''Easter Yeggs'' is a 1947 ''
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. '' theatrical
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
short.
The cartoon was released on June 28, 1947, and features
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...
and
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J.''Hare Brush'' (1956) Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes''/'' Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheo ...
.
The title is a play on "
Easter egg
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
s" and on "yegg", a slang term for a burglar or safecracker.
Plot
Bugs Bunny finds the
Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" orig ...
(also called the "Easter Rabbit" throughout this cartoon) sitting on a rock, crying. The Easter Bunny tells Bugs that his feet are sore, so he cannot deliver the
Easter eggs
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...
. Bugs takes up the job, not knowing that, every year, the Easter Bunny gets some "dumb bunny" to do his work for him. (The Easter Bunny characterization is taken from Mel Blanc's "Happy Postman" radio character, including the ironic
catch phrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
"Keep Smiling!")
The first house the "joyous bunny" visits bears a name by the door:
Dead End Kid, the mean little red-haired kid who lives inside throws the egg (still raw) at Bugs' face, bites him in the leg and beats Bugs up before body-slamming him on the floor - all the while demanding, "I wanna Easter egg! I wanna Easter egg! I wanna Easter egg!" Bugs loses his cool and grabs the kid's arm, and then suddenly, Dead End Kid screams that Bugs has broken his arm and three huge thugs (one of them female) rush in, aiming guns at Bugs. Bugs barely escapes the hail of bullets (some of which spell the message "And stay out"). When Bugs rushes back to the Easter Bunny telling him he quits, the Easter Bunny gets him to "try once more".
Unfortunately, the next house is that of
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J.''Hare Brush'' (1956) Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes''/'' Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheo ...
, the veteran wabbit hunter. Intent on making "Easter Rabbit Stew" out of the bunny, Fudd sets up an elaborate welcome and, disguised as a baby, hides his gun in a bassinet and climbs in. Just then Bugs arrives, but this time he's prepared for toddler resistance: he cracks the egg in Elmer's hands. Thus commences the classic chase and gags until Bugs manages to dump the Dead End Kid with Elmer (who beats Elmer on the head repeatedly with a hammer after Bugs paints Elmer's head to look like an Easter egg). Finally, Bugs plants a
bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
painted like an Easter egg and leaves it for the Easter Bunny. When the Easter Bunny picks it up to finish his job, Bugs lights the fuse, proclaiming to the audience "it's the suspense that gets me," and the bomb explodes on the Easter Bunny, leaving the hapless hen-fruit handler hanging high up in a tree. Bugs' parting shot: "Remember, Doc, keep smiling!" (in reference to Mel Blanc's Happy Postman from the radio version of ''
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts in ...
''). The short ends with Bugs starts laughing hysterically.
Home media
''Easter Yeggs'' is available on the ''
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3'' DVD box set and on ''
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3'' Blu-ray set.
See also
*
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1940–1949)
This is a listing of all the animated shorts released by Warner Bros. under the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' banners between 1940 and 1949.
A total of 307 shorts were released during the 1940s.
1940
1941
1942
This year ma ...
*
List of Easter films
This is a list of films that have something to do with Easter or have Easter as a significant part of them. For Easter specials of regular TV shows, see the list of Easter television specials. For films about the Biblical Easter see List of film ...
References
External links
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{{Robert McKimson
1947 films
1947 short films
1947 comedy films
1947 animated films
1940s Warner Bros. animated short films
Looney Tunes shorts
Bugs Bunny films
Elmer Fudd films
Easter Bunny in film
Animated films set in forests
Films directed by Robert McKimson
Films scored by Carl Stalling
Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films
1940s English-language films
Animated films about Easter