Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk
Encyclopedia
Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk is a 1943 Warner Bros.
cartoon in the Merrie Melodies
series, directed by Friz Freleng
and starring Bugs Bunny
. Voices are provided by Mel Blanc
.
, and finds Warner's famous "jackrabbit" (Bugs), already in the giant's lofty realm, chopping down gigantic carrots. It turns out they belong to a dim-witted giant ("Duh, don't try nuttin' funny. Ya can't fool me, cause I'm a moron!") whose voice is Blanc's stereotyped oaf, similar to his later characterization of Barney Rubble
, except for an effected Brooklyn
accent.
The giant is incensed at Bugs invading his "Victory garden
", and Bugs spends most of the rest of the film trying to elude the giant. At one point he challenges him to a duel, and the giant starts pacing off into the distance and is soon over the horizon. Bugs says to the audience, "Ya know, sometimes I'm so smart, it actually frightens me!". Bugs' self-congratulation is short-lived, as the giant is then seen coming toward him from the other horizon.
Finally, as in the classic story, the giant accidentally falls from his sky-borne realm and crashes into the ground, making a huge giant-shaped hole. Instead of being dead, the hard-headed giant simply sits up, dizzy, and invokes a well-known comic catch-phrase, "Duh, watch out for dat foist step - it's a lulu!" Iris out to either 1943 ending card or 1938 ending card (with its respective cue music.)
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 in the Merrie Melodies
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,...
series, directed by Friz Freleng
Friz 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 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...
. Voices are provided by 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...
.
Synopsis
The film opens as if it's Jack and the BeanstalkJack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is a folktale said by English historian Francis Palgrave to be an oral legend that arrived in England with the Vikings. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer. It is known under a number of versions...
, and finds Warner's famous "jackrabbit" (Bugs), already in the giant's lofty realm, chopping down gigantic carrots. It turns out they belong to a dim-witted giant ("Duh, don't try nuttin' funny. Ya can't fool me, cause I'm a moron!") whose voice is Blanc's stereotyped oaf, similar to his later characterization of Barney Rubble
Barney Rubble
Bernard "Barney" Rubble is the deuteragonist of the television animated series The Flintstones. He is the diminutive blonde-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble...
, except for an effected Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
accent.
The giant is incensed at Bugs invading his "Victory garden
Victory garden
Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply...
", and Bugs spends most of the rest of the film trying to elude the giant. At one point he challenges him to a duel, and the giant starts pacing off into the distance and is soon over the horizon. Bugs says to the audience, "Ya know, sometimes I'm so smart, it actually frightens me!". Bugs' self-congratulation is short-lived, as the giant is then seen coming toward him from the other horizon.
Finally, as in the classic story, the giant accidentally falls from his sky-borne realm and crashes into the ground, making a huge giant-shaped hole. Instead of being dead, the hard-headed giant simply sits up, dizzy, and invokes a well-known comic catch-phrase, "Duh, watch out for dat foist step - it's a lulu!" Iris out to either 1943 ending card or 1938 ending card (with its respective cue music.)
See also
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1940–1949)
- List of Bugs Bunny cartoons