Wabbit Twouble

Elmer Fudd's old auto is doing the "conga" while driving through a mountain pass on his way to "Jellostone National Park" where Elmer is looking forward to peace and quiet. (He looks different in this early cartoon; older and much bigger and fatter.)

Bugs sees him coming, puts up a "camp here" sign and Elmer quickly sets up camp. "Oh, boy, now for a weal west," he says. Yeah, right. Sadistic Bugs is going to wuin his west weally soon! At least Bugs knows he's bad. He stops at one point, looks at the camera, and tells us, "I do this kind of stuff throughout the picture."

Poor Elmer. What did he do to deserve this torment? I have to say, though, that after a slow start, the last half of this short became very funny. Bugs imitating a grizzly bear was a real howl, and the real bear chasing Elmer in the woods was good, too.

A fat Elmer Fudd goes to Jellostone National Park in search of 'wewaxation', but has the misfortune of putting his tent over Bugs Bunny's rabbit hole in this great Robert Clampett directed and Dave Monahan written Looney Tunes short. This cartoon is hilarious with almost every single gag hitting it's mark. My favorite being Bugs kissing a Elmer who's pretending to be dead thinking a bear is still attacking him. Elmer's reaction to this is simply priceless.This cartoon is the twelth short on disk 1 of the 'Loony Tunes Golden Collection'. It also has a Commentary track and a featurette.

My Grade: A+

I've never understood why everybody delivers unlimited praise to Chuck Jones' contributions to Looney Tunes (which are great in their own right), while the brilliant early-era directors like Freleng, Avery, McKimson, and Clampett go virtually unrecognized. Here, in his first Looney Tune, Bob Clampett gives us a priceless gem. Not only does this mark a drastic change in appearance for that eternal comic foil Elmer Fudd, but it breaks new ground in the visual style and uproarious physical comedy that we have come to love about Bugs, Daffy, and the rest of the crew. This was the beginning of an amazing career for Clampett, who directed some of the best Looney Tunes EVER (Daffy Duck imagines that he is Dick Tracy, fighting colorful villains in a twisted, art-nuveau/film-noir dream sequence, Bugs Bunny terrorizes a retired Elmer Fudd in an effort to save his nemesis' contract, Bugs battles a crafty wartime Gremlin on an aircraft, etc.) Great stuff! But don't watch this crazy little cartoon expecting west and wewaxation. You'll be laughing too hard!

The sign greeting campers says, "Welcome to Jellostone National Park: A Restful Retreat." Elmer Fudd finds this to be a dirty lie when Bugs Bunny torments him for the fun of it. Bugs will trick Elmer into thinking day is night, mid-air is safe ground, and his rabbity self is a grizzly bear before Elmer commits an act he'll immediately regret.

In deference to Mr. Fudd, the opening credits are spelled out the way he would say them: Wobert Cwampett, Sid Sutherwand, Cawl W. Stawwing and so forth. The canyon setting is depicted with a realistic illusion of depth that is unusual for Warner Brothers cartoons. And Elmer makes one of his rare early appearances as a fat man - even though he was relatively slim before *and* after this brief period.

The gang at Termite Terrace were still feeling out Bugs in these early days, and they end up breaking a rule that they established for him only later: Bugs Bunny is a passive figure until sorely provoked. Elmer certainly doesn't provoke Bugs in this cartoon. He merely shows up.

Few complain about Bugs's obnoxious behavior. The film is wildly funny and makes the favorite list of many cartoon fans, including Leonard Maltin. Besides, Elmer's entire personality practically invites people to harass him.

This cartoon is available in the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume One," Disc 1.

Bugs Bunny is one of my favorite Looney Tunes characters, and this short is one of my favorites directed by Bob Clampett. In this cartoon, Elmer Fudd goes on vacation to Jellostone National Park for relaxation, but Bugs Bunny plays pranks on him.

My favorite scene is when, after Elmer hammers up Bugs' hole, Bugs opens the board like a door and mimics Elmer: "That'll hold all wight." He even chuckled like him. I also love the "play dead" scene, which involves a huge black bear-not a grizzly bear, but a black bear! The facial expressions Elmer uses during the bear attack (either one) are priceless.