User reviews

Bugs is looking for a "sanctuary" as hunters are firing all around him. He digs a deep hole and comes out in the yard of "Sing Song" prison, where a guard immediately captures him. That guard - Sam Schultz - is really Yosemite Sam, as we know him, with a prison guard's uniform.

Sam puts the stripes on Bugs and has him pounding rocks. (All the old prison movie clichés are used in this cartoon.)

The rest of the animated short has Bugs trying to escape from the prison, getting caught all the time, and constantly outwitting the dumb "Sam Schultz" with every ploy....at least temporarily. The humor is decent, about average, but very watchable.

Bugs Bunny is on the run from hunters during rabbit season. He digs and ends up inside Sing Sing Prison. Prison guard Sam Schultz assumes him to be a prisoner. It is a constant battle as Bugs keeps escaping.

Sam Schultz is basically Yosemite Sam in design. He does act slightly differently like not shooting guns randomly. I like the two battling characters, but I expected a hulking prisoner as the third. I do wonder if Sam shouldn't be thrown into prison right after hitting the Warden. The stool pigeon joke is kinda funny, but I did take a beat to get it. I'm also not sure which crime is his serving.

Bugs Bunny escapes hunters by leaping into his rabbit hole and tunneling to safety. Unhappily he tunnels into Sing Song prison where a sadistic prison guard named Sam Schultz refuses to accept that he's anything but one of the prisoners. Soon Bugs is in stripes, but it's the guard who will find prison life to be hell when Bugs Bunny is around to trick him into a cell, the hangman's noose, an electric chair and even into the warden's office, where Bugs will put a severe strain on the relationship between boss and underling. Finally, Sam decides that enough is enough.

Some rather shockingly morbid gags highlight this very funny confrontation between Bugs and Yosemite Sam, who has dropped the "Yosemite" from his name in order to vary his roles beyond that of the Western outlaw.

This cartoon is available on the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume One," Disc 1.

...Not that I think it should have ever been banned, it is just that shorts that were less disturbing and more worth watching this were banned and because of this are not very well known nowadays. The two things that could have made this Looney Tunes episode be banned is the showing of Yosemite Sam being hanged (he does not die and the fact that there even was a hanging joke is creepier still) and the fact that prisoners picking at rocks had "banning potential".

Anyhow, in this episode you briefly see Bugs Bunny being hunted (as usual) and escaping in a surprisingly tropical scene. He digs underground and when he comes up into the air he thinks he has landed in a perfectly normal safe place. It is then that he realizes he has landed in a jail - and a policeman thinks he is one of the prisoners. A huge amount of typical farce, slapstick and Friz Freleng type jokes follow...

I thought this episode was particularly average - there are many more worth watching instead. Some people will like it due to the league of slapstick and farce jokes, but they did not really do it for me. I laughed at a few of them, but there was only one joke in the whole episode (that was not farce, slapstick or Friz F) that I thought was particularly funny or clever (I do not want to give away any spoilers). I did not think this short was particularly bad, but it is not one that I will be watching again.

I recommend this to people who like the farce and slapstick in Looney Tunes. Enjoy "Big House Bunny"! :-)

P.S There was also something about Bugs Bunny here that made him lack his usual charm - he was too predictable.

7 and a half out of ten.

Big House Bunny is not among the best but I enjoyed it a lot. Bugs is still witty and likable, but he is somewhat predictable at the same time. Yosemite Sam works really well with him and utters some of the best lines, and the warden is a great surprise with an even bigger temper than Sam! The animation once again is crisp, colourful and lively. All the characters are drawn more than adequately, the jail is a suitably foreboding setting and the use of colours and backgrounds make Big House Bunny a pleasure for the senses. The music is energetic and rousing, the dialogue is fresh with a lot of wit, the sight gags all work with some hilarious and some surprisingly morbid(not a bad thing) and the story while simple doesn't fall into the predictability area too much. Mel Blanc does a wonderful job once again with the voices.

Overall, a great cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Friz Freleng's 'Big House Bunny' benefits greatly from a good script by Tedd Pierce. Despite a couple of nonsensical jokes (hey, how'd he get out of there? And how did that noose get round his neck?), Pierce's writing takes the action in some unpredictable directions and punctuates it with some amusing wisecracks. Running away from some hunters who are distinctly more threatening than Elmer Fudd, Bugs Bunny takes refuge in Sing Song prison where he is immediately victimised by Sam Schulz (Yosemite Sam). Inevitably, Bugs turns the tables on Sam resulting in prisoner and free man switching places. Particularly memorable in the barrage of gags are the ball and chain in the cannon joke and the highly unusual climactic visual pun. While these old-rivalry-in-a-new-setting cartoons can sometimes prove tedious, Tedd Pierce's inventive writing ensures 'Big House Bunny' rises above the average efforts.

Hilarious Bugs Bunny short directed by Friz Freleng that finds Bugs tunneling into Sing Song prison to escape hunters and being mistaken for a convict by prison guard Yosemite Sam (last name Schultz here). It's a great cartoon with Bugs outsmarting Sam at every turn. Plenty of good gags and lines, even some dark humor in spots that makes it stand out more. Excellent voice work from the incomparable Mel Blanc. Fun music from Carl Stalling. The animation is crisp with lovely colors and some nice action. Bugs and Sam shorts are possibly my favorite of all the Bugs cartoons and this is one of the great ones. Definitely worth a look for Yosemite Sam fans.

Sam Schultz is not a well-known persona of Sam but he's really hilarious in this cartoon. In fact, this cartoon is my 4th favorite Yosemite sam short, Despite not giving it a perfect score. Some of the jokes don't nail as well, then others, but that's just a small majority of the cartoon so it's not much of a loss. I absolutely love the setting of a Prison for a Looney tunes short, We only got this with bugs bunny another time, and that cartoon was Brilliant as well. Is the animation stunning? No, but this is still an essential viewing for any Looney tunes fan, Young and old. I can't quite place my finger on why I love this cartoon so much, I don't even remember seeing on TV that much when I was younger, But it's still awesome.

9.2/10.

There have been many movies about jails - or escaping therefrom - but none like "Big House Bunny", in which Bugs Bunny tries to flee some hunters but accidentally tunnels into Sing Sing, where guard Yosemite Sam Schultz locks him up. Of course, Bugs proves not so easy to imprison. Specifically, he always knows how to get the warden angry at Sam.

In any Looney Tunes cartoons, it's great to see Bugs turn the power structure on its head; as far as I'm concerned, Sing Sing really represents the power structure, as Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed there for a crime that they didn't commit. But anyway, this is a classic cartoon.

Bugs tunnels into a prison yard and the guard (Yosemite) Sam Schulz believes him to be a prisoner. Now, what would any other bunny do? They'd probably just tunnel back out. But not Bugs, he uses his expert skills of lying, tricks and conviction to enrage Sam to boiling point.

In one classic Duck Season/Rabbit Season moment, Bugs is locked in a cell by Sam but claims that Sam is actually the one locked up. Sam angrily forces a switching of places. It's so funny, but he quickly realizes he's been duped.

The escalating anarchy soon causes Sam his job and before you know he's the one breaking rocks in the yard. Classic stuff!

Escaping from various hunters, Bugs burrows underground and winds up popping into Sing Song prison where (Yosemite) Sam Schultz, a prison guard attempts to keep the rabbit in line thinking he's one of his jailbirds. Of course, Bugs turns the tables on him every time, including two attempts that almost kill Sam! Once again, Friz Freling mines great comedy out of the bunny and his gruffly loud antagonist. Also here is the famous exchange of Bugs, with one word change, tricking Sam (or in other cartoons, Daffy) of doing something he wouldn't have done otherwise. So if you've loved these Looney Tune/Merrie Melodie cartoons for years or simply want to find out what all the fuss over them are about, Big House Bunny isn't a bad place to start.

Of course, Bugs is one of the few characters who manages to always win in the end. To escape hunters, he tunnels his way out of danger, right into a prison year where Yosemite Sam (Schultz) is waiting for him. Soon he is unfairly incarcerated. What transpires are a series of tricks played on the guard as our bunny remains aloof. Quite good, actually.

When Bugs Bunny accidentally tunnels into Sing Sing prison, gard Yosemite Sam mistakes him for a prisoner and wacky hijinks ensue. A lot of humorous gags are in this 7 minute short, such as Bugs tricking Sam into locking himself up, as well as numerous others. This short is further proof (as if we needed any) that Robert McKimson was so very mediocre as both this and 'Big Top Bunny' were written by Tedd Peirce, however this short was directed by Fritz Freleng and the difference really shows. As this short is infinitely more funny.The interaction between Bugs and Sam is great as well. This funny cartoon is on Disk 1 of the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1"

My Grade: A

Big House Bunny (1950)

**** (out of 4)

Hilarious Looney Tunes short has Bugs Bunny accidentally digging into a prison where guard (Yosemite) Sam Schultz plans on keeping him. The hard trying Sam doesn't know who he's up against though. This here is one of my favorite shorts as it contains non-stop action, rather violent scenes and one hilarious moment after another. I think this is one short where every sequence could be considered classic and that's saying a whole lot considering how great the series was. There are countless great moments here but I'd have to say my favorite is the scene where Bugs dresses up like Sam's boss and of course this goes badly for Sam in two ways. Another great sequence is Bug's first prison escape.