Wackiki Wabbit

If you're a stranded castaway on a desert island and you find your nearest neighbor is Bugs Bunny...maybe it's time to build a getaway boat.

The two seagoing saps in "Wackiki Wabbit" don't take the hint, though, and make the mistake of trying to make Bugs part of their regularly balanced diet after days of starvation and considering each other as main courses ("...and hold the onions", one mutters).

Bugs holds his own well as if there were a doubt, and the big and little castaways make like a disheveled version of Abbott and Costello (even looking the part) and are voiced by Bugs' regular writers Maltese and Pierce (hey, at least they didn't have to hire out for new voices!) with a penchant for sing-songy tunes of joy ("We're gonna have roast rabbit!" and "We're going on a boo-ooat!" are their favorites).

Chuck Jones again proves why he is such a pro at this kind of thing with the breath-taking island vistas and Mel Blanc makes smart-aleck repartee a work of art. And creating a marionette out of a roast chicken never looked so easy before.

Ten stars and an authentic hula dance from Bugs for "Wackiki Wabbit". You can't get more "Wackiki" than this.

In the beginning of this Merrie Melodies cartoon we see two castaways adrift on a small raft.Then they find land.But there, on that tropical island, is also Bugs Bunny.And what do these two men want to do, when they see a rabbit? They want to eat him.Wackiki Wabbit is a Chuck Jones direction from 1943.Mel Blanc can be heard as the voice of Bugs Bunny, as usually.Michael Maltese does the voice of Fat castaway.Tedd Pierce provides the voice for Thin castaway.He is also behind the story.The drawing used for the backgrounds is fascinating.It looks most abstract.We see a lot of wacky stuff here, like those two fools seeing each other as food.And the chicken marionette, hilarious.

Bugs Bunny lives on a tropical island paradise and meets two castaways voiced by Mike Maltese and Tedd Pierce, who are also renowned writers of Bugs' cartoons. I loved the part where Bugs is speaking some island language to them and then doing some crazy hula dance!!! These cartoons are ageless. They are far funnier today than anything new!!!

One of the most surreal and abstract Bugs Bunny cartoons: the scenes jump in vibrant and bold colors, swirling and changing in a mad scramble on a lush,tropical island. At one point Bugs breaks into fluent Hawaiian and says "humuhumunukunukuapua'a"! This is the name of the former state fish of Hawai'i (pending reinstatement as of April 2006). This little fish was a favorite at the Waikiki Aquarium hence, presumably, the title of the cartoon "Wackiki Wabbit". It's always refreshing when modern art, hallucinations, and ethno-linguistics join in a comic romp! Another interesting development is the characterizations of the castaways. Visually they play off each other in a Laurel and Hardy way, with a thin, tall man vs. fat, short man. As noted, they are the likenesses of the writers Pierce and Maltese, who also do the voices. This was a hallmark of the many Bugs cartoons that show real-life people on the cartoon "stage" via wonderful caricature---think Peter Lorre, Edward G. Robinson and Lauren Bacall, to name a few. This is one of my very favorites, and, I like to say "humuhumunukunukuapua'a"!

This one is a cartoon classic. The two castaways are not only voiced by Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce, they are caricatures of the two writers as well. Now, you'd think the rabbit would know which side his carrots were buttered on and be nice to two of the writers putting words in his mouth, but they get the same treatment he gives Elmer. Of course, they ARE trying to cook and eat him, so I guess it is understandable that he treats them rather badly. Excellent short. Well worth watching. Most recommended.