Elmer's Pet Rabbit

Elmer's Pet Rabbit
Elmer's Pet Rabbit
	Lobby card
Directed by	Charles M. Jones
Story by	Rich Hogan
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger
Starring	Mel Blanc; Arthur Q. Bryan (both uncredited);
Edited by	Treg Brown (uncredited)
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Animation by	Rudy Larriva; Uncredited animation:; Ken Harris; Bob Cannon; Ben Washam; Phil Monroe;
Layouts by	John McGrew (uncredited)
Backgrounds by	Paul Julian (uncredited)
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Leon Schlesinger Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	January 4, 1941;
Running time	7:41
Language	English

Elmer's Pet Rabbit is a 1941 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones.^[1] The short was released on January 4, 1941, and features Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny.^[2]

This is the first cartoon in which the name Bugs Bunny is given (on a title card, edited onto the end of the opening title following the success of 1940's A Wild Hare), but the rabbit is similar to the one seen and heard in Elmer's Candid Camera (though his voice is different) and other pre-Bugs shorts. This is Chuck Jones' first cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny, and it was written by Rich Hogan. Voices are provided by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan. It was produced by Leon Schlesinger.

Plot[]

Bugs Bunny has a chat with Elmer. Animation by Bob Cannon.

Elmer buys Bugs Bunny in a pet shop (for 98¢). When they get home, Elmer builds an enclosure for Bugs, and then serves him dinner (a bowl of vegetables) which Bugs acts angrily towards. Then Bugs is seen grumbling in the night and he eventually takes Elmer's bed as his own. Throughout the short, Bugs irritates Elmer in various ways—from dancing to attempts getting in the shower, etc.—which culminates when Elmer brutally attacks Bugs (in a dark room with humorous fireworks exploding) and sends him out of the house. However, Bugs manages to get back inside and reclaim Elmer's bed.

The song[]

The music in the cartoon includes a variation on "While Strolling Through the Park One Day," arranged by Carl Stalling, performed by Elmer and the rabbit. Elmer, of course, has trouble with many of the words, due to his "rounded L and R" speech impediment.

Home media[]

Although the short was included on three VHS compilations in 1985, 1990 and 1999, as well as a 1992 Golden Age of Looney Tunes LaserDisc release, it was not issued again until 2020, when HBO Max included the cartoon in its collection of other Looney Tunes shorts.

References[]

^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 111. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

External links[]

Preceded by A Wild Hare	Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1941	Succeeded by Tortoise Beats Hare

[Beck-1] Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 111. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.

[2] Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

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