Stage Door Cartoon

Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny into a theater were both of them are forced to act. This isn't my favorite Looney Tunes short by far. It all seems a little off to me somehow and there's no doubt it could have been funnier then it was. More over the ending is a tad on the weak side and I really didn't like Fudd that much in this one, which is a shame as I usually do like him (well more so than I did here). Bugs Bunny isn't really up to par in this short either, for that matter. This animated short can be seen on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

My Grade: C

Elmer Fudd has his fishing gear, but he is fishing for Bugs Bunny. Of course, Bugs turns the table around on him. He chases Bugs into a theater where they are soon involved in the performance. Bugs takes advantage of Elmer's lack of skills.

This is the classic pairing of Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny. Despite that, this is not one of their classics. It doesn't have a standout gag. The premise is leading to a familiar place which could be a launching pad for something great. I don't think it ever truly takes off. That are some amusing gags like Elmer getting trapped in the piano. Ultimately, this is not their best.

Watching the classic Looney Tunes cartoons, one can see a definite vaudeville influence (which eventually meant old-school). So it's no surprise that "Stage Door Cartoon" portrays an actual vaudeville performance. Specifically, Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny are doing their usual stuff (Elmer hunts Bugs but Bugs makes a fool out of him at every turn), when they run into a theater where there's a vaudeville-style performance taking place. Bugs subsequently puts on a series of acts to avoid getting shot...but what happens at the end really blows everything out of the water! OK, so maybe this cartoon was a place holder in between the really famous cartoons, and people today probably don't know "Stage Door Canteen". But seriously, how can you not like Bugs's gags and Elmer's embarrassment? As far as I'm concerned, as long as these cartoons entertain us, they're doing their job. Worth seeing.

A takeoff on "Stage Door Canteen," this begins out in the wilds with the typical Bugs Bunny- making hunter Elmer Fudd-into an idiot routine. Finally, Elmer chases Bugs into the city and to a stage door of a vaudeville theater act that is going on.

To avoid being shot by Elmer, Bugs comes out on stage and tap dances. Each time he wants to get off stage, Elmer is there so Bugs has to keep dancing, and then play the piano since he sees Elmer inside with the shotgun pointed at him.

The real laughs of this cartoon start from that point as Bugs turns the tables on Elmer and makes a fool of him in front of the audience. He even cons the dumb Fudd into doing a striptease and then getting arrested. The surprise ending was good, one that fooled a lot of people, I'm sure. Bugs was one clever dude.

This can be seen as part of Volume Two of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection.

Friz Freleng's 'Stage Door Cartoon' is awkward, clunky and often a little bit ugly (watching Elmer Fudd change colour again and again is especially grotesque). Opening like a normal Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd hunting picture, the cartoon very abruptly segues into a theatre where the chase leads onto a stage in front of an audience. From here, Bugs manipulates Elmer into performing a number of humiliating and painful acts as part of an improvised show. The set up has promise but the problem with 'Stage Door Cartoon' is it simply isn't funny. It's made up of lots of overlong, feebly executed and unfunny gags which are either completely predictable or utterly anticlimactic. Unlike the Warner studio at its usual best and most beautiful, 'Stage Door Cartoon' looks like a rush job written and knocked out in double quick time. Having just watched it prior to writing this review, I can genuinely say I only laughed once (when Bugs slams the piano lid on Elmer). The rest of the time I was just looking forward to it being over, the rarest of rare feelings for me to encounter when watching Warner Bros. shorts