Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales
Encyclopedia
Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales is a 1982 Looney Tunes
film
with a compilation of classic Warner Bros.
cartoon shorts and animated
bridging sequences, hosted by Bugs Bunny
. The episodes included are:
. They go their separate ways and experience many wacky things. After a little while, Bugs comes across Sultan Yosemite Sam's palace in the Arabian desert. Sam needs someone to read to his spoiled brat son, Prince Abadaba (whose appearance resembles to the bespectacled boy from "A Waggily Tale"). When Bugs first meets the tyke and gets mocked, he objects to the idea of reading to him. Then, Sam threatens to make Bugs bathe in boiling oil, at which point Bugs agrees to read to Abadaba.
Bugs tries to escape on a flying carpet from the palace, but Sam catches him. Meanwhile, Daffy stumbles upon a cave of gold and tries to make off with the treasure. But a genie does not like what he was doing and chases him out of the cave. Daffy wanders through the desert and soon sees the palace, hoping to sell books there. Bugs luckily escapes and tries to warn Daffy about the palace, but he would not listen. He found out the hard way and the two walk off with Daffy missing all of his feathers.
Most of the rest of the movie consists of the stories played out as classic cartoons. Some of the classic cartoon shorts were abridged. In the One Froggy Evening
sequence, the ending where the construction worker from 2056 finds Michigan J. Frog
and makes off with him was cut, making it seem as if the cartoon ended with the construction worker from 1955 getting rid of the frog and running off.
This was the first Looney Tunes compilation film to use a completely original story and treat the included cartoon shorts as part of the story, as opposed to having the characters introduce the cartoons.
, which itself used considerable stock footage and also featured Yosemite Sam as the sultan.
Another interesting aspect of this film is that many voice artists that were not credited in the original shorts are billed as "additional classic voices". For the first time, over twenty years after his death, Arthur Q. Bryan
receives credit on a Warner Bros.
production, even if it does fail to credit him as the voice of Elmer Fudd
.
The film marks the first time that a Warner cartoon compilation feature used classic cartoon footage from more than one director. One Froggy Evening, Bewitched Bunny and Ali Baba Bunny were directed by Chuck Jones
, and Aqua Duck was directed by Robert McKimson
, while all other classic shorts included were directed by Freleng.
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
with a compilation of classic Warner Bros.
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,...
cartoon shorts and animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
bridging sequences, hosted by 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...
. The episodes included are:
- Cracked Quack (Daffy's line, "We'll just put it away in the storage for the winter", is replaced with, "ThermopolisThermopolis, WyomingThermopolis is the largest town in, and the county seat of Hot Springs County, Wyoming, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 3,172....
will just have to wait") - Apes of WrathApes of WrathApes of Wrath is a 1959 animated short featuring Bugs Bunny. This cartoon recycles the plot from the previous animated short Gorilla My Dreams .-Plot:...
(Bugs' line, "So I'll be a monkey", is replaced with, "I'll sell books later") - Wise Quackers
- Ali Baba BunnyAli Baba BunnyAli Baba Bunny is a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies short featuring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, directed by Chuck Jones and released in 1957. In 1994, it was voted #35 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field...
- Tweety and the BeanstalkTweety and the BeanstalkTweety and the Beanstalk is a Merrie Melodies animated short starring Tweety and Sylvester. Released in 1957, the cartoon is directed by Friz Freleng. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc and June Foray ....
- Bewitched BunnyBewitched BunnyBewitched Bunny is a Looney Tunes cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. Jones created the character Witch Hazel which debuted in this episode. Witch Hazel later appeared in Broom-Stick Bunny , A Witch's Tangled Hare , and in A-Haunting We Will Go...
- Goldimouse and the Three Cats
- Red Riding HoodwinkedRed Riding HoodwinkedRed Riding Hoodwinked is a "Looney Tunes" cartoon animated short starring Tweety and Sylvester. Released October 29, 1955, the cartoon is directed by Friz Freleng...
- The Pied Piper of Guadalupe & Mexican BoardersMexican BoardersMexican Boarders is a 1962 Looney Tunes cartoon short directed by Friz Freleng. Voice actors are Mel Blanc , Daws Butler as the narrator, and an uncredited Tom Holland as the voice of Slowpoke Rodriguez.The cartoon has Sylvester trying to catch Speedy in a house they share in Mexico...
(with the story ending with beginning and ending of the former) - One Froggy EveningOne Froggy EveningOne Froggy Evening is an approximately seven-minute long Technicolor animated short film written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones, with musical direction by Milt Franklyn.The short makes the debut of Michigan J...
- Aqua Duck (flipped and only shown up to the point where Daffy realizes the pool of water is a mirage)
Plot
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck have to sell books for Rambling HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. They go their separate ways and experience many wacky things. After a little while, Bugs comes across Sultan Yosemite Sam's palace in the Arabian desert. Sam needs someone to read to his spoiled brat son, Prince Abadaba (whose appearance resembles to the bespectacled boy from "A Waggily Tale"). When Bugs first meets the tyke and gets mocked, he objects to the idea of reading to him. Then, Sam threatens to make Bugs bathe in boiling oil, at which point Bugs agrees to read to Abadaba.
Bugs tries to escape on a flying carpet from the palace, but Sam catches him. Meanwhile, Daffy stumbles upon a cave of gold and tries to make off with the treasure. But a genie does not like what he was doing and chases him out of the cave. Daffy wanders through the desert and soon sees the palace, hoping to sell books there. Bugs luckily escapes and tries to warn Daffy about the palace, but he would not listen. He found out the hard way and the two walk off with Daffy missing all of his feathers.
Most of the rest of the movie consists of the stories played out as classic cartoons. Some of the classic cartoon shorts were abridged. In the One Froggy Evening
One Froggy Evening
One Froggy Evening is an approximately seven-minute long Technicolor animated short film written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones, with musical direction by Milt Franklyn.The short makes the debut of Michigan J...
sequence, the ending where the construction worker from 2056 finds Michigan J. Frog
Michigan J. Frog
Michigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character who debuted in the Looney Tunes cartoon One Froggy Evening , written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones...
and makes off with him was cut, making it seem as if the cartoon ended with the construction worker from 1955 getting rid of the frog and running off.
This was the first Looney Tunes compilation film to use a completely original story and treat the included cartoon shorts as part of the story, as opposed to having the characters introduce the cartoons.
Cast
- Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
- Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester, Sylvester, Jr., Speedy Gonzales, Tweety, Genie, Hassan, Big Bad Wolf, Beanstalk Giant, Elvis Gorilla, Stork - Arthur Q. BryanArthur Q. BryanArthur Quirk Bryan was a United States comedian and voice actor, remembered best for his longtime recurring role as well-spoken, wisecracking Dr...
- Elmer Fudd (archive footage) - June ForayJune ForayJune Foray is an American voice actress, best known as the voice of many animated characters...
- Granny - Shepard MenkenShepard MenkenShepard Menken was an American voice actor and character actor.Menken began his career at the age of 11, when he started appearing on children's radio programs...
- Old Storyteller - Lennie WeinribLennie WeinribLennie Weinrib was an American actor, voice actor and writer. He is best known for playing the title role in the children's television show H.R...
- Prince Abba Dabba
Production
The main plot point, setting up Bugs and Daffy as Scherezade figures, is in itself similar to the 1959 short Hare-abian NightsHare-Abian Nights
Hare-Abian Nights is a 1959 Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. The cartoon, directed by Ken Harris of Chuck Jones' unit at Warner Bros. Cartoons, was animated by Harris and Ben Washam and recycles footage from Bully for Bugs, Water, Water Every Hare, and Sahara Hare...
, which itself used considerable stock footage and also featured Yosemite Sam as the sultan.
Another interesting aspect of this film is that many voice artists that were not credited in the original shorts are billed as "additional classic voices". For the first time, over twenty years after his death, Arthur Q. Bryan
Arthur Q. Bryan
Arthur Quirk Bryan was a United States comedian and voice actor, remembered best for his longtime recurring role as well-spoken, wisecracking Dr...
receives credit on a Warner Bros.
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,...
production, even if it does fail to credit him as the voice of Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
.
The film marks the first time that a Warner cartoon compilation feature used classic cartoon footage from more than one director. One Froggy Evening, Bewitched Bunny and Ali Baba Bunny were 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 Aqua Duck was directed by Robert McKimson
Robert McKimson
Robert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
, while all other classic shorts included were directed by Freleng.