''The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie'' (credited onscreen as ''Friz Freleng's Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie'') is a 1981 American

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

package film with a compilation of classic ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

''/''

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 ...

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

cartoon shorts and animated bridging sequences produced and 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 ...

, hosted by

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 ' ...

. The new footage was produced by

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...

. It was the first ''Looney Tunes''/''Merrie Melodies'' film with a compilation of classic cartoon comedy shorts produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

Plot

The animated comedy film starts with a showing of the 1958

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning Warner Bros cartoon '' Knighty Knight Bugs'' before going into its film opening credits. This is followed up by Bugs Bunny narrating how cartoons like ''Looney Tunes'' and ''

'' immediately replaced baggy-pants comedy, as well as showing cartoons featuring

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

, before he introduces us to "a warm-hearted humble little

introvert Extraversion and introversion are a central trait dimension in human personality theory. The terms were introduced into psychology by Carl Jung, though both the popular understanding and current psychological usage are not the same as Jung's o ...

called

Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( ) is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park in California. His real name is ''Aloysius Bartholamew Sam''. ...

Act 1: ''Satan's Waitin

In a nearly shot-for-shot remake of '' Devil's Feud Cake'', Yosemite Sam courts Granny with evil intentions for the $50,000,000 she has inherited, but while they are discussing this, Bugs overhears his scheming and thwarts Sam under the guise of another suitor and later Granny herself. In the end, Sam dies after being crushed by a safe that Bugs drops on him and lands in Hell. Satan offers to give Sam another chance in life on the condition that he brings someone else back in his place. Sam agrees to this with Bugs specifically in mind. Being sent back as a Roman guard captain, an Arab, and in his usual cowboy guise, Sam attempts to kill Bugs in order to bring him to Hell. His attempts are unsuccessful, but when Satan offers him one more chance, Sam refuses, stating Satan should get the rabbit himself and decides to stay.

Act 2: ''The Unmentionables''

Bugs Bunny explains about cops and robbers, as well as gangster films. In Act 2, there are three cartoons dedicated to the gangster characters,

Rocky and Mugsy The ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated shorts released by Warner Bros. feature a range of characters which are listed and briefly detailed here. Major characters from the franchise include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fud ...

. Immediately after becoming a police detective (with the codename " Elegant Mess"), Bugs is captured by Rocky and his gang, who try to drown him. Bugs promptly escapes that and then infiltrates Rocky's birthday party that night, disguised as a showgirl. Rocky soon sees through Bugs' disguise and, accompanied by Mugsy, chases him into a cereal factory, where Bugs traps the pair on the cereal manufacturing machine. Afterwards, he brings Rocky to court, but thanks to some manipulations and obfuscating

legalese Legal writing involves the analysis of fact patterns and presentation of arguments in documents such as legal memoranda and briefs. One form of legal writing involves drafting a balanced analysis of a legal problem or issue. Another form of leg ...

by Rocky's sleazy and unethical lawyer at his trial, the mobster is free to go. Bugs has problems finding Rocky's new hideout until word breaks out of farmer

Porky Pig Porky Pig is a 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 celebrity, star power, and the animators created man ...

's golden egg, which was apparently laid by

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Me ...

. Upon reading of this, Rocky and his men capture Daffy and demand him to lay a golden egg. He eventually does after Rocky shoots him in the head, and is then ordered to lay more to fill up their collection of egg cartons. Bugs and the police suddenly bust in and arrest Rocky's troop. But another law loophole sets Rocky free again. Rocky then captures

Tweety Tweety is an animated character, a yellow canary bird in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. His characteristics are based on Red Skelton's famous "Junior the Mean Widdle Kid". He appeared in ...

and holds him for ransom, and Bugs appoints Sylvester to find Tweety. Sure enough, the pussycat finds Tweety in Rocky's hideout. After several failed attempts by Sylvester to free Tweety, the police arrive and surround Rocky's hideout. When Sylvester ends up being hailed as a hero for having seemingly rescued Tweety, Bugs brings Rocky to justice, but is forced to go to jail with him and Mugsy (who was likely arrested too) because he lost the keys to his handcuffs.

Act 3: ''The Oswald Awards''

In the third and final act, Bugs introduces the Oswald Awards, an award ceremony created by Friz for animated characters. He then hosts the ceremony himself, announcing the nominees - the Wolf from '' Three Little Bops'', Sylvester & Tweety and

himself A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to another noun or pronoun (its Antecedent (grammar), antecedent) within the same sentence. In the English language specifically, a reflexive pronoun will end in ''-self'' or ''-selves'', and ref ...

. During Bugs' show, Daffy continually gripes about the fact that he has ''not'' been nominated. When Bugs wins the award, an infuriated Daffy challenges Bugs to a talent showdown. Bugs seems to have the audience's favor, but is puzzled when Daffy ultimately wins their applause by blowing himself up. Bugs gives the now-ghostly Daffy the award, with the duck responding, "It just goes to show you, you gotta ''kill'' yourself to win an Oswald in this town!" He then bows, but is shocked when the audience stops applauding, so he leaves in a huff. The only explanation is they only applauded because he is now dead.

Featured cartoons

The cartoons used to make the animated film include: * '' Knighty Knight Bugs'' (introduction. Full short. Merrie Melodies intro music used instead of Looney Tunes music and red rings used instead of blue rings, no credits and end card removed) * '' Hare Trimmed'' (ending is removed, act 1) * '' Satan's Waitin''' (brief snippet of Satanic bulldogs originally barking at Sylvester) * '' Roman Legion-Hare'' (act 1, as part of ''Devil's Feud Cake'', shortened) * '' Devil's Feud Cake'' (act 1; Note: Uses the same premise of that short, but features a different Satan design/voice and new animation and dialogue; some scenes are re-used from '' Devil's Feud Cake'' such as when the lions pursue Sam to a cliff, with a river below. Faced with an awkward dilemma of falling to his death gainor being eaten by the lions, Sam hastily jumps, hoping to land in the river, but is killed again and ends up back in Hell. Also used is the ending where Sam ''does'' say ''"I'm'' staying" and wickedly laughs dressed as the devil) * '' Sahara Hare'' (act 1, as part of ''Devil's Feud Cake'', shortened) * '' Wild and Woolly Hare'' (act 1, opening and ending are removed) * '' The Unmentionables'' (act 2, shortened) * ''

Golden Yeggs ''Golden Yeggs'' is a 1950 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' short subject, short directed by Friz Freleng. The cartoon was released on August 5, 1950, and stars Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. A forerunner of the Rocky and Mugsy characters appear, with ...

'' (act 2) * '' Catty Cornered'' (act 2, shortened) * '' Three Little Bops'' (act 3, shortened) * ''

Birds Anonymous ''Birds Anonymous'' is a 1957 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' animated short, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster. The short was released on August 10, 1957, and stars Tweety and Sylvester. The title is a possible play on reno ...

'' (act 3, shortened) * '' High Diving Hare'' (act 3, shortened) * '' Show Biz Bugs'' (act 3) Also, clips from '' Little Red Rodent Hood'', ''

Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast ...

'', and '' A Pizza Tweety-Pie'' can be seen in the introduction.

Voice cast

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 ...

–

Pepé Le Pew Pepé Le Pew is an animated character from the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons, introduced in 1945. Depicted as a French anthropomorphic striped skunk, Pepé is constantly on the quest for love and pursui ...

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

, Sir Osis of Liver, Sir Loin of Beef, Gerry the Idgit Dragon, Treasury Director, Judge, Cop # 1, Cop # 2, Clancy, Clarence, O'Hara, Cats in B.A *

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American Voice acting, voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animation, animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha F ...

– Granny *

Bea Benaderet Beatrice Benaderet ( ; April 4, 1906 – October 13, 1968) was an American actress and comedienne. Born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, she began performing in Bay Area theatre and radio before embarking on a Hollywood career that s ...

– Granny (classic cartoons) *

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 ...

– The Singing Narrator, Big Bad Wolf, Three Little Pigs * Ralph James – The Narrator (classic cartoons) * Frank Nelson – Satan *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...

– Reporter Dog, Rocky's Lawyer, The Narrator (bridging sequences)

Home media

The film was released on VHS in 1982 by WCI Home Video. The film was re-released on VHS on October 26, 1999 and on DVD in the USA on April 28, 2009 from

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

. Special features for the DVD release included three bonus animated shorts: '' Box-Office Bunny'', '' From Hare to Eternity'' and '' Pullet Surprise''.

References

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, The 1981 films 1981 comedy films 1981 children's films 1981 American animated films 1980s children's animated films 1980s English-language films American animated films about revenge American anthology films American children's animated comedy films American crime comedy films American self-reflexive films Animated anthology films Animated crime films Looney Tunes films Compilation films Arthurian animated films Films based on The Three Little Pigs Bugs Bunny films Daffy Duck films Foghorn Leghorn films Granny (Looney Tunes) films Pepé Le Pew films Porky Pig films Rocky and Mugsy films Speedy Gonzales films Sylvester the Cat films Tweety films Yosemite Sam films Animated films about kings Animated films about dragons The Devil in film Films about kidnapping in the United States Films about animation Animated films set in England Animated films set in castles Animated films set in the Middle Ages Animated films set in hell Animated films set in the United States Animated films set on farms Films set in apartment buildings Films set in a theatre Films set in 1981 Films directed by Friz Freleng Films with screenplays by John Dunn (animator) Films scored by Carl Stalling Films scored by Milt Franklyn Films scored by Robert J. Walsh Films scored by William Lava Warner Bros. films Warner Bros. animated films Warner Bros. Animation films