Yankee Doodle Bugs

Yankee Doodle Bugs
Lobby card.
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	August 28, 1954
Starring	Mel Blanc Bea Benaderet
Producer(s)	Edward Selzer
Music composed by	Milt Franklyn
Story by	Warren Foster
Animation	Virgil Ross Arthur Davis Manuel Perez Ken Champin
Director(s)	I. Freleng
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Title card

Yankee Doodle Bugs is the three-hundred and thirty-seventh Looney Tunes theatrical short. It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on August 28, 1954. It was written by Warren Foster, produced by Edward Selzer, and directed by Friz Freleng.

When Clyde has trouble studying for a history exam, Bugs decides to help him by giving his own detailed history of how rabbits made American history.

Memorable quotes

Bugs: Well, Clyde. How did ya make out on your history exam...? Well?
Clyde: (puts on dunce cap) Does THIS answer your question?

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Bugs Bunny	Mel Blanc
Clyde Bunny	Mel Blanc
George III	Mel Blanc
Benjamin Franklyn	Mel Blanc
George Washington	Mel Blanc
Betsy Ross	Bea Benaderet

Organizations

• Boston Tea Party

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Bugs' residence
    • Schoolhouse
    • New York
      • Manhattan
      • Upper New York Bay
        • Liberty Island
          • Statue of Liberty
    • Boston
      • Charlestown, Boston
        • Bunker Hill
    • Pennsylvania
      • Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
    • George Washington's residence
    • Candy Shoppe
    • Betsy Ross' residence
    • Massachusetts
    • Delaware River

Objects

• American history books
• Bugs Bunny comic
• Box of tacks
• Cannon
• Dunce cap

Vehicles

• George III's ship
• "Good Humor" sleigh
• George Washington's motorboat

Music

The music was composed by Milt Franklyn.

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: August 28, 1954 in theatres

Behind the scenes

• The title is reference to the American nursery rhyme/song "Yankee Doodle". This is the second title reference to "Yankee Doodle" since Yankee Doodle Daffy.
• This cartoon's premise is very reminiscent to that of Old Glory, as both shorts feature a child character being educated about American history by their respective father figures, after struggling to learn about it on their own, albeit more comedic and different subject matter of American history.
  • The opening scene where Clyde struggles with his history homework is very similar to the opening scene from that short.
• It is one of the few theatrical shorts to depict Bugs' home as anything but a rabbit hole.
• At the start of this cartoon, Bugs is seen reading a Bugs Bunny comic book.
• Betsy Ross bears a slight resemblance to Granny in the short, but is not the same character.

Error

• Betsy Ross is incorrectly depicted as an elderly lady by the time she designed the American flag. If Betsy Ross did, in fact, make an early design for it in 1777, she would have been only 25 years old; having been born in 1752.
  • Additionally, the idea of Ross designing the flag is only a widely-known legend, since the first version of the flag, the Grand Union Flag ("Continental Colours"), was adopted in 1776 by Congress after being invented a year prior.

Legacy

• This cartoon, as well as its plot, were used for the TV special Bugs Bunny: All American Hero.

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • December 1, 2020: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection on Blu-ray.