''Super-Rabbit'' is a 1943 Warner Bros. cartoon starring

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

. The cartoon is a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

of the popular comic book and radio character

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. ''Super-Rabbit'' was the 16th Bugs Bunny entry, and the 47th short directed by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...

Plot

Professor Cannafraz (a Richard Haydn impression) creates a "super carrot" and uses it on his test subject – Rabbitus idioticus americanus (Bugs Bunny), who immediately consumes the proffered carrot. Armed with temporary superhero abilities that need to be replenished with additional super carrots, Bugs remembers a newspaper article about

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

hunter "Cottontail" Smith, who wants to exterminate all rabbits. Bugs, adorned in a superhero costume complete with cape, flies to Deepinaharta, Texas, and assumes the guise of a mild-mannered forest creature by wearing oversized reading glasses and a hat. He encounters Smith, who attempts to shoot Bugs, only for the bullets to form an outline of the rabbit before harmlessly falling to the ground. Bugs then hands Smith a cannon, eats another super carrot as a precaution, then, upon being struck by the cannonball, plays

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

with it, quickly shoving Smith and his horse onto bleachers while he acts as his own cheerleader. After Bugs returns to the sky, the bemused Smith and his horse follow the rabbit in an airplane. Using his super powers, Bugs then snatches the shell of the plane away from them, plunging Smith and the horse to the ground. Cruising through the sky, Bugs begins to run out of power, but when he tries to recharge again, he accidentally drops his carrots and he falls to the ground. After Bugs lands, he opens his eyes to see a line of chewed carrot tops eaten by Smith and his horse-turned-Superhero, both wearing cape and costume. Bugs turns to the camera and says "This looks like a job for a ''REAL'' Superman!" He ducks into a phone booth. Both Smith and the horse are ready to attack – until the booth opens and they both snap to attention and salute. Bugs marches out in a Marine uniform, singing the " Marines' Hymn." He dismisses the two, claiming he has "''important'' work to do!", and marches off to "

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

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and points East."Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 157

Reception

The U.S. Marine Corps were so thrilled that Bugs Bunny decided to become a Marine in this cartoon that they insisted the character be officially inducted into the force as a private, which was done, complete with dogtags. The character was regularly promoted until Bugs was officially "discharged" at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a Master Sergeant. Audio commentary by Paul Dini for ''Super-Rabbit'' on the '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3'' (2005). Cottontail Smith later appears as one of Yosemite Sam’s sidekicks in '' Looney Tunes: Back in Action''. The character’s voice is a less raucous version of Sam’s and Foghorn Leghorn’s.

Analysis

The cartoon parodies the

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) was an American animator and studio owner. Born in Kraków, in Austrian Poland, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became a pioneer in the development ...

animated shorts as a figure soars across the sky from random directions. Onlookers are heard speculating on its nature: "Look! Up there in the sky" "It’s a boid" ird "Nah, it ain’t a boid, it’s a dive-bommah".Weldon (2013), unnumbered pages A Marine is described as "a real superman" by Bugs.

Home media

*VHS – Bugs Bunny Cartoon Festival featuring " Hold the Lion, Please" *VHS and Laserdisc – Bugs and Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons *VHS – Bugs Bunny On Parade *VHS – Looney Tunes Collectors Edition: Running Amuck *Laserdisc – The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 3 * DVD – Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 * DVD – Superman: The Ultimate Collection * Blu-ray – Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection

Sources

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References

External links

* {{Chuck Jones 1943 comedy films 1940s animated superhero films Short films directed by Chuck Jones Films set in Texas American superhero comedy films American World War II propaganda shorts American animated science fiction films Merrie Melodies short films Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Films about the United States Marine Corps Parody superheroes Fictional United States Marine Corps personnel Superman in other media Films scored by Carl Stalling Bugs Bunny films Parodies of Superman Films produced by Leon Schlesinger 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films American science fiction comedy films American animated black-and-white films 1943 animated short films