Big Top Bunny

"Colonel Korny's World Famous Circus" is in town, featuring "Bruno, the Skobokian Acrobatic Bear." The colonel gets a phone call informing him of a talented rabbit and the boss says, okay, tell him to come down and I'll have him perform with Bruno. The big bear, overhearing this, is not happy. "Nobody shares the spotlight with Bruno The Magnificent," he tells us (the viewers), "especially a stinking little rabbit."

Anyway, the act starts that night and immediately, Bruno starts sabotaging Bugs, trying to ruin him. After Bugs takes some big-time licks, he catches on and the tables are turned. The two go at it the rest of the night and you know who will wind up the big winner. How Bugs brutalizes the beast is pretty funny with some clever ideas. The sight gags were good, too, such as Bugs "pedaling" a bicycle in midair. The movie ends with a bang, literally.

This is prime Bugs Bunny humor.

I love Bugs Bunny and I love Looney Tunes, but I am sorry to say I am not a fan of Big Top Bunny. It definitely wasn't awful, but it is one of my least favourite Bugs Bunny cartoons.

Starting with the good things, I did like the animation in general. The colours are great, as are the backgrounds and Bugs looks fine. The music has its usual energy and quirkiness, while the dialogue is reasonably amusing and the sight gags while slightly lacking in originality are decent especially with the idea with the heights. And as always Mel Blanc's voice work is superb.

However, there are things that make Big Top Bunny somewhat decidedly lacklustre. The story is incredibly predictable and offers little to no surprises, while the pacing is uneven, it starts off slow and then it suddenly feels as though a bomb has hit it and it doesn't slow down. My main problem with Big Top Bunny is the character of Bruno. I do not like him... at all. In this cartoon, Bruno's character design is the only one I don't care for, it is ugly and I think inconsistent too, while the voice was rather tiresome and some of his dialogue did little for me either.

Overall, not terrible but sadly not particularly good either. 6/10 Bethany Cox

It is Colonel Korny's World Famous Circus. Bruno is the star Slobokian Acrobatic Bear. The Colonel is offered a performing rabbit and decides to combine the rabbit with Bruno's act. Bruno is not happy. The rabbit is Bugs Bunny. During their act, Bruno starts playing tricks on Bugs, but Bugs smells the rat right away.

I really like this battle under the big top. I would like a bigger name for the Colonel Korny role. The best gag is the high dive platform. I love that they have to ratchet up the platform in such a hilariously non-sensical way. It is great in so many ways especially visually. This is great.

Big Top Bunny (1951)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Minor Looney Tunes has Bugs Bunny becoming partners with Bruno, the Slobokian Bear who isn't happy about having to share the spotlight. During their carnival act Bruno tries to destroy Bugs but things end up working out the opposite. This isn't a classic short or even a very good one but it does manage to get a few laughs, which make it worth watching. The best joke is during the finale where the two argue as to which one will jump hundreds of feet into some cement. One of the biggest problems with this short is the bear, which just comes off as a rather weak character. I really didn't care too much for his look, talk or any of his actions. Bugs is his typical classic self though.

A lot of people don't seem to like this short, which I'm ok with(after all it's just their opinion) but me. I actually really like this short, the jokes/gags were pretty funny, the animation's great, and the voice acting sounded good. The only thing I didn't like about this short is on how annoying Bruno was, I didn't really liked him. But overall great short so it is a 8/10