The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special
Encyclopedia
The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special is an animated television special that was broadcast on CBS
October 26, 1980. Presented as an Alfred Hitchcock
-style whodunit
, the plot is modeled after those of North by Northwest
and The Fugitive
. Like most Looney Tunes
specials of the time, this program consists of clips from classic cartoons with some original animation holding them together.
is mistakenly arrested and convicted for the crime. Escaping from jail, Bugs sets out to prove his innocence while evading his pursuers, which include Elmer Fudd
, the arresting officer; Yosemite Sam
, the jail guard; and Wile E. Coyote, who wants to collect the bounty
.
After some chases and a side story involving Sylvester
and Tweety
, Bugs ends up dangling from the beak of a Mount Rushmore
-sized sculpture of Foghorn Leghorn; he’s rescued by the Tall, Dark Stranger, who turns out to be Porky Pig (he was trying to keep the story going). Porky concludes the special from inside his jail cell.
CBS
CBS 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...
October 26, 1980. Presented as an Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
-style whodunit
Whodunit
A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
, the plot is modeled after those of North by Northwest
North by Northwest
North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau...
and The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
. Like most Looney Tunes
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...
specials of the time, this program consists of clips from classic cartoons with some original animation holding them together.
Plot synopsis
A mysterious “Tall, Dark Stranger” robs a bank, and Bugs BunnyBugs 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...
is mistakenly arrested and convicted for the crime. Escaping from jail, Bugs sets out to prove his innocence while evading his pursuers, which include 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 arresting officer; 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...
, the jail guard; and Wile E. Coyote, who wants to collect the bounty
Bounty (reward)
A bounty is a payment or reward often offered by a group as an incentive for the accomplishment of a task by someone usually not associated with the group. Bounties are most commonly issued for the capture or retrieval of a person or object. They are typically in the form of money...
.
After some chases and a side story involving Sylvester
Sylvester (Looney Tunes)
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr., Sylvester the Cat or simply Sylvester, is a fictional character, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic Tuxedo cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper...
and Tweety
Tweety
Tweety Bird is a fictional Yellow Canary in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being a typical English onomatopoeia for the sounds of birds...
, Bugs ends up dangling from the beak of a Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States...
-sized sculpture of Foghorn Leghorn; he’s rescued by the Tall, Dark Stranger, who turns out to be Porky Pig (he was trying to keep the story going). Porky concludes the special from inside his jail cell.
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...
as Bugs BunnyBugs BunnyBugs 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...
, Elmer FuddElmer FuddElmer 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...
, Yosemite SamYosemite SamYosemite 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...
, TweetyTweetyTweety Bird is a fictional Yellow Canary in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being a typical English onomatopoeia for the sounds of birds...
, Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote and Porky PigPorky PigPorky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
.
Cartoons Featured
- Big House BunnyBig House BunnyBig House Bunny is a 1948 Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny cartoon, released in 1950 and directed by Friz Freleng.-Plot:Needing to get away from hunters, Bugs digs a tunnel and accidentally winds up in Sing Song Prison...
- Baby Buggy BunnyBaby Buggy BunnyBaby Buggy Bunny is a Merrie Melodies animated short film directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese in 1954. The story is about a dwarf gangster named "Babyface" Finster who, after a clever bank robbery, loses his ill-gotten gains down Bugs Bunny's rabbit hole, forcing him to don the...
- Bugs and ThugsBugs and ThugsBugs and Thugs is a 1953 animated short film in the Looney Tunes series produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc and released in early 1954.It features Bugs Bunny with Rocky and Mugsy. This is the first cartoon with Mugsy in present-day form. The film is a semi-remake of Racketeer Rabbit, with a...
- Hare LiftHare LiftHare Lift is a 1952-animated Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. It was released in theaters on December 20, 1952. The title is a play on the term "air lift," as expressed in the plotline.- Plot :...
- Operation: RabbitOperation: RabbitOperation: Rabbit is a 1951 Looney Tunes animated cartoon first released theatrically in 1952. Directed by Chuck Jones, the cartoon features Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote in the latter character's first attempt to capture and eat the former.....
- Compressed HareCompressed Hare"Compressed Hare" is a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It stars Wile E. Coyote and Bugs Bunny , and was released on July 29, 1961. That was the final time in a first-run Golden Age short in which Wile E. Coyote speaks.- Plot :...
- All a Bir-r-r-rdAll a Bir-r-r-rdAll A Bir-r-r-d! is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon featuring Tweety, Sylvester and an unnamed bulldog, who would later became known as Hector the Bulldog...
- Catty CorneredCatty CorneredCatty Cornered is a 1953 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng,written by Warren Foster, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It features Sylvester and Tweety in a forerunner of the Rocky and Mugsy cartoons, with Rocky having present-day form and manners and Mugsy replaced by a...