The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie

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The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
Bugs Bunny Roadrunner movie.jpg
Theatrical release poster by Chuck Jones
Directed byChuck Jones
Phil Monroe (co-director - "Bugs at Home" segments)
Classic Cartoons:
Chuck Jones
Maurice Noble
Tom Ray
Screenplay byChuck Jones
Michael Maltese
(classic material staff are uncredited)
Story byMichael Maltese
Produced byChuck Jones
(classic material staff are uncredited)
StarringMel Blanc
Stan Freberg
Classic Cartoons:
Paul Julian
Nicolai Shutorev
Arthur Q. Bryan
Edited byTreg Brown
Music byDean Elliott
Classic Material:
Milt Franklyn (also orchestration - uncredited)
Carl W. Stalling
William Lava
John Seely
Production
companies
Chuck Jones Enterprises
Warner Bros. Cartoons (original cartoons)
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
September 14, 1979
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie is a 1979 American animated package film directed by Chuck Jones, consisting of a compilation of classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts and newly animated bridging sequences hosted by Bugs Bunny.[1] The bridging sequences, which had been produced in 1978, show Bugs at his home, which is cantilevered over a carrot-juice waterfall (modeled on Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater" house in Bear Run, Pennsylvania). The film was released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Bugs Bunny.[2][3]

Early on, Bugs discusses the wild villains he had co-starred with in his cartoons, which is followed by a tongue-in-cheek sequence depicting the history of comedy and a scene in which Bugs discusses his "several fathers". The latter scene was written by Chuck Jones as a way to debunk fellow animation director Bob Clampett's claims throughout the 1970s that he alone created Bugs, and Clampett's name is notably missing from Bugs' list, as a result of the conflict between Jones and Clampett. The film Bugs Bunny: Superstar featured Bob Clampett, and is another compilation of cartoon shorts, probably the first to examine the history of Warner cartoons, which under-played Bugs' other 'several fathers' and is part of the mentioned conflict.

All of the shorts featured were directed by Chuck Jones.

The combination of classic animated footage along with new animation would become the template for the theatrically released Looney Tunes movies for this film up until Daffy Duck's Quackbusters in 1988.

The film was dedicated to the memory of Chuck Jones' first wife, Dorothy Webster, who died before the film got released.

Plot[]

Bugs Bunny, while giving a tour of his luxurious mansion, talks about the history of the chase and how it led to the invention of comedy. After introducing his "several fathers" involved in Looney Tunes productions, he discusses some of his famous rivalries, battles, and chases, all of which serve as introductions to footage from the classic short subjects. The final segment of the film consists of an extended chase sequence between Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner compiled from several shorts. At the end of Bugs' tour, they appear as constellations in a chase in the night sky.

The film features a new gag involving the "That's all, Folks!" endline, apparently the idea of Chuck Jones (credited in the opening credits with a "slightly disarranged mind"). When it appears at the start, an annoyed Bugs places a "NOT" into it so that it says "That's NOT all, Folks!". Then before the end credits roll, as it starts to write out, Bugs forces it to rewrite itself as "That's not quite all, Folks!". Finally, after the credits finish, it appears, pre-written, as "That's really all, Folks!".

Voice cast[]

  • Mel Blanc - Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Marvin the Martian, Wile E. Coyote, Pepe Le Pew, Dr. I. Q. High, Hassan
  • Stan Freberg - Man (uncredited)
  • Joan Gerber - Cavewoman (uncredited)
  • Paul Julian - Road Runner (archive sound)
  • Arthur Q. Bryan - Elmer Fudd (archive sound)
  • Nicolai Shutorev - Giovanni Jones (singing voice) (archive sound)

Cartoons in order of appearance[]

Cartoons with Bugs Bunny and others[]

  • Rabbit Seasoning (a brief clip is used)
  • Hare-Way to the Stars
  • Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century
  • Robin Hood Daffy (shortened)
  • Duck Amuck
  • Bully for Bugs
  • Ali Baba Bunny
  • Rabbit Fire
  • For Scent-imental Reasons (shortened)
  • Long-Haired Hare (shortened)
  • What's Opera, Doc?
  • Operation: Rabbit (shortened)

Cartoons with Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote[]

  • Hip Hip-Hurry! (Intro chase scene with mock-Latin names, the audio shot of dizzy and thinking Wile E. Coyote and the boulder attempt)
  • Zoom and Bored (The scene where Wile E. gets tricked off a cliff and uses a jackhammer)
  • To Beep or Not to Beep (The lasso scene and the catapult scenes)
  • Zip 'N Snort (Human bow and arrow scene and the giant cannon scene)
  • Guided Muscle (Human bow and arrow scene and the slingshot scene)
  • Stop! Look! And Hasten! (The road-wall scenes, ACME bird seed on bridge scene and the ACME leg muscle vitamins scene)
  • Wild About Hurry (ACME giant rubber band scene)
  • Going! Going! Gosh! (Slingshot scene and Wile E. Coyote disguising himself as a woman scene)
  • Zipping Along (Human-cannonball scene and the wrecking ball scene)
  • Whoa, Be-Gone! (Teeter-totter scene, the trampoline scene and the high wire structure and dons a wheel-head scene)
  • Hot-Rod and Reel! (Trampoline scene)
  • There They Go-Go-Go! (Rock avalanche scene)
  • Scrambled Aches (Spring coil scene)
  • Fast and Furry-ous (ACME super outfit scene)
  • Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z (ACME Bat-Man's outfit scene)
  • Hopalong Casualty (Earthquake pills scene)
  • Beep Prepared (The ending scene where Wile E. uses an ACME little-giant do-it-yourself rocket sled)

Release[]

The film was released in April 1979 in some test markets as The Great American Chase.[3] The film was shown at the 17th New York Film Festival on September 29, 1979 at Alice Tully Hall.[4] The film opened at the Guild 50th Theatre on September 30, 1979.[5] It set an opening day record at the theater with a gross of $6,280.[2]

Home media[]

Warner Home Video released The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie on VHS and Betamax cassettes, and on CED in the 1980s. After its second home video release in 1986, the film was re-released on VHS and LaserDisc on February 3, 1998 (as part of the Warner Bros. 75th Anniversary VHS promotion). The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie returns with Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales on the Looney Tunes Movie Collection two-disc DVD set in 2005. It is also available for purchase or rent in the Apple iTunes Store.

References[]

  1. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 170. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie at the American Film Institute Catalog
  3. ^ a b McCarthy, Todd (August 1, 1979). "Film Reviews: The Great American Bugs Bunny-Road Runner Chase". Variety. p. 20.
  4. ^ Buckley, Tom (September 29, 1979). "Film Festival: What's Up, Road Runner?". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Post-Fest 'Bugs Bunny'". Variety. September 12, 1979. p. 5.

External links[]

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