Baby Buggy Bunny

Chuck Jones' 'Baby Buggy Bunny' is a funny cartoon with a nice concept which never quite reaches the levels of hilarity you feel it should. Bank robber Baby Face Finster disguises himself as a real baby in order to retrieve his stolen money from Bugs Bunny's rabbit hole. Adopted by an unwitting Bugs, he goes to violent lengths to liberate his cash from the rabbit. The best part of 'Baby Buggy Bunny' is the first section in which a surprisingly easily duped Bugs is brutalised by Finster who reverts back to baby mode whenever Bugs questions it. However, the sequence where Bugs turns the tables after catching Finster shaving is far too short and unfunny. By the time Bugs catches Finster shaving, it's already too late in the cartoon for him to do much in retaliation. His revenge really needed to be as brutal as Finster's treatment of him had been to achieve a satisfactory laugh level. Instead, he quickly turns him over to the police and the cartoon simply peters out with a below par wisecrack. 'Baby Buggy Bunny' was one of my favourite cartoons as a child and I still enjoy it today, only now it also leaves me with a sense of dissatisfaction.

This was a pretty hilarious Bugs Bunny short, The premise is very creative and unique and there's a lot of funny gags and jokes here, and the baby criminal character is very funny, I'm kinda sad there isn't more Looney Tunes shorts with him, and when Bugs realize that the "baby" isn't actually a baby, It gets funnier, Love this one a lot.

Baby Buggy Bunny (1954)

*** (out of 4)

Cute, if not exceptionally funny short, has Bugs Bunny becoming a father but what he doesn't know is that his new "kid" is actually a gangster who just got done robbing a bank. I know many cartoon buffs considering this a masterpiece but to me it's only a good film that just doesn't have enough laughs to be considered a classic. The biggest problem for me is the kid, Finster. I just don't find him cute, tough or even funny. The early stuff with his acting the part of the child was incredibly dull to me and the short doesn't really pick up until Bugs realizes who he is and makes him pay for it. The sit of Bugs shaking the baby is somewhat deranged to watch but that's what makes it funny.

Ilove this cartoon, but the last time I saw it on BOOMERANG, the part where Baby Faced Finster pulls out a gun at Bugs was edited out. It says that Finster is going to shoot Bugs with his toy gun. BLAM! And Bugs, after Finster shoots him with his "toy gun," says, "Some toy!" I wonder why this was edited out, just like Daffy Duck's final act in 1957's "Show Biz Bunny?" Or where Bugs and Yosemite Sam put the gun to their heads when both of them lose the mayoral race in another cartoon, and Yosemite Sam comments, "I HATE that rabbit!" My sister claims that these scenes were too violent for kids. And I was told that these cartoons were not really made for kids, and yet I've seen them on kiddie shows in the 1960's and 1970's. I guess that BOOMERANG and Warner Brothers claim that kids will imitate these things. But I never did, and here I am, at 46, and I still enjoy watching them, and I never did these things when I was a little kid.

Baby Buggy Bunny does start off a little dull but once Bugs and Finster are together, it is quite a different kettle of fish. It is well animated, the characters are well drawn and there are some colourful backgrounds, and the music is great as always. The pacing isn't as secure as it is in other Looney Tunes cartoons, but it moves quite briskly, and the dialogue is witty and furiously delivered, likewise with the very amusing sight gags. Bugs is still the very likable character I fell in love with when I was little, and Finster is a cute, dangerous and funny adversary. The ending also was satisfying, with a very funny last line from Bugs, and Mel Blanc is superb with his vocals. Overall, very funny and cute, starts off dull but it picks up considerably. 9/10 Bethany Cox