Friday 28 July 2017

'What's Up Doc'

was first heard from Bugs Bunny 75 years ago, 


75 years ago yesterday as a matter of fact, a gangly, gray rabbit hopped out of a hole in the ground, knocked on a bald man’s head and asked “What’s Up, Doc?” to the tune of the crunch of a large carrot, though the rabbit had appeared in previous short films, this fateful scene in the 1940 Warner Brothers animated short “A Wild Hare,” introduced the version of the rabbit that would become the cultural icon of Bugs Bunny, (Earlier shorts referred to “Happy Rabbit,” and while “A Wild Hare” didn’t use the name Bugs Bunny, it was the first where the character had a specific personality, appearance, and catchphrase.), in the short film, and in that encounter a legend was born, 


Bugs takes great pleasure in eluding the "wabbit" hunting Elmer Fudd, in the decades since, Bugs has appeared in over 150 films, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,



 and was the first animated character to get his face on a postage stamp, TV Guide ranked him number one atop a list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters,

 Bugs was never to be mean-spirited, that quality was critical to his fame. “It was very important that he be provoked,” said Chuck Jones in a 1998 interview, in the video above,“because otherwise he’d be a bully and we didn’t want that, We wanted him to be a nice person.”  

so all together now, Happy Birthday Bugs!


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