Duck! Rabbit, Duck!

"Duck! Rabbit! Duck!" is the best of the "Hunter Trilogy." From the ubiquitous sign gags that only get funnier (Daffy: You dirty dog... Bugs: And YOU'RE a dirty skunk! Daffy: I'm a dirty skunk? I'M a dirty skunk!? Sign: Dirty Skunk Season Elmer: Blam!) to the wonderful ending where poor Elmer gets driven mad, this short is a laugh a second, and one of the prime examples why Chuck Jones will be missed.

From the whole Bugs/Daffy/Elmer hunting trilogy, this is without a doubt my favorite. Even though "Rabbit Fire" and "Rabbit Seasoning" are very good too, the reason why this one stands out is because it's an awesome combination of the previous two. While "Rabbit Fire" focused more on the visual gags, and "Rabbit Seasoning" more on the word games. This one had both visual jokes ("It's baseball season" LOL!) and word games, like when Daffy writes Elmer's "permit" to hunt rabbits (D-U-C-K). This a true masterpiece from writer Mike Maltese and director Chuck Jones, a definitely must see.

It is Duck season and Daffy Duck is burning all the signs. He is pointing the arrow right to Bugs Bunny's home and Elmer Fudd is following it. Bugs claims to be a fricasseeing rabbit and Elmer does not have a fricasseeing rabbit license. Daffy writes up a license for Elmer, but it's not quite right.

This is the last of the "Hunting Trilogy". This is not the best in the trio, but it is still plenty good. I love that they keep repeating fricasseeing. I actually don't know what that is other than some cooking terminology. It just sounds funny. Some words are simply fun to say. This cartoon is fun.

This is a funny short but it's the worst of the three because basically all three shorts are exactly the same thing!!!! What sets them apart is the dialogue and gimmicks. Rabbit Fire had the Joe Besser a/k/a Elephant spoof and Rabbit Seasoning had the clever dialogue. This one in the other hand really doesn't have anything! It just features the basics! The only funny thing about it is Daffy Duck screaming all those different animals and getting shot!

The "Hunting Trilogy" of Rabbit Fire (1951), Rabbit Seasoning (1952), and Duck! Rabbit! Duck! (1953) should be considered the comedic high water mark of the Chuck Jones-Michael Maltese collaboration. While they are seldom mentioned in lists of the "greatest" or "most important" cartoons in the history of animation, they are certainly THE FUNNIEST cartoons I've ever seen. Michael Maltese never got the credit that directors like Jones, Freleng or Avery got, but it's his dialogue and situations that make Warner Bros. cartoons, and these three in particular, some of the FUNNIEST ever made.