art Davis's one Bugs Bunny cartoon is funnier than all of Bob McKimson's Bugs cartoons combined. It was one of the worst errors in judgment on the part of the people running Warner Brothers that, when the 50s started and they could no longer afford four animation units, they dissolved Davis's unit instead of McKimson's.

"Bowery Bugs" was one of the last cartoons Davis directed for Warners, and it shows that he was just starting to hit his stride. This cartoon is both hilarious and beautifully crafted. It's a darkly funny re-telling of a New York City urban folk tale about Steve Brody, an Irish roughneck whose run of bad luck led him to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge in the late 19th Century. In this version, Bugs Bunny gets involved after Brody threatens him, thinking a rabbit's foot will bring him good luck. Quick-thinking as ever, Bugs talks Brody out of it and sends him on a wild ride of deeper and deeper misfortune, with Bugs using his disguise abilities to pose as everyone from a Middle Eastern fortune-teller to a gambler to a lady to a baker to a gruff Irish cop. The suicidal implications (although in real life, Brody survived his jump) would make a cartoon like this impossible to get made these days, and that's a sad sign of how much this nation has lost its sense of humor.

Mel Blanc is in his usual fine form as Bugs, but a special mention must be made of the uncredited voice performance of Billy Bletcher as Brody. Bletcher is one of the unsung heroes of cartoons from the early-to-mid 20th Century, the voice behind countless ruffians with deep, loud, raspy voices, including Papa Bear from Chuck Jones's Three Bears cartoons from Warners and Peg-Leg Pete a.k.a. Black Pete for Disney cartoons.

The cartoon is filled with wonderful details, from Bugs narrating over imitation woodcuts, to a bouncer who's nickname is Gorilla because he really IS a gorilla, to a little puppy who licks Brody's face out of sympathy, but then acts disgusted. And overlying the cartoon is native New Yorker Davis's sincere but sardonic affection for his gritty hometown.

Davis never again directed a cartoon this good, but if he had been able to continue directing for Warners, I think he would have rivaled Chuck Jones as the studio's best cartoon director of the 50s. As reality turned out, Davis spent the 50s demoted to an animator for Friz Freleng's unit, but at least his final Warners' credit was as a director, for 1961's "Quackodile Tears." That one's nothing special, but it's good by Warners' early 60s standards. In the late 60s, Davis joined De Patie-Freleng as a director and made a couple of the best Pink Panther cartoons, "In the Pink of the Night" and "Pinkcome Tax", but "Bowery Bugs" will always be his finest achievement.

Bowery Bugs is a thoroughly enjoyable Looney Tunes cartoon, without it being the best. The music is as usual energetic and quirky, the sight gags are clever, the pacing is brisk and the dialogue a vast majority of the time is hilarious("that's you fathead"). The best part of Bowery Bugs though is the animation, it is brilliant with the colours especially impressive. Bugs is still rascally, arrogant yet likable, while Brodie is a good adversary who takes Bug's wisecracks well. And then there is the voice work from Mel Blanc and Billy Bletcher, which is nothing short of superb, then again that didn't surprise me as such as the voice work is always good in the Looney Tunes cartoons. Overall, hugely enjoyable and excellent cartoon, making the most of a slightly unexceptional story. 9/10 Bethany Cox

At least to me. I loved this one as a kid, seeing it air on TV, and This cartoon is surely going to give you some laughs all around, It is the Definitive Bugs bunny Costume persona Short. The animation is Fast, Witty, and Needs to be, because with such a complex story of why someone jumped off a bridge, the story that gets you to that point needs to grab your attention with comedy and good animation, especially when its Bugs bunny. This is a pretty unique setting for him as well, a City isn't always the spot you'll see bugs in. The Villain Character for this one is also quite funny, and must have been fun to animate, and Mel blancs voice acting is absolutely perfect, No kidding.

All in All, Well done Davis, you've made a Classic In My book.

9.8/10.

Director Arthur Davis's solitary Bugs Bunny outing has the rascally rabbit telling an elderly man that he's giving a tour of the Brooklyn Bridge to the story of an Irish gambler who wanted the foot of his because he hopes for it to bring him good luck. The rabbit who kind of likes to keep his foot, attempts to con the simpleton. Amazing that Davis with ONE Bugs short under his belt, what Robert McKimson couldn't do in years, which is of course make a really good cartoon starring the famous rabbit. This is never laugh out loud funny but is very humorous and has a good story to boot. This animated short can be found on Disk 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 and includes an optional commentary by Micheal Barrier.

My Grade: A

What a beautiful animated rendering of the Brooklyn Bridge! We get a little history of it and a comment about "Steve Brody making his sensational leap from it into the East River." Bugs is looking at the sign commemorating the event when an old-timer asks him, "What in tarnatiion did he do that fer?"

Bugs tells him in flashback form. Suddenly we see the Bower back in 1886. What artwork! This looks prettier than a postcard. Anyway, Bugs relates the story of Brody.

Brody, looking for a rabbit's foot to change his luck, is even dumber than Elmer Fudd. Have you noticed how Bugs' foes are always about the dumbest people on earth. They make our bunny look like Albert Einstein, in comparison. Even Bugs remarks near the end, "What a tara-ra-goon-de-ay," which I assume means "big, stupid goon."

To me, the best feature of his animated short was that colorful and well-drawn artwork. Kudos to animators Basil Davidovich, Philip DeGuard, Emery Hawkins, Bill Melendez and Don Williams, along with director Arthur Davis.