''Foxy by Proxy'' is a 1952

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

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, Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons ...

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

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

and Willoughby the Dog, in the latter's last appearance.

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908 – July 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 come ...

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, puppeteer, radio personality 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 an ...

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

fox hunt Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds" ...

, Bugs disguises himself as a fox to play tricks on the hunting dogs. With most of them not caring if their prey is a fox or a rabbit.

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 is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

, 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'' and ''

The Big Snooze ''The Big Snooze'' is a 1946 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Bob Clampett and co-directed by Arthur Davis (animator), Arthur Davis, who were both uncredited as directors. It features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, voiced by Mel Blan ...

''). 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 Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

References

External links

* 1952 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 hunting Films with screenplays by Warren Foster English-language short films 1952 animated short films {{MerrieMelodies-stub