Spaced Out Bunny

This is a good, if somewhat weak, short made as part of a television special. As these cartons go, it's not nearly as good, say, Portrait of the Artist As a Young Bunny or The Duxorcist, but entertaining enough and not without its own charms, even if the jokes are a bit shopworn by now. Worth watching. Recommended for fans of Marvin the Martian especially.

Marvin the Martian kidnaps Bugs Bunny so his pet Abominable Snowman, Hugo, can have a playmate. Originally part of the TV special Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over, this later (and lesser) cartoon by Chuck Jones suffers from many of the same problems that plague most of the Looney Tunes shorts made after the classic era. Namely that the jokes aren't very funny and the animation, music, and overall production is cheaper in quality. This cartoon is basically just an exercise in nostalgia, reminding the viewer of the great cartoons they used to make (for example, The Abominable Snow Rabbit) and offering little that's new. The funniest part is the brief bit with the tough little butterfly. That part made me laugh, unlike the rest of this, which just made me kind of sad that a legend like Jones was having to relive his glory days at this point instead of providing some fresh material. Still, anything that involves Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc can't be all bad. Definitely worth a look for die-hard Looney Tunes fans.

Once again, Marvin the Martian kidnaps Bugs Bunny. Only this time, Marvin wants to give Bugs to the abominable snowman - named Hugo - as a pet. Much of "Spaced Out Bunny" seems like shot-for-shot remakes of "The Abominable Snow Rabbit", so that weakens it. But still, Mel Blanc's voices always make these cartoons entertaining, even the lesser cartoons. So, for the most part, I think that the Looney Tunes cartoons had run their course by this point (although the compilation feature films weren't bad), and they shouldn't have produced anything after Mel Blanc died. This one is OK in a pinch. And if I may say so, if you look at things existentially...well, we're all UFOs in a way.

As much as I do love Looney Tunes, Spaced Out Bunny is not one of the best. The pace is uneven, with the beginning in particular being quite dull, the story while improving as the cartoon progresses after a pretty bad start is rather standard the first two or so minutes are really quite unfunny with some of the worst bits of dialogue Bugs has ever uttered, and to start with Bugs's character design is disappointingly stiff. However, once Marvin the Martian arrives on the scene, I do agree the cartoon improves significantly. The animation quality, with some inventive ideas, a more consistent character design for Bugs and very nice galactic backgrounds, is much more subtle particularly in the interplay between Bugs and the "Abominable SnowMan" Hugo, Bugs, Marvin and Hugo are delightful and the dialogue is fresher and wittier. The music though is consistently lively and fitting and the vocal characterisations from Mel Blanc are spot on. In conclusion, it does start quite badly but I am glad I stayed with it because the remainder of the cartoon is unexceptional but worth watching. 6/10 Bethany Cox