Bunker Hill Bunny
Encyclopedia
Bunker Hill Bunny is a 1949 Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies
theatrical cartoon short, released in 1950 and starring Bugs Bunny
and Yosemite Sam
as a Hessian Mercenary in the American Revolution
.
and written by Tedd Pierce
. Hawley Pratt
and Paul Julian
did the layout and backgrounds, while Arthur Davis, Ken Champin, Virgil Ross and Gerry Chiniquy
headed the team of animators. Mel Blanc
provided voice characterizations, and Carl W. Stalling created the musical score.
Sam von Schamm (or Schmamm), the Hessian
, defending a large stone fortress. Sam's fortress is heavily armored, bristling with artillery; by contrast, Bugs' defenses are rather pathetic, with only one cannon. Sam taunts Bugs with the boast that he has him "outnumbered, one to one" and, after a barrage of ineffective cannon
fire, charges across the battleground rattling his saber. Several gags later it is clear that Bugs has no difficulty outwitting his opponent, who suffers repeated injury.
Sam's first charge involves only Sam beating a drum as if guiding troops. Once Sam arrives at Bug's fort door, a cannon emerges and shoots Sam. Clothes in tatters, Sam beats a quick retreat call on his drum and falls back to his fort, only to fire another salvo of cannon fire at Bugs.
Immediately following, Sam emerges, fully clothed, holding a musket, and yells "Charge!" and charges Bugs' fort. Bugs exits his fort as well, holding a musket and yells "Charge!" as well. Both run at each other and take each other's fort. The flag over Bugs' original fort is lowered from "We" to "They" and Sam's flag of "They" is lowered to Bugs' flag "We" (now shown with a carrot). Whilst Sam is tying down his flag, Bugs shouts "Yoo-Hoo, Mr. Enemy." and indicates that he has taken the fort.
The changing of forts happens a second time with the flags changing to their original owners. Sam charges a third time, but Bugs does not. Running into the barrel of a large cannon, Sam yells "Retreat!" only to be blasted into his own fort.
Running out of the fort, Sam yells, "You ornery, flea-bearing vermin, you'll pay for this!". He takes out a circular bomb, lights it, and throws it towards Bugs' fortress. Bugs runs inside and emerges wearing a baseball uniform and carrying a bat. Bugs hits the bomb away towards Sam's fort. Taking out a baseball mitt, Sam runs backwards, yelling "I got it! I got it!". The bomb explodes in the base, with a white flag being hoisted on the flag pole, proclaiming, "He Got It!".
Sam then threatens Bugs that he will "Blow you to smitherenees", to which Bugs replies, "Ah! Your brother blows bubble gum!" Sam, enraged, loads a Spigot Mortar and fires at Bugs. Bugs catches the mortar round in his own cannon and fires it back, yelling "Eh, that's the old pepper
boy!", imitating a catcher. Sam fires the cannon a second and third time to the same effect, with Bugs firing back jeers on each volley. The third time, a stopper is shot after the cannon ball, to which Sam pulls off only to be shot with his own cannon.
Frustrated, Sam burrows his way under his base and into Bugs' base using a pickaxe
. Upon surfacing, Sam lights a match, only to find that he has emerged in a room full of TNT. The room explodes, with Sam stumbling out, dazed.
A last gambit, Sam attempts to use a keg of gun powder to blow up Bug's base; due to a hole in the keg, gun powder falls into Sam's back pocket, creating a trail of explosives. After Sam lights the fuse
, Bugs, sitting on the powder keg and munching a carrot, calmly extinguishes it and nonchalantly lights the trail of gun powder left by Sam. Fleeing from the inevitable trail, Sam runs away from the base and up an apple tree, only to have the tree explode on him. Beaten and worn out, Sam groans: "I'm a Hessian, without no-o-o-o aggression! If you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Defeated, he joins Bugs in a fife-and-drum march that closes the film.
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,...
theatrical cartoon short, released in 1950 and starring 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...
and Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...
as a Hessian Mercenary in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
Crew
Bunker Hill Bunny was directed by Friz FrelengFriz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
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...
. Hawley Pratt
Hawley Pratt
Hawley Pratt was an American film director, animator, and illustrator. He is best known for his work during the heyday of Warner Bros. Cartoons and as the right-hand man of director Friz Freleng as a layout artist and later as a director...
and Paul Julian
Paul Julian
Paul Julian was an American artist and designer most noted for his work as a background artist for Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes cartoon shorts. He worked primarily for director Friz Freleng's Sylvester and Tweety Bird shorts...
did the layout and backgrounds, while Arthur Davis, Ken Champin, Virgil Ross and Gerry Chiniquy
Gerry Chiniquy
Germain Adolph "Gerry" Chiniquy was an American animator. He is best known for his work with Friz Freleng, at both Warner Bros. and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises....
headed the team of animators. Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin 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...
provided voice characterizations, and Carl W. Stalling created the musical score.
Plot
Set in 1776 at the "Battle of Bagle Heights", the short pits Bugs, dressed as an American Minuteman defending a wooden fort against the red-coatedBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Sam von Schamm (or Schmamm), the Hessian
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, defending a large stone fortress. Sam's fortress is heavily armored, bristling with artillery; by contrast, Bugs' defenses are rather pathetic, with only one cannon. Sam taunts Bugs with the boast that he has him "outnumbered, one to one" and, after a barrage of ineffective cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
fire, charges across the battleground rattling his saber. Several gags later it is clear that Bugs has no difficulty outwitting his opponent, who suffers repeated injury.
Sam's first charge involves only Sam beating a drum as if guiding troops. Once Sam arrives at Bug's fort door, a cannon emerges and shoots Sam. Clothes in tatters, Sam beats a quick retreat call on his drum and falls back to his fort, only to fire another salvo of cannon fire at Bugs.
Immediately following, Sam emerges, fully clothed, holding a musket, and yells "Charge!" and charges Bugs' fort. Bugs exits his fort as well, holding a musket and yells "Charge!" as well. Both run at each other and take each other's fort. The flag over Bugs' original fort is lowered from "We" to "They" and Sam's flag of "They" is lowered to Bugs' flag "We" (now shown with a carrot). Whilst Sam is tying down his flag, Bugs shouts "Yoo-Hoo, Mr. Enemy." and indicates that he has taken the fort.
The changing of forts happens a second time with the flags changing to their original owners. Sam charges a third time, but Bugs does not. Running into the barrel of a large cannon, Sam yells "Retreat!" only to be blasted into his own fort.
Running out of the fort, Sam yells, "You ornery, flea-bearing vermin, you'll pay for this!". He takes out a circular bomb, lights it, and throws it towards Bugs' fortress. Bugs runs inside and emerges wearing a baseball uniform and carrying a bat. Bugs hits the bomb away towards Sam's fort. Taking out a baseball mitt, Sam runs backwards, yelling "I got it! I got it!". The bomb explodes in the base, with a white flag being hoisted on the flag pole, proclaiming, "He Got It!".
Sam then threatens Bugs that he will "Blow you to smitherenees", to which Bugs replies, "Ah! Your brother blows bubble gum!" Sam, enraged, loads a Spigot Mortar and fires at Bugs. Bugs catches the mortar round in his own cannon and fires it back, yelling "Eh, that's the old pepper
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
boy!", imitating a catcher. Sam fires the cannon a second and third time to the same effect, with Bugs firing back jeers on each volley. The third time, a stopper is shot after the cannon ball, to which Sam pulls off only to be shot with his own cannon.
Frustrated, Sam burrows his way under his base and into Bugs' base using a pickaxe
Pickaxe
A pickaxe or pick is a hand tool with a hard head attached perpendicular to the handle.Some people make the distinction that a pickaxe has a head with a pointed end and a flat end, and a pick has both ends pointed, or only one end; but most people use the words to mean the same thing.The head is...
. Upon surfacing, Sam lights a match, only to find that he has emerged in a room full of TNT. The room explodes, with Sam stumbling out, dazed.
A last gambit, Sam attempts to use a keg of gun powder to blow up Bug's base; due to a hole in the keg, gun powder falls into Sam's back pocket, creating a trail of explosives. After Sam lights the fuse
Fuse (explosives)
In an explosive, pyrotechnic device or military munition, a fuse is the part of the device that initiates function. In common usage, the word fuse is used indiscriminately...
, Bugs, sitting on the powder keg and munching a carrot, calmly extinguishes it and nonchalantly lights the trail of gun powder left by Sam. Fleeing from the inevitable trail, Sam runs away from the base and up an apple tree, only to have the tree explode on him. Beaten and worn out, Sam groans: "I'm a Hessian, without no-o-o-o aggression! If you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Defeated, he joins Bugs in a fife-and-drum march that closes the film.
External links
- Bunker Hill Bunny at The Big Cartoon DataBaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....