Rabbit Rampage

Trying to replicate his success with Duck Amuck, Chuck Jones returns to the "breaking the fourth wall" routine with this short. Here Bugs Bunny fights with his unseen (until the end) animator, who has a grudge against him. It's not a bad cartoon and I don't really fault Chuck Jones or writer Michael Maltese for ripping off their own idea. After all, ideas were (and still are) recycled all the time in cartoons. But this one does suffer by comparison, as well as the fact that, as other reviewers have mentioned, the plot is more suited to Daffy than Bugs. No one watches a Bugs short to see him frustrated and one-upped at every turn. We like to see him get the upper hand and outsmart his foes. At one point Bugs even mimics Yosemite Sam by using the word "idjit." Still, there are some amusing bits here and there. The animation, music, and voice work are all top notch. On a related note, there was a video game for the Super Nintendo called Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage that was released in the 1990s. It was obviously inspired by this short, both in title and plot. I haven't played it since I was a kid but I recall liking it.

If you have seen both this and "Duck Amuck," you'll probably say that they are basically cousins. At that point you're correct.

I'll start off by telling you that this is _NOT_ superior or equal to "Duck Amuck" in any way or form, but still manages to hit the nail on the head pretty well despite a few flaws. Although the jokes aren't the same, their theme is identical in some ways. For example: in "Duck Amuck," Daffy Duck is crudely painted by his animator, and later on is redrawn to wearing a baby's garnet, having a flag for a tail that shows a screw and a ball, and walks on his arms and legs; while in "Rabbit Rampage," Bugs Bunny has his ears redrawn into a humans and later on the ears are redrawn into very long, dragging ears. What I mean is: character doctoring, but here, it still manages to give some laughs.

Overall, despite over-copying themes to jokes from its superior cousin, "Rabbit Rampage" still holds up as a good package.

8/10

I think this cartoon was released to enhance the success that Daffy Duck's Duck Amuck (1953) achieved by using an even more famous and loved character in Bugs Bunny (better-loved for an unknown reason). It did not work. Though it's funny and I like it, Daffy is the kind of character that is supposed to do this kind of thing. Bugs just isn't himself when at the recieving end of torment. But I guess it shows his other side. But as always, you still get some Jones hallmarks, like the vivid use of colour, good verbal comedy and great animation and expression. The score complements all of that, but as Bugs takes on several forms through the animator's whim, he doesn't feel like Bugs except he continues to crunch his carrot even when he has been drastically modified. Duck Amuck was a better cartoon, much, much better. But this is entertainment, and a funny cartoon is a funny cartoon, I'll admit. So if you look for nothing but seven minutes of a good cartoon, I recommend this one. Good to see it's in print.

Sort of a re-imagining of "Duck Amuck", "Rabbit Rampage" has Bugs Bunny getting tormented by an unseen animator (whom he apparently recognizes at the beginning). Whereas the original cartoon made use of Daffy Duck's explosive personality, Bugs obviously can't do that. It seems to me that he behaves here more like Heath Ledger's version of the Joker in "The Dark Knight".

Overall, I can't quite figure out why Chuck Jones repeated the story from one of his greatest cartoons. It's not a bad cartoon, and we certainly shouldn't lower our opinions of Jones for it. But other cartoons were definitely better.

While not as iconic as Duck Amuck, Rabbit Rampage it's still a pretty great short on its own, being very funny to watch from beginning to end.

The gags are pretty effective and clever, and while the similarities with its predecessor are more than evident, but the formula still works here.

It's not uncommon for many artists to revisit some of their old ideas, giving them a new spin; rather than a "rip-off" it's more like another alternative take of the Duck Amuck premise.