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Rabbit Fire is a 1951 Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones.

Title[]

The title is a play on "rapid fire," substituting "rapid" for "rabbit."

Plot[]

Elmer Fudd is hunting, and he says, "Be vewy, vewy quiet! I'm hunting wabbits!" Daffy Duck lures Elmer to Bugs Bunny's burrow and watches from aside while Elmer attempts to shoot Bugs. But Bugs informs Elmer that it isn't rabbit season, but instead duck season. Daffy emerges, irate, and attempts to convince Elmer that Bugs is lying.

Their conversion breaks down into Bugs leading Daffy to admit it is duck season by a number of verbal plays and reverse psychology, for example:

  • Bugs: "Duck season!"
  • Daffy: "Rabbit season!"
  • Bugs: "Duck season!"
  • Daffy: "RABBIT SEASON!"
  • Bugs: "Duck season!!"
  • Daffy: "RABBIT SEASON!!"
  • Bugs: (reversing the flow) "Rabbit season!"
  • Daffy: "DUCK SEASON!!!"
  • Bugs: "Rabbit season!!!"
  • Daffy: "I say it's duck season, and I say FIRE!"

Once Daffy admits it is duck season, Elmer fires his shotgun at Daffy, causing the duck to suffer a temporary setback before he tries again. This repeats multiple times during the short, with Daffy trying different ploys to get Elmer to shoot Bugs, but Bugs continues to outwit him. After Daffy is shot for the third time, he walks away. Elmer tries to shoot him, but no more shells come out of his gun. Thrilled, Daffy comes back and grabs Elmer's gun to make sure, only to be shot with the last shell.

Daffy then sees a sign that Bugs has nailed to a tree saying "Duck Season Open". As he sees Elmer approaching, he disguises himself as Bugs, telling him that it's duck season. Bugs appears disguised as Daffy, complete with webbed feet and fake bill, and asks Daffy why he thinks it's duck season. Daffy points at the tree where he previously saw the "Duck Season Open" sign. However, the sign nailed to that tree now reads "Rabbit Season Open", implying that Bugs replaced the signs. Elmer, of course, shoots Daffy. After Daffy gets blasted, he goes up to Bugs and says, "You're desthpicable!" The two walk away, getting out of their costumes as Daffy rants to Bugs how despicable he is. Bugs then begins to read duck recipes from a cookbook and Daffy does the same with a rabbit recipe cookbook. Elmer tells them he's a vegetarian and only hunts for the sport of it. Outraged, Bugs gets in Elmer's face and claims "Oh, yeah? Well, there's other sports besides huntin', ya know!?" Daffy then offers to play tennis. Elmer blasts him again, then begins shooting and chases both of them all the way to the rabbit hole. Bugs comes out of his hole and accuses Elmer of "hunting rabbits with an elephant gun", suggesting Elmer shoot an elephant instead. Just as Elmer is considering it, a huge elephant appears from literally nowhere, threatens Elmer in a Joe Besser voice, "You do and I'll give you SUCH a pinch!" and preemptively pounds him into the ground before striding off.

Elmer finally loses patience and decides to take out both Bugs and Daffy. Daffy comes into the scene, disguised as a hunting dog and Bugs comes in disguised as a lady hunter. When Daffy bites Elmer, Bugs' ear reveals and Elmer sees through their disguises and threatens to finish them off.

Elmer finds the two arguing by a tree with a sign that starts with the words "Rabbit Season"; Bugs and Daffy continue to pull off the sign to alternatively reveal it is "Duck Season" or "Rabbit Season" until they hit a final sign, proclaiming it to be "Elmer Season". With the roles reversed, Elmer gets a taste of his own medicine and starts running, avoiding gunshots whilst Bugs and Daffy, dressed as hunters, stalk him. Bugs says "Be very, very quiet… we're hunting Elmers!" with Daffy imitating Elmer's laugh.

Caricatures[]

Availability[]

Streaming[]

Censorship[]

  • Along with its two sequels, the versions of this cartoon shown on ABC in the 1980s and 1990s, CBS in the 1980s, the syndicated and Fox network versions of Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny & Friends in the 1990s, and Kids' WB! in the 1990s cut multiple scenes of Elmer shooting Daffy. While the versions shown on ABC and both versions of Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny & Friends replaced the actual shots of Elmer firing at Daffy's head with a still shot of Bugs Bunny looking off-screen (or, in the case of the end of "Rabbit Seasoning", freeze-framed on the shot of the cabin when Elmer and Daffy go inside) and had the audio play normally, the versions shown on CBS and Kids WB! spliced out any and all scenes (both visual and audio) of Daffy getting shot, which made "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!" particularly choppy and incoherent.[3]
  • On Nickelodeon's Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon compilation show, the gun scenes for "Rabbit Seasoning" and "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!" were left uncensored, but "Rabbit Fire" was edited to remove the "No more buwwets" gag (Elmer tries to shoot at Daffy and thinks he's run out of bullets. Bugs tells Daffy this, Daffy takes the shotgun, stares down its barrel, and gets shot).[3]

Notes[]

  • The working title for Rabbit Fire was "What's Up, Duck?"
  • Rabbit Fire marks the first time Bugs and Daffy were paired in a Looney Tune or Merrie Melodie cartoon with Elmer Fudd.
  • Rabbit Fire is the first cartoon of "The Hunting Trilogy" starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd.
  • Rabbit Fire marks the only entry in "The Hunting Trilogy" to:
    • Have Bugs and Daffy both win at the end.
    • Have animation done by Phil Monroe.
    • Not end with Daffy telling Bugs, "You're despicable!"; he says it in the middle of the cartoon instead.
    • To be in the Looney Tunes series; Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit, Duck! were Merrie Melodies cartoons.
      • The lobby cards label it a Merrie Melodie cartoon, though, suggesting it was meant to be part of that series initially.
    • To be reissued in the Blue Ribbon series; as such, it is the only one to not have its Color Rings survive.
      • This is also the only cartoon to feature the trio of Bugs, Daffy, and Elmer to be reissued as a Blue Ribbon cartoon.
  • Rabbit Fire, as well as a small scene from Rabbit Seasoning, were used in The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Movie. When introducing this short, Bugs states he sometimes feels that the world's population is full of people out to get him and/or Daffy, making an example of how Elmer Fudd, like other sportsman, is never satisfied unless he's protecting others by shooting dangerous forest animals.
  • Footage from Rabbit Fire made up most of the first quarter in The Big Game XXIX: Bugs Vs. Daffy. The short itself also appeared as one of the "game films" in the pregame show leading up to the game itself.
  • When Elmer blushes when seeing Bugs disguised as a lady, when Daffy attempts to bite Elmer, his gun is then missing. He steals Bugs' gun after the plan backfires.
  • In Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor, the music is "Symphony No. 5" by Ludwig van Beethoven for rhythmic reasons.
  • While Rabbit Fire was restored to DVD and Blu-ray, it was one of the few cartoons that was low-pitched, due to the 1998 dubbed version audio being used for the soundtrack. This cartoon has not had its pitch corrected since.
  • The part where Bugs and Daffy argue with the Rabbit Season/Duck Season signs is used in two Cartoon Network bumpers:
    • In one, the scene plays as normal, until they hit a final sign, proclaiming it to be the Cartoon Network logo (the Elmer Season sign is replaced using digital editing). The bumper fades-out once Bugs and Daffy stare at Elmer.
    • In another, the Rabbit Season/Duck Season signs are replaced by "The Daffy and Bugs Show" and "The Bugs and Daffy Show" (courtesy of digital editing) and Bugs and Daffy's lines are re-dubbed (most likely voiced by Jeff Bergman) where Daffy argues "Daffy and Bugs!" and Bugs argues "Bugs and Daffy!" Bugs and Daffy continue to pull off the sign to alternatively reveal it is "The Bugs and Daffy Show" or "The Daffy and Bugs Show" until they hit a final sign, proclaiming it to be "The Elmer Show! Also Starring A Rabbit And A Duck" (again the Elmer Season sign is replaced using digital editing). The tables turned, Bugs and Daffy stare at Elmer, then it cuts away to a promo of Bugs 'n' Daffy.
  • Rabbit Fire marks the first appearance of Daffy’s “You’re despicable” catchphrase.
  • Rabbit Fire was shown in theatres with Goodbye, My Fancy during its original release.
  • The elephant makes a cameo during the "Toon Meeting" scene in Space Jam.
  • The Elmer Season gag became an internet meme in 2011, sometimes replacing Elmer with a universally-despised fictional character or real-life person (despite the gag being actually an example of Elmer's extreme bad luck).
  • The part where Elmer says "Be vewy, vewy quiet!" was used in the montage trailer for Warner Bros.' 75th anniversary in 1998.[4]
  • A clip of Rabbit Fire was used in Cartoon Network's "30 Years of Iconic Cartoons" video for its 30th anniversary.
    • The scene shown was mirrored because the other clips shown have the characters moving to the right, and Bugs and Daffy were originally being chased from the left.
  • This short isn't the first time Daffy dresses up as a rabbit; having done so prior when pretending to be the Easter Bunny in "What Price Porky".
  • This cartoon was completed in November 1950.[5]

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
Daffy Duck Cartoons
1937 Porky's Duck Hunt
1938 Daffy Duck & EggheadWhat Price PorkyPorky & DaffyThe Daffy DocDaffy Duck in Hollywood
1939 Daffy Duck and the DinosaurScalp TroubleWise Quacks
1940 Porky's Last StandYou Ought to Be in Pictures
1941 A Coy DecoyThe Henpecked Duck
1942 Conrad the SailorDaffy's Southern ExposureThe Impatient PatientThe Daffy DuckarooMy Favorite Duck
1943 To Duck .... or Not to DuckThe Wise Quacking DuckYankee Doodle DaffyPorky Pig's FeatScrap Happy DaffyA Corny ConcertoDaffy - The Commando
1944 Tom Turk and DaffyTick Tock TuckeredDuck Soup to NutsSlightly DaffyPlane DaffyThe Stupid Cupid
1945 Draftee DaffyAin't That DuckyNasty Quacks
1946 Book RevueBaby BottleneckDaffy DoodlesHollywood DaffyThe Great Piggy Bank Robbery
1947 Birth of a NotionAlong Came DaffyA Pest in the HouseMexican Joyride
1948 What Makes Daffy DuckDaffy Duck Slept HereThe Up-Standing SitterYou Were Never DuckierDaffy DillyThe Stupor SalesmanRiff Raffy Daffy
1949 Wise QuackersHoliday for DrumsticksDaffy Duck Hunt
1950 Boobs in the WoodsThe Scarlet PumpernickelHis Bitter HalfGolden YeggsThe Ducksters
1951 Rabbit FireDrip-Along DaffyThe Prize Pest
1952 Thumb FunCracked QuackRabbit SeasoningThe Super SnooperFool Coverage
1953 Duck AmuckMuscle TussleDuck Dodgers in the 24½th CenturyDuck! Rabbit, Duck!
1954 Design for LeavingQuack ShotMy Little Duckaroo
1955 Beanstalk BunnySahara HareStork NakedThis Is a Life?Dime to Retire
1956 The High and the FlightyRocket SquadStupor DuckA Star Is BoredDeduce, You Say
1957 Ali Baba BunnyBoston QuackieDucking the DevilShow Biz Bugs
1958 Don't Axe MeRobin Hood Daffy
1959 China JonesPeople Are BunnyApes of Wrath
1960 Person to Bunny
1961 The Abominable Snow RabbitDaffy's Inn Trouble
1962 Quackodile TearsGood Noose
1963 Fast Buck DuckThe Million HareAqua Duck
1964 The Iceman Ducketh
1965 It's Nice to Have a Mouse Around the HouseMoby DuckAssault and PepperedWell Worn DaffySuppressed DuckCorn on the CopTease for TwoChili Corn CornyGo Go Amigo
1966 The AstroduckMucho LocosMexican MousepieceDaffy RentsA-Haunting We Will GoSnow ExcuseA Squeak in the DeepFeather FingerSwing Ding AmigoA Taste of Catnip
1967 Daffy's DinerQuacker TrackerThe Music Mice-TroThe Spy SwatterSpeedy Ghost to TownRodent to StardomGo Away StowawayFiesta Fiasco
1968 Skyscraper CaperSee Ya Later Gladiator
1980 The Yolks on YouThe Chocolate ChaseDaffy Flies NorthDuck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century
1987 The Duxorcist
1988 The Night of the Living Duck
1990 Box Office Bunny
1991 (Blooper) Bunny
1992 Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
1995 Carrotblanca
1996 Superior Duck
2003 Attack of the Drones
2004 Daffy Duck for President
2012 Daffy's Rhapsody
Elmer Fudd Cartoons
1937 Little Red Walking Hood
1938 The Isle of Pingo PongoCinderella Meets FellaA Feud There WasJohnny Smith and Poker-Huntas
1939 Hamateur NightA Day at the ZooBelieve It or Else
1940 Elmer's Candid CameraConfederate HoneyThe Hardship of Miles StandishA Wild HareGood Night Elmer
1941 Elmer's Pet RabbitWabbit Twouble
1942 The Wabbit Who Came to SupperAny Bonds Today?The Wacky WabbitNutty NewsFresh HareThe Hare-Brained Hypnotist
1943 To Duck .... or Not to DuckA Corny ConcertoAn Itch in Time
1944 The Old Grey HareThe Stupid CupidStage Door Cartoon
1945 The Unruly HareHare Tonic
1946 Hare RemoverThe Big Snooze
1947 Easter YeggsA Pest in the HouseSlick Hare
1948 What Makes Daffy DuckBack Alley Op-RoarKit for Cat
1949 Wise QuackersHare DoEach Dawn I Crow
1950 What's Up Doc?The Scarlet PumpernickelRabbit of Seville
1951 Rabbit Fire
1952 Rabbit Seasoning
1953 Upswept HareAnt PastedDuck! Rabbit, Duck!Robot Rabbit
1954 Design for LeavingQuack Shot
1955 Pests for GuestsBeanstalk BunnyHare BrushRabbit RampageThis Is a Life?Heir-Conditioned
1956 Bugs' BonnetsA Star Is BoredYankee Dood ItWideo Wabbit
1957 What's Opera, Doc?Rabbit Romeo
1958 Don't Axe MePre-Hysterical Hare
1959 A Mutt in a Rut
1960 Person to BunnyDog Gone People
1961 What's My Lion?
1962 Crows' Feat
1980 Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny
1990 Box Office Bunny
1991 (Blooper) Bunny
1992 Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
2012 Daffy's Rhapsody
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