''The Abominable Snow Rabbit'' is a 1961

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

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 cartoon directed by

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

and co-directed by

Maurice Noble Maurice James Noble (May 1, 1911 – May 18, 2001) was an American animation production designer, background artist and layout designer whose contributions to the industry spanned more than 60 years. He was a long-time associate and right-hand m ...

, with a story by

Tedd Pierce Edward Stacey "Tedd" Pierce III (August 12, 1906 – February 19, 1972) was an American screenwriter and voice actor of animated cartoons, principally from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s. Biography Pierce was the son of a stockbroker, Samue ...

. The short was released on May 20, 1961, and stars

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

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon fictional character, character created for Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American black duck, black ...

. The cartoon's title is taken from the phrase and

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

'' The Abominable Snowman''. It was the final original

theatrical cartoon with Daffy Duck.

Plot

Bugs tunnels through the

Himalayan mountains The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

, followed by Daffy. After a failed attempt by Daffy to go swimming in a frozen pond, the two realize that they are not at their intended destination,

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

(once again, having made a wrong turn at

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

). Daffy tells Bugs that he's going back to

Perth Amboy Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy has a Hispanic majority population. In the 2010 census, th ...

and leaves. Daffy, while underground, crashes into a creature's foot. The Abominable Snowman (whose name is Hugo, but that is not revealed in this short) grabs Daffy, names him George (a reference to ''Of Mice and Men'', casting Hugo as Lennie Small to Daffy's George Milton), and gives him crippling hugs, believing Daffy is a rabbit, when actually Daffy just tied his swim shirt round his head for warmth, with the sleeves on top. Daffy reveals this by angrily yelling loudly ("I AIN'T NO BUNNY RABBIT!") and showing Hugo the "ears" are in fact sleeves, and Hugo proceeds to spank Daffy for "pretending he was a bunny rabbit". However, Daffy imparts to him where he can find a real rabbit, in this case Bugs. As Bugs starts experiencing Hugo's overbearing love, Daffy sneaks away. Hugo sits on Bugs, who sneaks out under the snow, carrying a monologuing Daffy towards Hugo. As Hugo doubts that Daffy is or is not a rabbit, Daffy asks what a rabbit's distinguishing characteristics are. Hugo responds that rabbits have long ears, making Bugs tie down his own ears and stick two of his fingers behind Daffy's head as rabbit ears. After Hugo painfully hugs the duck again but realizes that he has a bill and feathers, a crippled Daffy points out the tunneling Bugs to Hugo, who chases him underground. Eager to see the incident's conclusion, Daffy follows. Later, in Palm Springs, a profusely sweating Hugo, and a disguised Bugs, discuss Hugo's failure to catch Bugs. Hugo believes that he will not be able to see the rabbit again, but Bugs encourages him by telling him "if he loves you, he'll come back". When Daffy emerges from the hole, Bugs puts fake rabbit ears on him, causing Hugo to recognize him as a rabbit again. While Daffy is cuddled for the last time, Hugo literally melts due to the intense heat of the environment. Bugs comments, "He really ''was'' a snowman!" and Daffy, soaked in water, replies, "Abominable, that is."

Crew

*Co-Director & Layouts:

*Story:

*Animation:

Ken Harris Karyl Ross "Ken" Harris (July 31, 1898 – March 24, 1982) was an American animator best known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons under the supervision of director Chuck Jones. Life and career Ken Harris was born in Tulare County, Calif ...

, Richard Thompson,

Bob Bransford Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

Tom Ray Thomas Archer Ray (August 2, 1919 – April 6, 2010) was an American animator. Career Ray was born in Williams, Arizona. He began work at Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1937, working under Tex Avery for six months. He applied for a job at MGM and wa ...

*Backgrounds:

Philip DeGuard Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

*Film Editor:

Treg Brown Tregoweth Edmond "Treg" Brown (November 4, 1899 – April 28, 1984) was an American motion picture sound editor who was responsible for the sound effects in Warner Bros.' ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons from 1936 to 1963. ...

*Voice Characterizations:

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

*Music: Milt Franklyn *Produced by John W. Burton &

David H. DePatie David Hudson DePatie (December 24, 1929 – September 23, 2021) was an American film and television producer who was the last executive in charge of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio and the longest-living until his death. He also formed ...

*Directed by

Voice cast

, and

Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...

Home media

''The Abominable Snow Rabbit'' is included on the DVD collection '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5'' as well as the VHS collections Looney Tunes After Dark, Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny and

To Grandmother's House We Go ''To Grandmother's House We Go'' is a 1992 made-for-television Christmas film directed by Jeff Franklin and starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The film's title comes from a part of one of the first lines of Lydia Maria Child's Thanksgiving so ...

. Most of the footage was also used in the compilation movie, ''

Daffy Duck's Quackbusters ''Daffy Duck's Quackbusters'' is a 1988 animated compilation film featuring classic Warner Bros. Cartoons shorts and animated bridging sequences, starring Daffy Duck. The film was released to theaters by Warner Bros. on September 24, 1988. It was ...

'' except for one part when Bugs and Daffy traveled to the Himalayas.

References

External links