Looney Tunes Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Bonanza Bunny is a 1959 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson.

Plot[]

In 1896 Dawson City, Yukon, a snow-covered Bugs Bunny walks into the saloon with a bag full of gold nuggets. Bugs has no use for these yellow rocks, admitting that he confused "carats" with the vegetable when he traveled to the area, having actually heard about the Klondike Gold Rush. The men in the saloon look suspiciously at Bugs, who requests a glass of carrot juice, to which an eager bartender give Bugs his best serving of carrot juice then comments that Bugs' rock "is pretty." Bugs pays the man with it, while naively saying "You like it, keep it! I will save the rest for souvenirs." Nonetheless, Bugs is shot at by a man who identifies himself as Blacque Jacque Shellacque, "Wanted" for claim-jumping, pogo-sticking, and square-dance calling. The shot breaks Bugs' glass of carrot juice, the crowd of other men in the saloon become frightened and hastily rush away and Bugs confronts Jacque about how rude he is.

220px-Bonanzabunny

Bugs and Blacque square off.

Jacque thinks that Bugs is out to get rich and demands the bag of gold. When Bugs refuses to cooperate, Jacque engages in a series of tricks to seize the gold. One of the gags is Bugs' and Jacque's blackjack game, to which Bugs innocently says that he does not know the rules of blackjack and that "I only played Old Maid a few times for fun". Bugs requests to stand on one card, to which an enraged Blacque Jacque shouts "ONE CARD?!" to which he then softens his tone and assertively says "Oh, sure, sure!" clearly thinking this will be to his advantage to allow the supposedly gullible Bugs this irregular hand. Regardless, Jacque cheats (by drawing from the top of the deck and hiding a card up his sleeve) and deals for himself two "10 of spades" cards for a total of 20. "Beat that, sucker!" Jacque laughs, but Bugs wins with a single "21 of hearts" card ("Har har, hardy har har!") Bugs recovers his wagered bag of gold and calmly says "Well, that's the way the ball bounces, sometimes you gotta win, sometimes you gotta lose", to which an enraged Jacque roars to himself "Arggh, no one beats Blacque Jacque Shellacque!" In a classic Bugs Bunny trick, Bugs pretends to have a phone call for Jacque from "Fifi from Montreal"-actually a lit dynamite stick. Jacque takes the bait and gets blown up-but not killed.

Jacque corners Bugs in a back storeroom and in a form of armed robbery, holds a pistol to Bugs Bunny and demands the gold. Bugs then pretends to cower and "surrenders" the gold, actually handing him a bag filled with gunpowder, but not before cutting a hole in the bag and causing it to leak. The powder leaves a trail behind Jacque, who gloats at his "victory", and proceeds to run off into the mountains shouting "I'm rich! I'm rich!", without even bothering to check the contents of his ill-gotten bag. Bugs' lights the trail, which makes a gigantic and colorful explosion, aborting Jacque's celebration. "Gee, the Northern Lights are pretty this time of year!" Bugs remarks as he witnesses the explosion. Furthermore as he departs, Bugs notes what people will do for a bunch of gold-painted rocks.

Availability[]

Streaming[]

Censorship[]

  • When this cartoon aired on ABC, two scenes were cut: the scene in the rumpus room with Bugs dressed as a cowboy pointing a so-called pop gun at Jacque, only for him to be shot in the face upon pulling the cork, and Bugs tricking Jacque into speaking to "Fifi from Montreal" on a phone rigged with dynamite. [1]

Notes[]

  • This cartoon marks the debut of Blacque Jacque Shellacque, who would make one more classic appearance in the 1962 short "Wet Hare".
  • Most of the scenes from this cartoon were used in the TV special How Bugs Bunny Won the West.
  • The gag where Blacque Jacque Shellacque opens fire on Bugs and then moves to reveal his own wanted poster is used in an earlier cartoon called "Drip-Along Daffy" where Nasty Canasta also tries to shoot Daffy Duck, then moving to show his own wanted poster.
    • The scene afterwards of the patrons' reaction and dashing out was also reused.
  • The dog barks heard from the husky pulling the sled Bugs rides on at the end of the cartoon are the same ones Mel Blanc would later use in voicing Dino the dinosaur in the Hanna-Barbera animated TV series The Flintstones in the 1960s.
  • Two of the large sacks lined up against the back wall of the storeroom are labeled "Butler Spuds" and "Gibbroek Corn Meal", as inside-jokes to background artists William Butler and Robert Gribbroek respectively.
  • Contrary to the narrator's description of Dawson City as "lawless", its laws were strictly enforced by the Mounties, as the Yukon was a part of British Canada. While there were certainly rip-roaring saloons, gamblers and even brothels, there was actually very little violence (unlike this cartoon which is very violent), and Sunday closings, along with a "no work" statute, were rigidly enforced; fishing or cutting wood on Sundays are illegal and one can be arrested for doing such activities on that day.
  • This is the last Warner Bros. cartoon that Robert C. Bruce narrated before he moved into producing industrial films and television commercials.[2]
  • From this point until the initial closure of the studio in 1964, all cartoons feature crimson Color Rings, with the exceptions of "Now Hear This", "Bartholomew Versus the Wheel", and "Señorella and the Glass Huarache".
  • The line "the bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malibu Saloon" is very similar to a line from "Dangerous Dan McFoo", which Robert C. Bruce also narrated.

Gallery[]

References[]

External Links[]


Bugs Bunny Shorts
1938 Porky's Hare Hunt
1939 Prest-O Change-OHare-um Scare-um
1940 Elmer's Candid CameraA Wild Hare
1941 Elmer's Pet RabbitTortoise Beats HareHiawatha's Rabbit HuntThe Heckling HareAll This and Rabbit StewWabbit Twouble
1942 The Wabbit Who Came to SupperAny Bonds Today?The Wacky WabbitHold the Lion, PleaseBugs Bunny Gets the BoidFresh HareThe Hare-Brained HypnotistCase of the Missing Hare
1943 Tortoise Wins by a HareSuper-RabbitJack-Wabbit and the BeanstalkWackiki WabbitFalling Hare
1944 Little Red Riding RabbitWhat's Cookin' Doc?Bugs Bunny and the Three BearsBugs Bunny Nips the NipsHare Ribbin'Hare ForceBuckaroo BugsThe Old Grey HareStage Door Cartoon
1945 Herr Meets HareThe Unruly HareHare TriggerHare ConditionedHare Tonic
1946 Baseball BugsHare RemoverHair-Raising HareAcrobatty BunnyRacketeer RabbitThe Big SnoozeRhapsody Rabbit
1947 Rabbit TransitA Hare Grows in ManhattanEaster YeggsSlick Hare
1948 Gorilla My DreamsA Feather in His HareRabbit PunchBuccaneer BunnyBugs Bunny Rides AgainHaredevil HareHot Cross BunnyHare SplitterA-Lad-In His LampMy Bunny Lies over the Sea
1949 Hare DoMississippi HareRebel RabbitHigh Diving HareBowery BugsLong-Haired HareKnights Must FallThe Grey Hounded HareThe Windblown HareFrigid HareWhich Is WitchRabbit Hood
1950 Hurdy-Gurdy HareMutiny on the BunnyHomeless HareBig House BunnyWhat's Up Doc?8 Ball BunnyHillbilly HareBunker Hill BunnyBushy HareRabbit of Seville
1951 Hare We GoRabbit Every MondayBunny HuggedThe Fair Haired HareRabbit FireFrench RarebitHis Hare Raising TaleBallot Box BunnyBig Top Bunny
1952 Operation: RabbitFoxy by Proxy14 Carrot RabbitWater, Water Every HareThe Hasty HareOily HareRabbit SeasoningRabbit's KinHare Lift
1953 Forward March HareUpswept HareSouthern Fried RabbitHare TrimmedBully for BugsLumber Jack-RabbitDuck! Rabbit, Duck!Robot Rabbit
1954 Captain HareblowerBugs and ThugsNo Parking HareDevil May HareBewitched BunnyYankee Doodle BugsBaby Buggy Bunny
1955 Beanstalk BunnySahara HareHare BrushRabbit RampageThis Is a Life?Hyde and HareKnight-Mare HareRoman Legion-Hare
1956 Bugs' BonnetsBroom-Stick BunnyRabbitson CrusoeNapoleon Bunny-PartBarbary-Coast BunnyHalf-Fare HareA Star Is BoredWideo WabbitTo Hare Is Human
1957 Ali Baba BunnyBedevilled RabbitPiker's PeakWhat's Opera, Doc?Bugsy and MugsyShow Biz BugsRabbit Romeo
1958 Hare-Less WolfHare-Way to the StarsNow, Hare ThisKnighty Knight BugsPre-Hysterical Hare
1959 Baton BunnyHare-abian NightsApes of WrathBackwoods BunnyWild and Woolly HareBonanza BunnyA Witch's Tangled HarePeople Are Bunny
1960 Horse HarePerson to BunnyRabbit's FeatFrom Hare to HeirLighter Than Hare
1961 The Abominable Snow RabbitCompressed HarePrince Violent
1962 Wet HareBill of HareShishkabugs
1963 Devil's Feud CakeThe Million HareHare-Breadth HurryThe UnmentionablesMad as a Mars HareTransylvania 6-5000
1964 Dumb PatrolDr. Devil and Mr. HareThe Iceman DuckethFalse Hare
1979 Bugs Bunny's Christmas CarolFright Before Christmas
1980 Portrait of the Artist as a Young BunnySpaced Out Bunny
1990 Box Office Bunny
1991 (Blooper) Bunny
1992 Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
1995 Carrotblanca
1997 From Hare to Eternity
2004 Hare and Loathing in Las VegasDaffy Duck for President
Advertisement