Prince Violent
Encyclopedia
Prince Violent is a 1961 Looney Tunes
cartoon starring Bugs Bunny
and Yosemite Sam
directed by Friz Freleng
and Freleng's longtime layout artist Hawley Pratt
.
(here, a Viking named "Sam the Terrible") is rowing up a river towards a castle, and he is noticed by two people on a nearby riverbank, who, sensing an invasion, retreat to the castle. As he passes by Bugs Bunny's
hole, Bugs peeks out and thinks that Sam's outfit is that of an "electric can opener broken loose". As Bugs sees Sam enter the castle, Bugs takes it upon himself to fight Sam.
In Bugs' first confronting Sam, who is trying to get the locals to come out, Bugs calls Sam's outfit a Halloween
costume, and takes the sword from Sam and dulls it, rendering it useless, and kicks Sam out of the castle. Sam tries to re-enter, only to see the horns of his cap get stuck in the castle door. In the meantime, Bugs paints a door on the castle walls to trick Sam, and Sam (this time with the help of a pink elephant
) tries to break the "door" down, only to instead knock in some of the stones where the door was painted. Sam scolds the elephant for failing, but The incensed elephant then becomes angry at Sam and, against Sam's nervous protests, grabs him and bashes Sam's head up and down, while holding Sam upside down.
Next, Sam, with the help of the elephant, is catapulting rocks over the castle walls. Bugs sees an opportunity to ruin Sam's plans and pours pepper on the elephant, making him sneeze a rock right into Sam, flattening him. Thinking that Sam has retreated, Bugs asks for the bridge to be lowered. Sam, however, reappears and tries to cross the bridge with the elephant, but the elephant is so heavy that Sam and the elephant both fall through into the moat.
Sam then decides to try to sail in the back way (using the elephant's belly as a boat) to enter via the back. Bugs, however, notices this and while Sam is sailing, he plugs the elephant's nose with a cork, forcing him back to land for air and forcing Sam to use his hat to sail back to shore, where he furiously chases away the pink elephant.
Frustrated, Sam tries to mine his way into the castle under one of the towers, only to have the tower pancake onto him. After this attempt fails, Sam attempts to blow open the castle door with TNT. When Sam tries to leave, however, the drawbridge has been raised and Sam is forced to wait with the lit explosives. After the door blows open, Sam rushes in, only to meet the elephant that he chased away earlier, now on Bugs' side. The elephant chases Sam away with a hammer. Sam gets to his boat, with Bugs and the elephant pursuing him. "You double crossers!" Sam yelled, "I-a comin' back, and I ain't comin' back ta play marbles!" Bugs comments about what can be accomplished with peanuts
, as the elephant chews on some as the cartoon fades out.
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 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...
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 Freleng's longtime layout artist 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...
.
Plot
Yosemite SamYosemite 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...
(here, a Viking named "Sam the Terrible") is rowing up a river towards a castle, and he is noticed by two people on a nearby riverbank, who, sensing an invasion, retreat to the castle. As he passes by Bugs Bunny's
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...
hole, Bugs peeks out and thinks that Sam's outfit is that of an "electric can opener broken loose". As Bugs sees Sam enter the castle, Bugs takes it upon himself to fight Sam.
In Bugs' first confronting Sam, who is trying to get the locals to come out, Bugs calls Sam's outfit a Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
costume, and takes the sword from Sam and dulls it, rendering it useless, and kicks Sam out of the castle. Sam tries to re-enter, only to see the horns of his cap get stuck in the castle door. In the meantime, Bugs paints a door on the castle walls to trick Sam, and Sam (this time with the help of a pink elephant
Pink elephant
Pink elephant may refer to:*Pink Elephant , a 1975 cartoon from the Pink Panther series*Pink Elephants , a cartoon produced by the Terrytoons studio*Pink Elephants, a 1997 album by Mick Harvey...
) tries to break the "door" down, only to instead knock in some of the stones where the door was painted. Sam scolds the elephant for failing, but The incensed elephant then becomes angry at Sam and, against Sam's nervous protests, grabs him and bashes Sam's head up and down, while holding Sam upside down.
Next, Sam, with the help of the elephant, is catapulting rocks over the castle walls. Bugs sees an opportunity to ruin Sam's plans and pours pepper on the elephant, making him sneeze a rock right into Sam, flattening him. Thinking that Sam has retreated, Bugs asks for the bridge to be lowered. Sam, however, reappears and tries to cross the bridge with the elephant, but the elephant is so heavy that Sam and the elephant both fall through into the moat.
Sam then decides to try to sail in the back way (using the elephant's belly as a boat) to enter via the back. Bugs, however, notices this and while Sam is sailing, he plugs the elephant's nose with a cork, forcing him back to land for air and forcing Sam to use his hat to sail back to shore, where he furiously chases away the pink elephant.
Frustrated, Sam tries to mine his way into the castle under one of the towers, only to have the tower pancake onto him. After this attempt fails, Sam attempts to blow open the castle door with TNT. When Sam tries to leave, however, the drawbridge has been raised and Sam is forced to wait with the lit explosives. After the door blows open, Sam rushes in, only to meet the elephant that he chased away earlier, now on Bugs' side. The elephant chases Sam away with a hammer. Sam gets to his boat, with Bugs and the elephant pursuing him. "You double crossers!" Sam yelled, "I-a comin' back, and I ain't comin' back ta play marbles!" Bugs comments about what can be accomplished with peanuts
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
, as the elephant chews on some as the cartoon fades out.
Censorship and retitling
- This cartoon has been retitled Prince Varmint due to the intimidating title, (a play on the still-running comic strip, Prince ValiantPrince ValiantPrince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, or simply Prince Valiant, is a long-run comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretch of that story now totals more than 3700 Sunday strips...
) for TV broadcast versions on ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, the syndicated "Merrie Melodies" show and the former WB! Channel http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/p, On a 1992 episode of "The Merrie Melodies Show", the original title card showing a Viking ship with the title on the sail was replaced with a title card where Bugs Bunny (in Viking garb) is sitting on the side of a castle along with new credits being issued. The intro and outro cards were also replaced with 1958 opening cards, the 1947 "Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" and 1953 closing cards. - In addition to the above cut, the ABC version http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/p also edits the part where Bugs pulls up the drawbridge and leaves Yosemite Sam stranded on the castle's doorstep with a pile of dynamite by replacing the scene with a repeat shot of Sam running away from the explosion (though the shot of Sam looking disheveled after the explosion was left intact).