Wideo Wabbit

Wideo Wabbit
Lobby card.
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	October 27, 1956
Starring	Mel Blanc Arthur Q. Bryan Daws Butler
Producer(s)	Edward Selzer
Music composed by	Carl Stalling
Story by	Tedd Pierce
Animation	George Grandpré Keith Darling Ted Bonnicksen Russ Dyson
Director(s)	Robert McKimson
Series navigation
← Previous	Next →
Title card

Wideo Wabbit is the four hundred and seventeenth Merrie Melodies theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on October 27, 1956. It was written by Tedd Pierce, produced by Edward Selzer, and directed by Robert McKimson.

When Bugs learns that a television station is in need, he doesn't realize that the role is solely for Elmer's TV show, where he goes hunting for wabbits.

Memorable quotes

Bugs: Geeze, what a Groucho. Va-va-va-voom!

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Narrator	Robert C. Bruce
Bugs Bunny	Mel Blanc Daws Butler (as Groucho and Norton)
Television producer	Mel Blanc
Elmer Fudd	Arthur Q. Bryan

Organizations

• QTTV TV
• The French Fried Fresh Frozen Rabbit Company of Walla Walla, Washington

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Forest
      • Bugs' residence
    • QTTV TV station
  • Washington (mentioned)
    • Walla Walla (mentioned)

Objects

• Newspaper
• Ladder
• 10,000 volt battery
• Piano
• Dynamited candelabra
• Groucho disguise
• Norton Disguise

Production

Second lobby card.

Music

The music was composed by Carl Stalling. This was the last time that the theme, "What's Up Doc?" was used for the title sequence. Beginning with To Hare Is Human, all Bugs Bunny cartoons would use different title themes.

Additionally, a unnamed music cue from A Wild Hare is used when Elmer follows "wabbit twacks".

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: October 27, 1956 in theatres

Behind the scenes

• The title is a play on "Video Rabbit," only the V and R's are replaced with W's to match with Elmer's speech patterns.
• The working title was "Omni Bunny", which is likely a pun on "omni man." Not to be confused with the Invincible character, though.
• This short updates Bugs' design on the Bugs Bunny introductory card for the first time since Hare Trigger, which would be used up to False Hare in 1964.
• When Bugs impersonated the voices of both Groucho Marx and later Ed Norton from The Honeymooners in two scenes, Mel Blanc did not provide the voices in those two sequences; Daws Butler instead provided those voices.
  • Blanc admittedly found himself to be terrible at celebrity voice impersonations, despite the fact that his voices for Pepé Le Pew and Foghorn Leghorn were based on actual actors.
  • Additionally, this is the second instance where Bugs played Groucho Marx to avoid Elmer. The first time was Friz Freleng's cartoon Slick Hare, but Elmer comes much closer to catching Bugs in that Groucho scene than in the one in Wideo Wabbit, by means of disguise as Groucho's brother Harpo.
• The animation of Bugs as Liberace playing Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 on the piano, and getting his fingers tied in a knot is reused from Rhapsody Rabbit. Coincidentally, Tedd Pierce wrote that cartoon alongside Michael Maltese.

Legacy

• Station QTTV would be seen again in two more shorts: The 1959 Merrie Melodies short People are Bunny, and the 1963 Looney Tunes short The Million Hare.
  • People are Bunny would also reuse some elements from this short, but with Daffy Duck taking place of Elmer.
• This short was used in the television special Bugs Bunny's Mad World of Television.

In other languages

Language	Name	Meaning

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3