Knighty Knight Bugs
Encyclopedia
Knighty Knight Bugs is a 1958 Looney Tunes
cartoon directed by Friz Freleng
, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons
and released by Warner Bros.
. Mel Blanc
provided for the voices of all the characters in this cartoon.
Bugs Bunny
, the court jester
of King Arthur
, must recover a singing sword from Yosemite Sam
(as the Black Knight
) and his fire-breathing, often sneezing, dragon.
This cartoon is notable for being the only Bugs Bunny cartoon to win an Academy Award, in 1959, for Best Animated Short Film
.
is sitting with his Knights of the Round Table, complaining about hard times that have befallen the kingdom ever since the Black Knight
stole the Singing Sword
. He asks his knights - among them Sir Osis of Liver
and Sir Loin of Beef
- for a volunteer to get the sword back. The knights complain that the Black Knight is 'invincible' and has a fire-breathing dragon
guarding the sword. King Arthur angrily demands to know if the knights are all chicken, and is dismayed when he hears clucking and sees chicken feathers flying. Bugs, as the court jester
, dances in and tells King Arthur that "only a fool" would be crazy enough to go after the Black Knight. The King agrees - he tells Bugs that he has to get the singing sword, or else face being executed
("Put to the rack
, burned at the stake, and beheaded
"). Bugs at first laughs at the idea, then starts crying.
At the castle of the Black Knight - shown to be Yosemite Sam
dressed in black armor - there is a fire-breathing dragon, but the dragon has a cold and is prone to fits of sneezing, causing jets of flame to shoot from its nostrils. Sam feeds the dragon some coal
to feed the dragon's internal fire, then goes back to taking a nap on his chair. Bugs sneaks in to the castle, past Sam and the dragon, and to the chest, where he pulls out the singing sword. He openly wonders why the sword is called the "singing sword" - and finds out when the sword starts vibrating to the tune of "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine
". Sam wakes up and chases Bugs, but Bugs slams the door in Sam's face, causing his armor to fall off. Sam then wakes up the dragon ("Wake up, you fire-breathing lizard!"), who breathes fire on him ("Stop breathing on me, you idgit!").
Bugs runs outside the castle, chased by Sam on the dragon. Bugs ducks into a hole, and Sam slides off the dragon when trying to stop. Bugs then runs back to the castle and raises the drawbridge
as Sam approaches, causing Sam to fall into the moat
. When Sam demands that Bugs lowers the drawbridge, Bugs lowers it right onto Sam's head, who, in a muffled voice, yells to raise it back up again. A flat Sam yells "OK, rabbit! You've forced me to use force!" Sam then uses the dragon to pull a catapult in place, gets on it and launches himself to the castle - but misses the window Bugs is looking out of, flattening himself on his front (In a "cramped" voice, Sam declares: "You'll pay for this, varmint!"). Sam next lassos a rope around one of the battlements of the castle, but as he is climbing up, Bugs whacks a mallet on Sam's helmet, causing Sam to side down the rope outside of his armor.
Thinking the coast is clear, Bugs sneaks out of the castle. Sam and his dragon are hidden behind a rock waiting for Bugs, but the dragon sneezes on Sam again, alerting Bugs to their presence. Bugs then runs back into the castle, followed by Sam and the dragon. Bugs runs into a room, Sam and the dragon follow, then Bugs sneaks out and locks the door to what is now shown as the explosives room. Surrounded by high explosives, Sam tries to keep the dragon from sneezing again ("No! No! Don't sneeze, you stupid dragon! Or you'll blow us to the moon!"). As Bugs walks away from the castle, the dragon sneezes again, and the tower Sam and the dragon are in takes off like a rocket and headed to the moon. Bugs waves goodbye, saying "Farewell to thee". The singing sword picks up on this, and starts humming "Farewell To Thee
" as Bugs walks out of sight and the cartoon fades out.
in 1959. In doing so, it beat out cartoons Walt Disney Studios
' Paul Bunyan and Terrytoons
' Sidney's Family Tree. It was the third Oscar-nominated Bugs Bunny cartoon, after A Wild Hare in 1940 and Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt
in 1941. The Oscar was presented to John W. Burton
, the producer of this cartoon.
In the Tiny Toon Adventures
episode "Who Bopped Bugs Bunny?", the Academy win of Knighty Knight Bugs is a major plot point. It is revealed that in 1959, a cartoon of Sappy Stanley (an elephant, voiced by Jonathan Winters
) was defeated for the award by Knighty Knight Bugs. As a result, Stanley scorned the US film industry and relocated to France, where he became a national star (parodying the similar career move of Jerry Lewis
), but he still nursed a grudge against Bugs, culminating in the episode's plot. Sappy Stanley is not a pre-existing cartoon character, having been created for the episode, but a parody of Terrytoons
character Sidney the Elephant, a.k.a. "Silly Sidney," whose cartoon Sidney's Family Tree was indeed nominated for an Academy Award the same year as Knighty Knight Bugs.
DVD set, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection
, and The Essential Bugs Bunny
.
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...
cartoon 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....
, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
and released by 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,...
. 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 for the voices of all the characters in this cartoon.
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 court jester
Court jester
A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster, or buffoon was a person employed to tell jokes and provide general entertainment, typically for a European monarch. Jesters are stereotypically thought to have worn brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern...
of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
, must recover a singing sword from 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 the Black Knight
Black Knight (Arthurian legend)
The Black Knight is the title given to several characters in Western literature. In Arthurian legend he is a knight who tied his wife to a tree after hearing she had exchanged rings with Perceval...
) and his fire-breathing, often sneezing, dragon.
This cartoon is notable for being the only Bugs Bunny cartoon to win an Academy Award, in 1959, for Best Animated Short Film
Academy Award for Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present....
.
Plot
King ArthurKing Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
is sitting with his Knights of the Round Table, complaining about hard times that have befallen the kingdom ever since the Black Knight
Black Knight (Arthurian legend)
The Black Knight is the title given to several characters in Western literature. In Arthurian legend he is a knight who tied his wife to a tree after hearing she had exchanged rings with Perceval...
stole the Singing Sword
Singing Sword
The Singing Sword is the primary weapon of the fictional character Prince Valiant, a Knight of the Round Table in the service of King Arthur, in the long running comic strip Prince Valiant. Hal Foster created Prince Valiant in 1937....
. He asks his knights - among them Sir Osis of Liver
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
and Sir Loin of Beef
Strip steak
The strip steak is a type of cut of beef steaks. Internationally it is called a club steak. In the United States and Canada it is also known as New York strip, strip loin, shell steak, or Kansas City strip steak, In Australia it is known as a porterhouse steak...
- for a volunteer to get the sword back. The knights complain that the Black Knight is 'invincible' and has a fire-breathing dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
guarding the sword. King Arthur angrily demands to know if the knights are all chicken, and is dismayed when he hears clucking and sees chicken feathers flying. Bugs, as the court jester
Court jester
A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster, or buffoon was a person employed to tell jokes and provide general entertainment, typically for a European monarch. Jesters are stereotypically thought to have worn brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern...
, dances in and tells King Arthur that "only a fool" would be crazy enough to go after the Black Knight. The King agrees - he tells Bugs that he has to get the singing sword, or else face being executed
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
("Put to the rack
Rack (torture)
The rack is a torture device consisting of a rectangular, usually wooden frame, slightly raised from the ground, with a roller at one, or both, ends, having at one end a fixed bar to which the legs were fastened, and at the other a movable bar to which the hands were tied...
, burned at the stake, and beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
"). Bugs at first laughs at the idea, then starts crying.
At the castle of the Black Knight - shown to be 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...
dressed in black armor - there is a fire-breathing dragon, but the dragon has a cold and is prone to fits of sneezing, causing jets of flame to shoot from its nostrils. Sam feeds the dragon some coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
to feed the dragon's internal fire, then goes back to taking a nap on his chair. Bugs sneaks in to the castle, past Sam and the dragon, and to the chest, where he pulls out the singing sword. He openly wonders why the sword is called the "singing sword" - and finds out when the sword starts vibrating to the tune of "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine
Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine
"Cuddle Up A Little Closer, Lovey Mine" is a popular song. The music was written by Karl Hoschna, the lyrics by Otto Harbach. The song was published in 1908. From the Broadway musical The Three Twins. The song has now become a standard, performed by many artists, including Julie London and Vic...
". Sam wakes up and chases Bugs, but Bugs slams the door in Sam's face, causing his armor to fall off. Sam then wakes up the dragon ("Wake up, you fire-breathing lizard!"), who breathes fire on him ("Stop breathing on me, you idgit!").
Bugs runs outside the castle, chased by Sam on the dragon. Bugs ducks into a hole, and Sam slides off the dragon when trying to stop. Bugs then runs back to the castle and raises the drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
as Sam approaches, causing Sam to fall into the moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
. When Sam demands that Bugs lowers the drawbridge, Bugs lowers it right onto Sam's head, who, in a muffled voice, yells to raise it back up again. A flat Sam yells "OK, rabbit! You've forced me to use force!" Sam then uses the dragon to pull a catapult in place, gets on it and launches himself to the castle - but misses the window Bugs is looking out of, flattening himself on his front (In a "cramped" voice, Sam declares: "You'll pay for this, varmint!"). Sam next lassos a rope around one of the battlements of the castle, but as he is climbing up, Bugs whacks a mallet on Sam's helmet, causing Sam to side down the rope outside of his armor.
Thinking the coast is clear, Bugs sneaks out of the castle. Sam and his dragon are hidden behind a rock waiting for Bugs, but the dragon sneezes on Sam again, alerting Bugs to their presence. Bugs then runs back into the castle, followed by Sam and the dragon. Bugs runs into a room, Sam and the dragon follow, then Bugs sneaks out and locks the door to what is now shown as the explosives room. Surrounded by high explosives, Sam tries to keep the dragon from sneezing again ("No! No! Don't sneeze, you stupid dragon! Or you'll blow us to the moon!"). As Bugs walks away from the castle, the dragon sneezes again, and the tower Sam and the dragon are in takes off like a rocket and headed to the moon. Bugs waves goodbye, saying "Farewell to thee". The singing sword picks up on this, and starts humming "Farewell To Thee
Aloha 'Oe
"Aloha ʻOe" is Liliʻuokalani's most famous song and a common cultural Leitmotif for Hawaii. The song was inspired by a horseback trip she took in 1877 to the windward side of Oʻahu...
" as Bugs walks out of sight and the cartoon fades out.
Awards
Among all of the Bugs Bunny cartoons, this is the only one to win the Academy Award for Best Animated ShortAcademy Award for Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present....
in 1959. In doing so, it beat out cartoons Walt Disney Studios
Walt Disney Studios
The name Walt Disney Studios may refer to:* The Walt Disney Company, especially its Studio Entertainment unit, which includes Disney's motion picture studios, music labels, theatrical production company, and distribution companies...
' Paul Bunyan and Terrytoons
Terrytoons
Terrytoons was an animation studio founded by Paul Terry. The studio, located in suburban New Rochelle, New York, operated from 1929 to 1968. Its most popular characters included Mighty Mouse, Gandy Goose, Sourpuss, Dinky Duck, Deputy Dawg, Luno and Heckle and Jeckle; these cartoons and all of its...
' Sidney's Family Tree. It was the third Oscar-nominated Bugs Bunny cartoon, after A Wild Hare in 1940 and Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt
Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt
Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt is a Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, starring Bugs Bunny and Hiawatha, first released on June 7, 1941. The short makes several direct references to The Song of Hiawatha, an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...
in 1941. The Oscar was presented to John W. Burton
John W. Burton (animation)
John W. Burton was an American cinematographer and producer best known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons.Burton was born on August 18, 1906 in Rockford, Illinois. He was employed in Los Angeles at Leon Schlesinger Productions, which made the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons...
, the producer of this cartoon.
In the Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
episode "Who Bopped Bugs Bunny?", the Academy win of Knighty Knight Bugs is a major plot point. It is revealed that in 1959, a cartoon of Sappy Stanley (an elephant, voiced by Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters
-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
) was defeated for the award by Knighty Knight Bugs. As a result, Stanley scorned the US film industry and relocated to France, where he became a national star (parodying the similar career move of Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
), but he still nursed a grudge against Bugs, culminating in the episode's plot. Sappy Stanley is not a pre-existing cartoon character, having been created for the episode, but a parody of Terrytoons
Terrytoons
Terrytoons was an animation studio founded by Paul Terry. The studio, located in suburban New Rochelle, New York, operated from 1929 to 1968. Its most popular characters included Mighty Mouse, Gandy Goose, Sourpuss, Dinky Duck, Deputy Dawg, Luno and Heckle and Jeckle; these cartoons and all of its...
character Sidney the Elephant, a.k.a. "Silly Sidney," whose cartoon Sidney's Family Tree was indeed nominated for an Academy Award the same year as Knighty Knight Bugs.
DVD Availability
This cartoon is featured uncut on Disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4 is a Looney Tunes collection on DVD. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on November 14, 2006...
DVD set, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection
Due to the success of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection and Popeye DVD series, Warner Home Video issued a 3-DVD set on February 12, 2008 showcasing the various animation properties that they own including their home-grown product Looney Tunes...
, and The Essential Bugs Bunny
The Essential Bugs Bunny
The Essential Bugs Bunny is a DVD set featuring cartoons focusing on Bugs Bunny. It was released October 12, 2010-Contents:The contents are split over two discs. The first disc features 12 Bugs Bunny shorts which have all previously been released on Looney Tunes Golden Collection sets...
.
Censorship
- On CBS, the part where Yosemite Sam climbs the rope and gets hit by Bugs' croquet mallet (the scene shown at the top of this page) and his subsequent sliding up and down the rope was cut.