Bunny Hugged
Encyclopedia
Bunny Hugged is a 1950 Warner Bros.
Merrie Melodies
short, directed by Chuck Jones
and written by Michael Maltese
. Released in 1951, the short is essentially a re-working of Jones' 1948 short Rabbit Punch
, substituting wrestling for boxing
.
and "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers) against current champion The Crusher. Bugs
, the mascot of Ravishing Ronald ("it's a living"), watches from a corner as The Crusher uses Ronald, tied up in his own hairnet, as a punching bag. Worried that he's losing his "bread and butter," Bugs enters the match as "The Masked Terror", wearing a mask over his face. The Crusher sees the new opponent as "fresh meat", disposes of Ronald (whose signs "HELP", "SOS
," and "FOUL" go unanswered) and goes after Bugs.
Bugs tries to wrestle Crusher, but Crusher is able to knock him around and send Bugs flying into the audience. When he's quickly pinned between Crusher's legs, Bugs declares "It's about time for me to employ a little stra-gedy." He then tears his mask apart, which Crusher thinks is a rip in his shorts. Bugs comes back from off-screen wearing a sandwich board
advertising his services as "Stychen Tyme," a tailor. While humming the tune to "Stitch In Time," Bugs jabs a needle in Crusher's backside, causing him to fly screaming through the audience.
Crusher then comes charging back, but Bugs opens a safe door, letting Crusher run through it and bounce off the ring before bouncing back into the now closed door. A now disoriented Crusher is able to be pinned (literally, as Bugs put a coat on Crusher and pins the coat to the mat). When the match ends and Bugs is declared the new champion, Crusher snaps out of it. He offers his hand to shake Bugs', despite the crowd's objections (Crusher merely growls them into silence). Bugs relents, but when Crusher tries to bite Bugs' hand, he's instead biting through a stick of dynamite, which blows up in his face. Now finally done with Crusher, Bugs tries to flex his muscle... but sees his muscle droop instead. Bugs simply accepts being weak, pushing his drooping muscle like a little swing.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
short, directed by Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
and written by Michael Maltese
Michael Maltese
Michael "Mike" Maltese was a long-time storyboard artist and screenwriter for classic animated cartoon shorts.-Career:...
. Released in 1951, the short is essentially a re-working of Jones' 1948 short Rabbit Punch
Rabbit Punch
- Plot :The World's Championship Fight is about to begin in a gigantic boxing stadium near Bugs Bunny's hole. Tonight's fight features the battle between the Champ, "Battling McGook" , and his challenger "Dyspectic McPlaster". During the fight, Crusher does not even give his challenger a sporting...
, substituting wrestling for boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
.
Plot
A wrestling match pits professional wrestler Ravishing Ronald, "the de-natured boy" (a parody of Gorgeous GeorgeGeorge Wagner
George Raymond Wagner was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Gorgeous George...
and "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers) against current champion The Crusher. Bugs
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, the mascot of Ravishing Ronald ("it's a living"), watches from a corner as The Crusher uses Ronald, tied up in his own hairnet, as a punching bag. Worried that he's losing his "bread and butter," Bugs enters the match as "The Masked Terror", wearing a mask over his face. The Crusher sees the new opponent as "fresh meat", disposes of Ronald (whose signs "HELP", "SOS
SOS
SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal...
," and "FOUL" go unanswered) and goes after Bugs.
Bugs tries to wrestle Crusher, but Crusher is able to knock him around and send Bugs flying into the audience. When he's quickly pinned between Crusher's legs, Bugs declares "It's about time for me to employ a little stra-gedy." He then tears his mask apart, which Crusher thinks is a rip in his shorts. Bugs comes back from off-screen wearing a sandwich board
Sandwich board
A sandwich board is a type of advertisement composed of two boards and being either:*Carried by a person, with one board in front and one behind, creating a "sandwich" effect; or...
advertising his services as "Stychen Tyme," a tailor. While humming the tune to "Stitch In Time," Bugs jabs a needle in Crusher's backside, causing him to fly screaming through the audience.
Crusher then comes charging back, but Bugs opens a safe door, letting Crusher run through it and bounce off the ring before bouncing back into the now closed door. A now disoriented Crusher is able to be pinned (literally, as Bugs put a coat on Crusher and pins the coat to the mat). When the match ends and Bugs is declared the new champion, Crusher snaps out of it. He offers his hand to shake Bugs', despite the crowd's objections (Crusher merely growls them into silence). Bugs relents, but when Crusher tries to bite Bugs' hand, he's instead biting through a stick of dynamite, which blows up in his face. Now finally done with Crusher, Bugs tries to flex his muscle... but sees his muscle droop instead. Bugs simply accepts being weak, pushing his drooping muscle like a little swing.