Southern Fried Rabbit
| WARNING! This article contains content that may not be seen as age appropriate or upsetting for some readers. It may contain obsolete references to Black slavery and the Confederate States of America. Reader discretion is advised. |
| Southern Fried Rabbit | |
|---|---|
| Production company | Warner Bros. Cartoons |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date | May 2, 1953 |
| Run time | 7:00 |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Producer(s) | Edward Selzer |
| Music composed by | Carl Stalling |
| Story by | Warren Foster |
| Animation | Arthur Davis Manuel Perez Ken Champin Virgil Ross |
| Director(s) | I. Freleng |
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Southern Fried Rabbit is the three hundred and fourteenth Merrie Melodies theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on May 2, 1953. It was written by Warren Foster, produced by Edward Selzer and directed by Friz Freleng.
Bugs heads to Alabama in the hopes of finding the record carrot crop he reads on a newspaper. However, during his travels, he crosses paths with "Colonel" Sam, who claims to be a enlisted Confederate soldier guarding the Mason-Dixon line, regardless that the Civil War had ended years ago.
Detailed summary
Memorable quotes
Bugs: Well, shave my mouth and call me corn pone! If it ain't the lil' ol' South.
Sam: Great horny toads, I'm up North! Gotta burn my boots! They touched Yankee soil!
Bugs: What's the hassle, schmassle?
Sam: My orders from General Lee is to hold the Masey-Dixon line. And no Yankees are crossin' it!
Bugs: General Lee? Why, the war between the states ended almost 90 years ago.
Sam: I'm no clock watcher! And until I hears from General Lee official, I'm a-blastin' any Yankee that sets foot on Southern soil. So scram, Yankee!
Sam: Yankee Doodle!? You traitor!
Bugs: Don't beat me, master! Please don't beat me, master! Don't beat that tired ol' body! No, no!
(Bugs hands Sam a whip and runs away, before returning as Abraham Lincoln)
Bugs: What's this I hear about you whipping slaves?
Sam: But, but, but, but, but, but, but...
Bugs: Never mind the buts! Here's my card. Look me up in my "Gettysburg Address".
Sam: The first dang Yankee that steps out of that dugout gets his head blasted off!
Characters
In order of appearance: | ||||||||||||
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Organizations
Locations
- Earth
- United States
- Alabama (mentioned)
- Mason-Dixon line
- Plantation house
- Tennessee
- Chattanooga
- Baseball field
- Chattanooga
- United States
Objects
- Daily Snooze newspaper
- Bomb
- Cannon
Vehicles
- None
Production
Development
Filming
Music
The music was composed by Carl W. Stalling.
It also contains the following tunes:
- "Dixie" - sung by Bugs Bunny while heading towards Alabama
- "Old Black Joe" by Stephen Foster - plays as a leitmotif when Bugs arrives near the Mason-Dixon line
- "My Old Kentucky Home" by Stephen Foster - performed by Bugs on banjo, while disguised as a slave
- "Yankee Doodle" - performed twice by Bugs, shortly after singing the previous song, and then again when heading to the mansion
Crew credits
- Layouts: Hawley Pratt
- Backgrounds: Irv Wyner
Release
Dates are in order of release:
- United States: May 2, 1953 in theatres
Behind the scenes
- The title is likely a reference to the dish "Southern fried rabbit," in which rabbit meat is cooked in a similar fashion to fried chicken. It may have also been a play on "Southern-fried," an adjective referencing characteristics related to the Southern U.S.
- The MPAA certificate number is 15463.
- The newspaper Bugs reads is dated on September 3, 1952. The Civil War ended on April 9, 1965, making this short 88 years apart from its end.
- The scene involving Bugs disguising himself as a Black slave and Abraham Lincoln was taken from Wise Quackers, though unlike Daffy Duck in the previous short, he dons both a uniform and black makeup while as slave.
- Bugs' disguise as General Brickwall Jackson is a spoof of Stonewall Jackson, an actual general in the Confederate army.
- Scarlet, the name Bugs assumes while pretending to be Southern belle, is likely taken from Scarlet O'Hara, a character in the novel Gone with the Wind and its 1939 film adaptation.
- It is one of the few cartoons where Sam takes off his hat. In this short he is depicted as being bald with a few strands of hair, though in an odd case of continuity error, he gains a set of red hair after being blasted by a cannon.
- This short was censored on television due to certain content deemed unsuitable for modern audiences:
- The first scene of Sam charging out of a battlefield was cut in television airings on Cartoon Network and The WB, due to its display of the Confederate flag (specifically the Battle Flag of the Army of Tennessee). Oddly enough, this scene was left enact in earlier airings on the former network.[1]
- A scene involving Bugs passing the Mason-Dixie Line, while disguising himself as a Black slave and Abraham Lincoln, was cut in airings on Cartoon Network and The WB, due to the former disguise being perceived as blackface and a harmful stereotype of Black people.[1][2]
- The slave scene was similarly cut when the short aired as part of Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny & Friends, in addition to the removal of a scene where Sam gets blasted by a cannon, which was replaced by a still of Bugs as a Southern belle.[1]
Errors
- As stated earlier, Sam is depicted as bald when he greets himself to "Scarlet". But after he gets blown by a cannon at the door, he suddenly has a set of hair.
Legacy
- The majority of this short was used in the television special Bugs Bunny: All American Hero.
Home availability
- In the United States:
- November 14, 2006: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 on DVD.
