''Broom-Stick Bunny'' is a 1956 Warner Bros. ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

'' short directed by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, pro ...

. The short was released on February 25, 1956, and stars

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...

. The short is notable for being

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...

's first project for Warner Bros., which led to her voicing other Looney Tunes characters such as Granny. This was also Foray's first time working with Jones. She continued to collaborate with him after Warners' closed their animation department. Foray herself would continue to collaborate with Warner Bros. up until her death.

Plot

It is

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

night, and

Witch Hazel Witch-hazels or witch hazels (''Hamamelis'') are a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with three species in North America ('' H. ovalis'', '' H. virginiana'', and '' H. vernalis''), and one each in Japan ('' H.&nb ...

is concocting a batch of witch's brew. As she goes about her business, she pauses at her magic mirror and asks it who is the ugliest one of all. The

genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...

in the mirror replies that she, Witch Hazel, is the ugliest one of all. Hazel explains to the audience that she is "deathly afraid" of getting prettier as she grows older; then laughs this notion off as the absurdity it is. Meanwhile, Bugs Bunny is out

trick-or-treating Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...

dressed as a witch, his face hidden by an ugly green

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pra ...

. He calls on Witch Hazel, who, seeing his costume, mistakes him for an actual witch ("I don't remember seeing ''her'' at any of the union meetings."). After making a comment about Bugs' appearance ("Isn't she the ugliest little thing?"), she dashes to her magic mirror and asks it a second time who is the ugliest one of all. The genie looks towards Bugs, also thinks that he is a witch and replies that he actually finds Bugs far uglier. The jealous witch then hatches a plot: she invites the disguised Bugs in for tea, and prepares a potion containing an assortment of beauty enhancers. Bugs is about to drink the tea when he remembers that he is still wearing his mask and takes it off. Seeing that her "rival" is a rabbit, Witch Hazel dashes off to consult her

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

. Sure enough, one of the ingredients for the brew she was making earlier is a rabbit's

clavicle The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the r ...

. While she is gone, Bugs suspects that there is trouble afoot and makes to leave, but he is stopped by Witch Hazel brandishing a meat

cleaver A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife and is mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slashing through t ...

. Bugs flees, with the cackling witch chasing him through the house. During the chase, Hazel dashes to her magic broom closet to grab her flying broomstick to keep up with Bugs, but the broom she mounts starts sweeping the floor with her clinging to it until she lets go ("Crazy me, that was my ''sweeping'' broom!"). Bugs takes shelter behind a wall; Witch Hazel, using a carrot on a fishing rod, manages to capture him. Back at her

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...

, Hazel prepares to kill Bugs and use him in her potion. She is about to bring her cleaver down on the trussed-up rabbit, but he plays to her sympathies, gazing back at her with tear-filled doe eyes. Overcome with mercy, Witch Hazel bursts into tears, saying his innocent face reminds her of Paul, her pet tarantula. Bugs tries to comfort her by bringing her the cup of beauty

elixir ELIXIR (the European life-sciences Infrastructure for biological Information) is an initiative that will allow life science laboratories across Europe to share and store their research data as part of an organised network. Its goal is to bring t ...

disguised as tea, which she unknowingly drinks. Hazel instantly changes into a curvy redheaded beauty (a caricature of what Hazel's voice actress, June Foray, looked like at the time) as

Milt Franklyn Milton J. Franklyn (born Milton Julius Frumkin; September 16, 1897 – April 24, 1962) was an American musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated cartoons. Career Franklyn was born in New York City Se ...

strikes up " Oh, You Beautiful Doll" in the background. Horrified, Hazel dashes to her magic mirror a third time and asks the genie (in a much more gentle and dulcet tone, Foray's natural voice) who is the ugliest one of all. Upon seeing this beauty, the genie gives a very

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...

-like "ROWR, ROWR!", and immediately falls for her. Hazel retreats as he, intending to grab her, lunges from the mirror. She flees on her flying broom—unfortunately, the genie is chasing her on his

flying carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination. In literature One ...

, and he is slowly catching up. Bugs (who has somehow managed to free his arms from his bonds) promptly calls the local air raid headquarters on Hazel's telephone to report "a genie with light brown hair chasin' a flying sorceress!".

Cast

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy r ...

and Genie

(Uncredited)

References

External links

* {{Chuck Jones 1956 films 1956 animated films 1956 short films Looney Tunes shorts Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Short films directed by Chuck Jones American films about Halloween Films about witchcraft Films scored by Milt Franklyn Bugs Bunny films 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Films produced by Edward Selzer Genies in film 1950s English-language films