French Rarebit

French Rarebit (1951)

** (out of 4)

Bugs Bunny finds himself in Paris, walking down a street when rival chefs start fighting over which one will have Bugs on their menu that night. Soon Bugs joins the fighting in order to make both of them look like fools. This was never one of my favorite Bugs shorts and I'd probably say this is one of the least entertaining over all. There's some nice imagination and good animation but outside of that this thing is pretty lifeless. You expect a lot more in terms of laughs but there's not a single one here, which is rather shocking. Another problem are the two chefs and how bland and boring they are. Not once did they make me laugh and they even manage to bring Bugs down to their unfunny level.

I do agree that this is not one of Bug's better efforts, but it is an amusing little cartoon. What doesn't make it as good is that the first two minutes or so is a tad slow and unfunny, but once the action moves to the kitchen it is then when it gets quite amusing. There are a number of good things, particularly the art work, as the Parisian backgrounds are beautiful to look at. The music is great, and the sight gags in the latter half range from pretty good to very good indeed. Bugs himself is great, and the two chefs are not too bad either, personally it would have been better with just one chef but oh well. Finally, Mel Blanc's vocal characterisations are stellar as always. Overall, slow to start with, but it is really quite amusing once it kicks off. 8/10 Bethany Cox

For whatever reason, (probably that I saw this cartoon 6 billion times on TV when I was a kid) this one has always stuck with me. The music stand out for me too.

When Bugs is 'kneading" the two Chefs—that "urmf! oof! arf!" sound Bugs makes has cracked me up for almost fifty years!

I also love the characterizations of the two chefs: their outrageous, over-the-top accents of the Chefs and just their whole look—particularly with rabbit teeth.

I admit, there's not much to the script. Perhaps it stands out for the never-before-seen characters...

Bugs Bunny is in a crate of carrots from the USA. It falls off the back of the truck and Bugs finds himself in Paris. Two rival French chefs from restaurants on opposite sides of the street are excited to see a rabbit walking towards them. They are eager to put him on their menus.

This is yet another classic memorable Bugs Bunny cartoon. I remember everything after the arrival of Louie and Francois. I like their designs although I may like them more if they're opposites instead of the same. Maybe they could be one fat and one skinny. Bugs Bunny keeps hitting home run after home run and this is no exception.

Mention the name Robert McKimson to any TRUE Looney Tunes fan and you're likely to get a sad sigh in return. The man just did not know how to make good Bugs Bunny cartoons. This one about Bugs in France mixing it up with two rival chefs who each want the rabbit for their own respective cuisines, is not an exception to the rule. On the contrary, it proves the rule by being yet another lackluster effort by McKimson indeed. I mean any bugs is good bugs, but his shorts are pretty mundane and I find myself saddened when I have to sit through one. This animated short can be seen on Disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

My Grade: C