Coelho numa Fria

Having once again taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque, Bugs Bunny tunnels to Antarctica in this entertaining Chuck Jones short. The story has Bugs trying to help a little penguin being hunted by a very unpleasant Eskimo. The big selling point to this one is the adorable penguin, whose little waddle will make even the most cold-hearted among us smile. The scene where the penguin rescues Bugs from a fall is something only Chuck Jones could think of. There are laughs to be had, for sure, but this is one of those shorts that's heavy on the cute factor. The animation is great with well-drawn characters and backgrounds and nice colors. Carl Staling's music is lively and fun. Mel Blanc's voice work is flawless. It's a good cartoon but not something everybody will enjoy. If you don't like cartoons with cute characters like Tweety and Pussyfoot, you probably won't like this.

Not the Danny DeVito penguin I assure you.

Bugs is on his way to Miami beach but, like usual, he cannot read a map to save his life (it must be kinda tough to do underground I guess) and ends up in the South Pole.

After inadvertently saving the life of a cute little penguin from an Eskimo hunter (in the south pole?) the penguin becomes too attached to Bugs to let him leave. Though Bugs cannot bear to look into the Penguin's sad little eyes he shoves him away to get back to his vacation to Miami.

Only the little Penguin falls right into the hands of the hunter again and Bugs must use his old tricks of outsmarting and extreme cunning to save his life again.

Funny? Yes. Cute? Yes. But still not as many laughs as you're used to getting from Bugs.

I have the "Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection" and this is one of many cartoons in the set. However, before seeing this one in the set, I can't recall having seen it for decades. IMDb explains that the way that the Inuit native is shown in this one was seen as offensive--and it was removed from circulation. Well, apparently it's not longer that politically incorrect and was included in the set.

The film begins with a familiar scene--with Bugs tunneling to one place but ending up in another by mistake. While he's headed to Miami, somehow he's ended up near Antarctica (where there are NO Inuits!). Soon he sees a cute little penguin being chased by the hungry native and Bugs decides to intervene. However, he does NOT want to adopt a penguin and soon leaves the creature--but returns when the native is about to eat the bird. So, Bugs pulls out his usual set of tricks (including dressing up as a woman) and gets the better of the dumb Inuit hunter...who should be living near the Arctic!

As with any Bugs Bunny cartoon from this era, the animation is exceptional and the film is full of laughs.

Chuck Jones's 'Frigid Hare' is a great little cartoon which introduced the seldom used character of the tiny penguin in formal wear. Perhaps a little too cutesy to ever have become a star alongside the more anarchic characters, the penguin nevertheless proves a great foil for Bugs Bunny. When Bugs takes yet another wrong turning on the way to Miami beach and ends up at the South Pole, he quickly becomes implicated in the chase between a sweet little penguin and a big, dumb Eskimo. While its possible that the Eskimo stereotype may offend some, everything else about this cartoon is so warm (despite its setting) that only the most hard-hearted of critics would deny its appeal. The interplay between Bugs and the penguin is beautifully executed and there's a fantastic chase sequence between Bugs and the Eskimo brought about by what is perhaps Bugs' most convincing drag routine of all time! It all leads to a clever and unpredictable punch line that'll make you laugh and go "awww" in equal measures.

Ahh, the first appearance of what has to be Warner Bros.'s cutest cartoon creation: the tuxedo-wearing penguin. Who can't help but gush when that adorable little bird stars crying ice cubes? Bugs takes yet another wrong turn at Albuquerque and ends up in the South Pole, just in time to save said-penguin from an eskimo. However, when he leaves the little penguin to continue his vacation, it gets caught by the same eskimo, and Bugs feels obligated to help out the poor little bird, even though it will no doubt cut into his vacation. I find it interesting that we never find out what the eskimo wanted the penguin for (we assume it's for food, but you never know). Though Bugs is up to his old tricks and gives us an impressive show, the star is still the little penguin. Warning: don't watch this if you have an thing against cuteness, or if the person next to you has a tendency to gush all over cute things ("Awww! I just wanna pinch his wittle cheekies!"); you'll get sick before the cartoon is over.