Baton Bunny (1959)

Directors:

Chuck Jones
Abe Levitow

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Release Date:

10 January 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Short | Comedy | Music

Plot:

Bugs conducts the Warner Brothers Symphony in Suppe's "Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna" while reacting to a bothersome fly. |

Plot Keywords:

Bugs Bunny | Cartoon | Looney Tunes | Cowboys And Indians | House Fly

Cast

Mel Blanc

...

Coughing Bum (voice)

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated (video release) | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #18947)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Despite being credited for "voice characterization", Mel Blanc's only voice work in this short is that of the "coughing bum". There is no actual dialog in the entire short.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Behind the Tunes: Wagnerian Wabbit - The Making of 'What's Opera, Doc?' (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna

Unattractive and largely lifeless one-bunny show

'Baton Bunny' is an unusual cartoon co-directed by Chuck Jones and Abe Levitow. It open with the caption "The Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra Playing "Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna" by Franz Von Suppe". The conductor, it turns out, is Bugs Bunny. 'Baton Bunny' is a bold attempt at a largely one character cartoon but it's largely unsuccessful. While there are some inventive jokes including Bugs' staging of a Cowboy and Indian battle in which he plays both sides, there are also moments when 'Baton Bunny' becomes repetitive and dull. Matters are not helped by the unattractive look of the cartoon. It's clear to see that this is an effort from the later years of Warner Bros. The animation is not as smooth as you'd expect from classic Warner material and the drawings look less realistic and slightly more stylised than usual, a problem that would only get worse as the studio headed into the 60s. It's also telling that 'Baton Bunny' is a full minute shorter than most Warner cartoons, betraying the dearth of material writer Michael Maltese managed to come up with for this tricky premise. The introduction of a troublesome fly is a promising plot line but not much is made of it. All in all, it's not hard to see why 'Baton Bunny' is rarely cited alongside the classic music-based Warner cartoons. It's an unattractive and frequently lifeless six minutes.