Coelho à Francesa

French Rarebit (1951)

** (out of 4)

Bugs Bunny finds himself in Paris, walking down a street when rival chefs start fighting over which one will have Bugs on their menu that night. Soon Bugs joins the fighting in order to make both of them look like fools. This was never one of my favorite Bugs shorts and I'd probably say this is one of the least entertaining over all. There's some nice imagination and good animation but outside of that this thing is pretty lifeless. You expect a lot more in terms of laughs but there's not a single one here, which is rather shocking. Another problem are the two chefs and how bland and boring they are. Not once did they make me laugh and they even manage to bring Bugs down to their unfunny level.

This is the epitome of great comic satire. No one is safe when they try to conquer Bugs, not even the French.

Ever the victim of species-ism, Bugs is caught between two rival French chefs. But the tables are turned in the end when Bugs turns them both into rabbits and serves up a tasty dish of revenge.

Bugs Bunny is in a crate of carrots from the USA. It falls off the back of the truck and Bugs finds himself in Paris. Two rival French chefs from restaurants on opposite sides of the street are excited to see a rabbit walking towards them. They are eager to put him on their menus.

This is yet another classic memorable Bugs Bunny cartoon. I remember everything after the arrival of Louie and Francois. I like their designs although I may like them more if they're opposites instead of the same. Maybe they could be one fat and one skinny. Bugs Bunny keeps hitting home run after home run and this is no exception.

Mention the name Robert McKimson to any TRUE Looney Tunes fan and you're likely to get a sad sigh in return. The man just did not know how to make good Bugs Bunny cartoons. This one about Bugs in France mixing it up with two rival chefs who each want the rabbit for their own respective cuisines, is not an exception to the rule. On the contrary, it proves the rule by being yet another lackluster effort by McKimson indeed. I mean any bugs is good bugs, but his shorts are pretty mundane and I find myself saddened when I have to sit through one. This animated short can be seen on Disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

My Grade: C

Bugs arrives in Paris via a delivery truck carrying carrots from the US. As he's walking down the street, he catches the attention of not one but two French chefs who want to cook him for dinner. The rest of the cartoon has the two rival chefs trying to see who gets Bugs, all the while Bugs is easily outsmarting them both. It's a perfectly enjoyable cartoon but, as others have said, not one of Bugs' best. The gags are amusing but nothing really hilarious. The voice work from Mel Blanc and Tedd Pierce (who also wrote the story) is great. The music is energetic and fun. I love the animation in this one. The colors are lush and bright. The characters are well-drawn and the backgrounds are quite detailed, which wasn't always the case for a Looney Tunes short.