Racketeer Rabbit

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Racketeer Rabbit
Production company Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date September 14, 1946
Run time 7:53
Starring Mel Blanc
Dick Nelson
Producer(s) Eddie Selzer
Music composed by Carl W. Stalling
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation Gerry Chiniquy
Manuel Perez
Ken Champin
Virgil Ross
Director(s) I. Freleng
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Title card
Racketeer Rabbit Title Card.png

Racketeer Rabbit is the two hundred and seventeenth Looney Tunes theatrical short. It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on September 14, 1946. It was written by Michael Maltese, produced by Edward Selzer and directed by Friz Freleng.

Bugs Bunny spends a dark and stormy night in an abandoned farm house, unaware that it is occupied by gangsters Rocky and Hugo.

Detailed summary

Memorable quotes

Rocky: Well, we got rid of those mugs.
Hugo: They make me laugh... Ah...


Bugs: Gee, Rocky. Yous was soitenly kind-hearted.
Rocky: Rocky's little too slow for ya! Nyeah! A little too smart! Nyeah, nyeah!


Bugs: What a glorious night. Eh, whaddya say we stop somewhere for a hamburger?


Rocky: I'm giving you two seconds to give me the dough. See?
Bugs: Okay, okay! But first you're gonna close your eyes.
Rocky: Yeah, why?
Bugs: Because I don't want you to see you where it's hid.
Rocky: Alright, I'm gonna count to ten and you're gonna give it to me, see?
Bugs: Okay, bruddah. I will.
(Bugs whips up a wet cake mixture as Rocky counts)
Rocky: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Now give it to me! (Bugs shoves the mxture at Rocky's face) Oh, Rocky's really mad now!


Bugs: It's curtains for you, Rocky. Curtains!


Bugs: Some guys just can't take it, see? Nyeah, nyeah, nyeah, nyeah, nyeah...

Characters

Legend
Character debut Speaking debut Ep. debut No lines Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character Actor
Bugs Bunny Mel Blanc
Rocky Dick Nelson
Hugo Mel Blanc


Locations

Objects

  • Guns
  • Tommy gun
  • Curtains
  • Time bomb

Vehicles

  • Gangster cars

Production

Development

Freleng directed this short as away of giving Bugs Bunny more challenging antagonists, as he felt that previous villains such as Beaky Buzzard, Elmer Fudd, and even his own Yosemite Sam were too weak-willed or pathetic to give Bugs any real challenge.

Music

The music was composed by Carl W. Stalling.

Crew credits

Release

Dates are in order of release:

  • United States: September 14, 1946 in theatres

Behind the scenes

  • According to a production code at the opening titles (M-5-15), the short was originally going to be part of the Merrie Melodies series.
  • This is the last known Warner Bros. cartoon to use the "Direction" byline. Starting with the last 1946 Merrie Melodies cartoon, Rhapsody Rabbit, and then starting in 1947, cartoons would use start using the "Directed by" byline to credit directors.
  • This cartoon marks Bugs' first encounters with gangsters/mobsters.
  • During the climax, Bugs tricks Rocky into thinking that the police are breaking into the hideout, which leads to him hiding and Bugs pretending to fight them. A different but similar gag would be used in the 1954 cartoon, Bugs and Thugs.

Errors

  • During Rocky's attempt to interrogate Bugs, there are several occasions where they each talk, but their lips don't move.
  • After an explosion that partly disintegrated his clothing, Rocky dives out the window and for a fleeting second is seen to be "bare-bottomed". In the next scene, while running down the street, the seat of his pants remains intact.
  • When Bugs is helping Rocky get dressed, he says "hand me my shirt." However, Bugs gives him his jacket as Rocky is already wearing a shirt when he was sleeping in bed.
  • Rocky gets out of bed and has a gun in a gunbelt around his nightshirt. But when he says his prayers, gets back in bed then gets out again, both the gun and gunbelt have disappeared.

Legacy

  • Due to Freleng liking the idea of mobsters, Rocky was later revived in the 1950 Merrie Melodies cartoon Golden Yeggs, where he was drastically redesigned to be more of a short mobster than an Edward G. Robinson caricature.
  • The general plot of this short would layer be repurposed for Bugs and Thugs, with Rocky being paired with Mugsy for the first time; Mugsy's name was likely taken from the alias Bugs uses when he disguises as a gangster in the previous short.
  • Bugs' Mugsy disguise would be used as the "Racketeer Rabbit" persona in the video game, Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem. Additionally, one of his special attacks is based on a gag from Bugs and Thugs.

Home availability

References

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