Ali Baba Bunny

A wrong turn on the way to Pismo Beach finds Bugs and Daffy deep in Ali Baba's cave, where a mountain of treasure tempts the always avaricious duck despite a hulking guard wielding a scimitar. This is a pretty typical Bugs outing. All the expected gags are trotted out as the every-resourceful rabbit flips from identity to identity (genie, snake-charmer, etc) to outwit his dim-witted and credulous opponent despite the best efforts of his pushy, hyper-kinetic, duck-billed sidekick. I remember watching this one as a kid and then running around the playground waving a stick and yelling "Hassan chop", a behaviour that, these days, would result in the rapid deployment of a team of child counsellors tasked with explaining to me that ethnic stereotypes and threats to slice people in twain just aren't funny (#35 in the '50 Greatest Cartoons').

OK, I'll admit that I'm a big fan of animated shows, having grown up with them, they were part of my life for as far back as I can remember.

My tastes have changed a little since that time, and I have added a sizable mental library of shows that I've seen, but overall I enjoy the animated shows quite a bit.

Taking that into account, I can say that I was lucky enough to grow up with the Bugs Bunny line of cartoons, the Looney Toons cartoons if you will. While I believe that some of them are better than others, I would give all of them a higher rating than most other animated shows in existence, each having something to offer in the way of humor, animation skill, or just plain silliness.

This specific one, with Bugs and Daffy, is one of my all time favorites, one that I've quoted (much to the chagrin of my family) often, especially the Daffy lines regarding how greedy he is when encountering the vast amount of wealth in the cave.

This one isn't played often enough on television, so if you have an opportunity to see it on TV, or in some sort of DVD set, do so and I believe that from the beginning, you will laugh.

This is a kind of variation on an Arabian Nights story. It's the old "Open Sesame" thing where an immerse treasure is kept in a cave. Daffy and Bugs are on their way to Pismo Beach, CA, to enjoy the beach, but a wrong turn in Albuquerque gets them lost. They end up in an Arabian desert. Because they have tunneled underground, they pop up in the treasure cave. Of course, when Daffy sees the jewels and gold, he drives Bugs into the ground and begins to take possession of all the loot. Unfortunately for him, Ali Baba or some other guy is around and he isn't happy to see someone running off with his treasure. Just like always, Daffy goes bananas, and Bugs is the unflappable one. Fun, familiar effort by Chuck Jones.

I think I've seen every Looney Tunes cartoon in my short life span. I always preferred WB to Disney, Bugs to Mickey, etc. The best ones are, obviously, the Chuck Jones shorts. But which of those are the best?

I think the answer must be "Ali Baba Bunny". It has the famous Bugs and Daffy rivalry, it has a different setting, it has a hilarious new character (Hassan), it's just cartoon perfection. Also has some of the best damn lines in any Looney Tunes cartoon.

"Open sasparilla? Open Saskatchewan?"

"I'm rich! I'm wealthy! I'm comfortably well off!"

"DUCK. YOU HAVE DESECRATED MY LAMP."

Classic. Absolutely classic. No cartoons will ever match the genius of the Looney Tunes Chuck Jones ones.

The animation is also top notch. I hate seeing a Looney Tunes cartoon with bad animation, but Jones never disappoints. The little things in the animation just make it perfect, like when Daffy first spots the treasure, and his bottom bill shifts side to side in greediness, or when Bugs is surprised by Daffy shouting for help, his toes scrunch up...

Long live Bugs Bunny.

This is a great cartoon for several reasons: 1 - Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are both in it; 2 - it's filled with classic lines (many by Daffy); 3 - the humor is both subtle and slapstick; and 4 - it looks fantastic with a restored version. The colors are magnificent. (See it on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5).

This story includes a bunch of treasure, a big guard named "Hassan" guarding the loot, and a genie. As with some other cartoons that featured both Bugs and Daffy, our rabbit friend doesn't do much, just lets the duck make a fool of himself.

This is very entertaining start to finish - tons of good gags - and one of those cartoons that always will be funny no matter how many times you see it.