Rabbit Fire (Looney Tunes)

Rabbit Fire (episode 621)
"I say it's Duck Season... and I say Fire!"
Directed by: Chuck Jones Written by: Michael Maltese Release date: May 19, 1951 Franchise: Looney Tunes Prequel: Early to Bet (previous short) Sequel: Room and Bird (next short)

Rabbit Fire is a 1951 Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd that was directed by Chuck Jones and written by Mike Maltese. It was the first cartoon in the "Hunting Season" trilogy (with Rabbit Seasoning (1952) and Duck, Rabbit! Duck! (1953) coming later on) as well as the first cartoon to team Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck together.

Why It Rocks

1. Bugs and Daffy's rivalry/friendship with each other works perfectly together on this cartoon and they have perfect chemistry together.
2. Great dialogue, especially Bugs and Daffy's "Rabbit Season"/"Duck Season" argument.
3. This cartoon paved the way for many more memorable Bugs and Daffy team-ups such as Beanstalk Bunny, Ali Baba Bunny, Show Biz Bugs and The Abominable Snow-Rabbit.
4. A lot of hilarious moments, such as Daffy getting his bill blasted backwards by Elmer's gun.
5. Good animation for its time.
6. Great music by Carl Stalling.
7. Flawless acting by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan.
8. Beautiful painted backgrounds and colors.
9. The ending is very clever and unpredictable.

The Only Bad Quality

1. This cartoon marked the point where Daffy changed from a screwy happy-go-lucky duck into a short-tempered greedy money-loving coward, which would later see him miscast as an antagonist in the infamous "Daffy vs. Speedy" cartoons in the 1960s.

Reception

• The cartoon is considered to be one of Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese's best works and is noted for its use of dialogue gags in lieu of the physical gags more typical in animation.
• This short spawned the "Rabbit Season"/"Duck Season" meme.

Trivia

• The cartoon demonstrates Mel Blanc's capability of having a character imitating another's voice.
• The elephant from the 1938 cartoon The Major Lied Till Dawn makes a cameo on this cartoon, but is redesigned and has a Joe Besser-like voice.
• The argument gag was actually used in a couple of other cartoons before this, such as Duck Soup to Nuts, Baseball Bugs, Mexican Joyride and Haredevil Hare.

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