''Foxy by Proxy'' is a 1952

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 1970s to the ...

cartoon directed by

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ...

. The short was released on February 23, 1952, and features

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 ...

and

Willoughby the Dog Willoughby is a minor animated cartoon fictional character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes'' series of cartoons. A lackadaisical hound dog, Willoughby is characterized by his below-average intelligence and overall gullibility. Creator Tex ...

, in the latter's last appearance.

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 ...

voices Bugs Bunny, while an uncredited

Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include "St. George and the Dragonet" ...

voices Willoughby and one of the dogs that talks in the short. This cartoon is considered a remake to ''

Of Fox and Hounds ''Of Fox and Hounds'' is a 1940 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' directed by Tex Avery. The short was released on December 7, 1940, and introduces Willoughby the Dog. Avery performed the voice of Willoughby, and Mel Blanc voiced George the Fox a ...

'' from 1940; in fact, the opening sequence was "borrowed" directly from the original.

Plot

A number of smaller hounds come out of a giant dog house, followed by a large fox hound (Willoughby, voiced by Freberg) who is excited by the prospect of the hunt, especially the moment where the fox's tail is to be cut off. The hunters and dogs then pass over Bugs' hole, waking him, with the large fox hound lagging behind. Once Bugs directs Willoughby to where the others went, Bugs dons a fox costume and begins to play tricks with Willoughby, leaving Bugs amazed at the dog's inability to recognise a fox. Once the large hound realizes the difference, he runs back to the tree where Bugs is now undressed. The bunny giggles at Willoughby's intelligence, saying that "I've seen better heads on a glass of root beer!" At this point, Bugs (with his fox costume back on) stamps fox tracks to mislead this hound, which lead to train tracks, which Willoughby continues to follow. Once Willoughby reaches Bugs and tries to get him, Bugs questions what kind of tracks the dog was following, which ends up putting Willoughby on the front of a

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

, while Willoughby exclaims that he caught a train. Meanwhile, the other dogs have caught up to Bugs in his costume and he tries to evade them, but to no avail. When he reveals that he is a rabbit, one of the dogs (also voiced by Freberg) declares that they are now after rabbits. After a short chase, which includes Bugs running through an open log, Bugs then runs back into the log, and while the dogs run into it, Bugs turns the log three times to ensure that the crowd of dogs always run off the cliff, with the crowd falling to the ground after the third turn. (A gag that was recycled from

All This and Rabbit Stew ''All This and Rabbit Stew'' is a 1941 '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Tex Avery. The cartoon was released on September 13, 1941, and features Bugs Bunny. Because of the cartoon's racial stereotypes of African-Americans, United Arti ...

and

The Big Snooze ''The Big Snooze'' is a 1946 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon planned by Bob Clampett and was written by him, but was ultimately completed by Arthur Davis, both being uncredited as directors. Its title was inspired by the 1939 book ''The B ...

) While Bugs is chuckling at their misfortune, Willoughby sneaks up behind Bugs with a pair of scissors, cuts Bugs' tail off, and runs away with it. Bugs shrugs to the audience, "Just call me Stubby!". He walks away, his cottontail missing.

Home media

*Laserdisc - Bugs & Friends *DVD - Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinaire *Streaming - Boomerang App *Streaming -

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

References

External links

* * 1952 films 1952 animated films 1952 short films Merrie Melodies short films Short films directed by Friz Freleng Animated films about foxes Films scored by Carl Stalling Bugs Bunny films 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films 1950s English-language films Films about hunters {{MerrieMelodies-stub