Le lapin est en prison

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.

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.

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 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

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.