Ballot Box Bunny

Ballot Box Bunny
Lobby card.
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	October 6, 1951
Run time	7:35
Starring	Mel Blanc Bea Benaderet
Producer(s)	Edward Selzer
Music composed by	Carl Stalling
Story by	Warren Foster
Animation	Ken Champin Virgil Ross Arthur Davis Manuel Perez
Director(s)	I. Freleng
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Title card

Ballot Box Bunny is the three hundred and forty-first Merrie Melodies theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on October 6, 1951. It was written by Warren Foster, produced by Edward Selzer and directed by Friz Freleng.

In a small town, Bugs and Yosemite Sam run as rival candidates for a mayoral election, with increasingly violent campaign tactics.

Memorable quotes

Bugs: I speak softly, but I carry a BIIIG stick!
Yosemite: Oh yeah? Well, I speak LOUD and I carry a BIIIIGGER stick, and I use it too!

Bugs: A dark horse?!
Yosemite: Mare?!

Yosemite: I... hate... that... rabbit...

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Yosemite Sam	Mel Blanc
Bugs Bunny	Mel Blanc

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Small town
      • Hinkle & Ame
      • "Josiah Freep, dentist" building
      • Virgil Ross & Co
      • M. Perez building
      • Bugs Bunny Headquarters
      • "Pianos repaired" building
      • P. Julian Yard Tools
      • Frizby building

Objects

• Carrot juice
• "Vote for Bugs Bunny" marching drum
• Wooden plank
• Wooden club
• Atom explosive cigar
• Box of assorted picnic ants
• Dynamite stick
• Cannon
• Piano rigged with dynamite
• "Endearing Young Charms" music sheet
• Revolver

Vehicles

• None

Production

Second lobby card.

Filming

It was copyrighted in 1950 (MCML).

Music

The musical score for this cartoon was composed by Carl W. Stalling.

The song "Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms" by Thomas Moore is used as the music sheet for Sam's piano trap.

Crew credits

• Layouts: Hawley Pratt
• Backgrounds: Paul Julian

Behind the scenes

• The MPAA certificate number is 14408.
• The short contains a few inside references to the Warner Bros. Cartoons staff:
  • The statue Sam stands by when preparing the ants has a sign that reads, "Pro Patria 1865: Batchelder, Champin, Farren, Julian, Nicholson, Perez, Pratt and Ross."
  • Additionally, there are buildings that contain the names "Ross & Co", "Josiah Freep", "Frizby", "M. Perez", and "P. Julian". "Josiah Freep" may have been a reference to Fearless Freep, the unseen daredevil mentioned in High Diving Hare.
• Bugs' line, "I speak softly, but I carry a big stick," is a paraphrase of President Theodore Roosevelt, in reference to his ideology regarding foreign policy positions during his administration; Bugs also bears a resemblance to Roosevelt's appearance while saying it.
• The exploding piano gag was originally taken from the Private Snafu short Booby Traps. It is also the first Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon to use said gag, as Booby Traps was an educational short made for the U.S. Army during World War II.

Legacy

• The scene involving an exploding piano trap would later be used in Show Biz Bugs (of which a xylophone was instead used), and Rushing Roulette.
• Most scenes from this short were used for the TV special Bugs Bunny: All American Hero.

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • October 7, 1985: Warner Home Video releases A Salute to Mel Blanc on VHS.
  • October 7, 1985: Warner Home Video releases A Salute to Mel Blanc on Betamax.
  • 1993: Warner Home Video releases Winner by a Hare: 14 of Bugs Bunny's Best on LaserDisc.
  • November 1997: Warner Home Video releases From Hare to Eternity on VHS.
  • October 28, 2003: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 on DVD.
  • May 4, 2011: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Wascally Wabbit on DVD.
  • April 14, 2020: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases Bugs Bunny: Golden Carrot Collection on DVD.