Southern Fried Rabbit

Bugs is at it again... down south, when he sees Yosemite Sam as a confederate soldier. Pretty good except for the horribly aged blackface gag.

Friz Freleng's 'Southern Fried Rabbit' is a cheap-looking, unimaginative Bugs Bunny/Yosemite Sam cartoon. Bugs reads of plentiful carrots to be had in Alabama and heads off to fill his boots, only to encounter Yosemite Sam who has sworn to prevent any Yankees from crossing the Mason Dixon line. There follows an uninspired series of gags, most of which involve Bugs disguising himself (including one of the most offensive blackface gags of them all, as Bugs impersonates a slave begging not to be whipped!). The whole set-up quickly becomes repetitive with neither character on great form but it does admittedly culminate in a funny climactic gag. This is a classic case of too little, too late, however, and 'Southern Fried Rabbit' proves to be a rather dull experience.

That is my opinion of course. I do agree that the gag with the slave doesn't work at all and is rather offensive, but other than that I enjoyed Southern Fried Rabbit and don't get why it is banned when there have been more offensive stuff in animation and elsewhere. The rest of the gags are very clever and funny, especially the ending, the gag with the bomb and the rest of Bugs' other guises. The dialogue is fresh and witty. The animation is what you'd expect for a Looney Tunes cartoon, lavish colouring and fluid, detailed backgrounds. The music and sound effects have always added much to the cartoon and the quality of the humour, and Southern Fried Rabbit with its energetic orchestration and hummable songs is no exception to that. Bugs is characteristically arrogant and intelligent, and while Sam is not as greedy as in other collaborations he is still amusingly abrasive and relishes his "I hate you rabbit". Mel Blanc's vocal characterisations are superb. Overall, one poor gag is still not enough to dismiss a funny and underrated short. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Bugs Bunny cannot find a good carrot in the field. The north is a desert. He reads in the newspaper about a bumper harvest in Alabama. When he gets to the Mason Dixie Line, he finds the southern side to be a lush green paradise. Yosemite Sam is a Confederate Colonel ready to defend the border while following General Lee's last order.

I haven't seen this one since my childhood and it is so very different seeing it with adult eyes. I remember really liking this one. It has Bugs after all and I love Bugs in most of his cartoons. I really remember the Mason Dixie Line. I thought it was fascinating and imagined a real line like that going right across the country. I can appreciate doing a cartoon about history, but some of this has not aged well.

This short is absolutely delightful! Yosemite Sam is a Confederate officer (looking remarkably youthful for someone who would be well over 100 years old) assigned to keep Yankees from coming South. Enter our intrepid hero, Bugs, stage left and much hi-jinks ensue. The close is great and probably is every Red Sox fan's secret wish. Well worth watching. Recommended.