Chuck Jones | Rabbit Fire / 1951

the vegetarian hunter

by Douglas Messerli

 

Michael Maltese (screenwriter), Chuck Jones (director) Rabbit Fire / 1951   

With animation by Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, Lloyd Vaughan, and Ben Washam, the 1951 Bugs Bunny cartoon Rabbit Fire was repeated, with significant variance, in the Warner Brothers studio’s 1952, Rabbit Seasoning. Since I saw the 1952 version before this earlier rendition, I’ll focus on the differences rather than what was basically redone in 1952.

   Like the later version, this begins with Elmer Fudd hunting “wabbit,” and commanding the audience be “very, very quiet.” Soon he discovers rabbit tracks, so he thinks, as the camera careens into Daffy Duck, who calls down into Bug’s hole that “There’s a friend here to see you,” before sneaking off seen carrying a pair of rabbit legs which have obviously been the tracks Elmer has been following. “It’s survival of the fittest,” he declares. “And besides, it’s fun.”

      Rising from his hole to ask “Did someone knock?” Bugs is met by a riffle shot that whistles through his ears.

       But Bugs seems unfazed as he suggests to Elmer that he seems to be trying to get himself in trouble with the law since it’s clearly duck hunting season. Somewhat as in the later version the two—Daffy and Bugs—hunker to down into an argument whether it’s duck or rabbit season, which

Bugs always wins by finally changing his words “Duck season,” to “Rabbit season,” which naturally leads Daffy to claim, “No, it’s duck season,” with his quickly being awarded with a gun shot. The two try it again and again, with Bugs always winning, even when Daffy begins the first claim of “rabbit season.” The 1952 version, however, is much cleverer in that their argument centers around the pronouns “you” and “me,” instead of the animal names, “duck” and “rabbit”— a funnier and almost existential difference.

       Finally, Elmer runs of bullets, allowing Bugs to call back Daffy, who immediately picks up the rifle to inspect it, suddenly releasing the very last bullet into his head.

       Since Bugs has suddenly posted signs reporting that it’s Duck season, Daffy decides to put on

a pair of rabbit ears, crunch a carrot, and ask Elmer, “What’s up Doc?” Similarly, Bugs shows up pretending he’s a duck. But this time Bugs tricks him yet again by posting a nearby sign declaring “Rabbit Season,” which, since Daffy is dressed up as a rabbit, forces Elmer to shoot once more into the Duck.

       This time Daffy marches up to Bugs to describe him as “despicable,” repeating the phrase several times as he follows Bugs back to the rabbit hole.

       In answer, Bugs pulls out a cookbook: 1000 Ways to Cook a Duck. Amazingly, in the same hole Daffy finds a cookbook title 1000 Ways to Cook a Rabbit, and begins reading its pages, all this quite amazing the befuddled Elmer, who finally speaks up: “I’m sorry fellows, but I’m a vegetarian. I just hunt for the sport of it.”

       Angry, Bugs argues that there other sports besides hunting, as Daffy quite daffily comes running out in a yellow tennis top, yelling out “Anyone for tennis?” to which Elmer replies with another gunshot to the dock. Now, declares, Elmer, poking his gun into Bug’s back, “You’re next.”

And both he and Daffy go racing off, with a volley of gunshot behind them.

      As they both jump a nearby hole, Bugs pops up, his finger covering the hole of the gun, shaming Elmer for hunting rabbits with an “Elephant gun.” So, why don’t you go shoot yourself an elephant. An elephant immediately appears and hammers Elmer head-first into the ground.

      This time Elmer’s finally determined to get “dat screwy wabbit and dat screwball duck.” Daffy appears again, this time as a dog, following Elmer on the hunt.

     But when Elmer turns around, his own hair is shot off his head. The female (Bugs dressed up as a woman hunter) immediately apologizes for her mistake, “How simple dreadful. You poor little man. Did I hurt you with my naughty gun?” She plants a kiss on Elmer’s shy red face. At that moment also Daffy as the dog decides to bite his leg. “Gypsy, you naughty bow-wow, stop that!” Bugs insists. Frankly, I find this version of Bugs’ drag appearances far more comically successful than in the 1952 version, where’s he simply a pretty dame. Here there is even a possible suggestion that the female hunter, being an outdoors type of woman, might even be a lesbian.

      Elmer, however, finally and perhaps for the very first time sees through Bugs’ disguise and points his gun at Bugs before turning and aiming the gun at Daffy as well. The two, Elmer’s foes, return to a tree, pulling off posters as fast as possible declaring alternatively that it is Duck or Rabbit Season, until they finally reach a poster announcing “Elmer Season,” which forces the poor hunter to back off as now two hunters, Bugs and Daffy, repeat the first lines of the work, “Shhh, we’re hunting Elmers. Be very, very quiet.”

 

Los Angeles, August 16, 2024

Reprinted from My Queer Cinema blog (August 2024).