Barbary Coast Bunny
Encyclopedia
Barbary Coast Bunny is a 1956 Warner Bros.
theatrical cartoon
short produced by Edward Selzer. It was directed by Chuck Jones
and written by Tedd Pierce
.
In this story, the villain, Nasty Canasta
, steals a large slab of gold
from Bugs Bunny
who retaliates by later bankrupting the villain's new casino
in San Francisco.
Six months later, Canasta has used his ill-gotten gains to start a casino in San Francisco which is shamelessly rigged in the house's favor. Bugs enters the casino in the role, playing a hopelessly naive country boy who confuses a slot machine
for a telephone. When Bugs uses it to phone his mother for some money, he hits the jackpot much to Canasta's shock. Hoping to recoup this loss, Canasta convinces Bugs to stay for a game and thinks he is maneuvering the apparently easy mark into playing a game of roulette
on the pretense of it being a game of marbles
. To build his would-be victim's confidence, Canasta arranges for Bugs to win on his first spin, but Bugs develops a winning streak on the same number (#23). Having nearly lost everything, Canasta covers #23 with a block of wood and sets the wheel up for the marble to stop on #00, but when it does his subsequent striking the table in triumph causes the ball to accidentally bounce and hammer into the knot of the block of wood, thus Bugs wins again.
Now desperate to win back Bugs' now massive winnings, Canasta convinces Bugs to try playing draw poker
and Bugs literally draws a picture of a fireplace poker. Bugs then pretends to misinterpret Canasta's description of the importance of having the biggest hand to win by blowing up his glove into a giant balloon. Canasta loses his temper at his would-be victim's obtuseness. Bugs threatens to walk out, forcing Canasta to grovel in order to coax Bugs to return to the game. Canasta soon regrets that when Bugs, after staking all his money, promptly wins with a Four of a Kind consisting of Aces (Two pair. A pair of ones, and another pair of ones), trumping Canasta's Full House.
Now with his casino's bank irreparably broken at the hands of this simpleton who seems physically incapable of losing, Canasta decides to rob Bugs at gunpoint on the pretense of it being another game of chance. Bugs, still keeping in character, naively spins the revolver
bullet cylinder like a slot machine and a mass of coins inexplicably pours out the gun's barrel.
As Bugs' departs with all the casino's funds and more, Canasta greedily tries to win money from his gun, only to shoot himself in the attempt and collapses. Bugs pops in and says to the audience
(in his normal voice): "The moral of this story is, 'Don't try to steal no 18 karats [carrots] from no rabbit.'"
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,...
theatrical cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
short produced by Edward Selzer. It was 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 Tedd Pierce
Tedd Pierce
Tedd Pierce , was an American animated cartoon writer, animator and artist. Pierce spent the majority of his career as a writer for the Warner Bros. "Termite Terrace" animation studio, working alongside fellow luminaries such as Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. Pierce also worked as a writer at...
.
In this story, the villain, Nasty Canasta
Nasty Canasta
Nasty Canasta is a character in the Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes series who made appearances in three cartoons. Created by animator Chuck Jones, Canasta is depicted as a tough, hulking, and brutish-looking outlaw. He was originally voiced by John T...
, steals a large slab of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
from Bugs Bunny
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...
who retaliates by later bankrupting the villain's new casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
in San Francisco.
Summary
Bugs is tunneling cross country to meet his cousin, only to run head first into a boulder which is a large nugget of gold. Bugs is considering keeping the gold safe, while Nasty Canasta sees this and sets up a simple stand claiming to be a banker who can safely store Bugs' gold. The rabbit falls for the ruse. When Bugs decides to ask for his gold back, Canasta claims the bank is closing and traps the rabbit in the folded up stand while he rides away with the gold. Furious, Bugs vows revenge.Six months later, Canasta has used his ill-gotten gains to start a casino in San Francisco which is shamelessly rigged in the house's favor. Bugs enters the casino in the role, playing a hopelessly naive country boy who confuses a slot machine
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
for a telephone. When Bugs uses it to phone his mother for some money, he hits the jackpot much to Canasta's shock. Hoping to recoup this loss, Canasta convinces Bugs to stay for a game and thinks he is maneuvering the apparently easy mark into playing a game of roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
on the pretense of it being a game of marbles
Marbles
A marble is a small spherical toy usually made from glass, clay, steel, or agate. These balls vary in size. Most commonly, they are about ½ inch in diameter, but they may range from less than ¼ inch to over 3 inches , while some art glass marbles fordisplay purposes are over 12 inches ...
. To build his would-be victim's confidence, Canasta arranges for Bugs to win on his first spin, but Bugs develops a winning streak on the same number (#23). Having nearly lost everything, Canasta covers #23 with a block of wood and sets the wheel up for the marble to stop on #00, but when it does his subsequent striking the table in triumph causes the ball to accidentally bounce and hammer into the knot of the block of wood, thus Bugs wins again.
Now desperate to win back Bugs' now massive winnings, Canasta convinces Bugs to try playing draw poker
Draw poker
Draw poker is any poker variant in which each player is dealt a complete hand before the first betting round, and then develops the hand for later rounds by replacing, or "drawing", cards....
and Bugs literally draws a picture of a fireplace poker. Bugs then pretends to misinterpret Canasta's description of the importance of having the biggest hand to win by blowing up his glove into a giant balloon. Canasta loses his temper at his would-be victim's obtuseness. Bugs threatens to walk out, forcing Canasta to grovel in order to coax Bugs to return to the game. Canasta soon regrets that when Bugs, after staking all his money, promptly wins with a Four of a Kind consisting of Aces (Two pair. A pair of ones, and another pair of ones), trumping Canasta's Full House.
Now with his casino's bank irreparably broken at the hands of this simpleton who seems physically incapable of losing, Canasta decides to rob Bugs at gunpoint on the pretense of it being another game of chance. Bugs, still keeping in character, naively spins the revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
bullet cylinder like a slot machine and a mass of coins inexplicably pours out the gun's barrel.
As Bugs' departs with all the casino's funds and more, Canasta greedily tries to win money from his gun, only to shoot himself in the attempt and collapses. Bugs pops in and says to the audience
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
(in his normal voice): "The moral of this story is, 'Don't try to steal no 18 karats [carrots] from no rabbit.'"
Goofs
When Bugs turns his head at one point, the right whiskers disappear. In the next scenes, the whiskers are restored.Censorship
- The ending of this cartoon where Bugs (dressed as a naive country boy) thinks a gun is a slot machine and wins the rest of the gold (in the form of coins) and Nasty Canasta ends up getting shot after doing the same thing was edited on three channels in three different ways http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/b/:
- On CBS, the cartoon keeps in Bugs winning the gold from Canasta's gun, cuts out Canasta doing the same and getting shot, and resumes at the part with Bugs' "18 karats" line.
- On "The Merrie Melodies Show," the part where Nasty Canasta spins the gun chamber and aims the gun at his face is shown, but the gun blast is replaced with a frozen shot of Bugs's face (from the last part of the cartoon).
- On Cartoon Network (which, prior to 2003, has aired this cartoon uncut), the entire ending was replaced with a repeat shot of Nasty Canasta's face after Bugs beats him at poker inter-cut with Bugs carrying his winnings in a wheelbarrow. Several airings of this episode in 2011 have this cut restored.
Trivia
- Barbary Coast Bunny is one of few cartoons where Bugs doesn't munch a carrot. In addition, it is one of the few shorts where Bugs is without his trademark white gloves for much of the picture, and for most of the short, his only rabbit feature is his face.