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Cartoon Evolution: Bugs Bunny
The origin story of our favorite little stinker!
It's time to discuss the origins of cartoon history's favorite rabbit: Bugs Bunny! Like Tweety and Elmer before him, Bugs went through plenty of character changes over the years as a Looney Tunes character. He started out as an unnamed white rabbit but six cartoons later he was officially introduced to audiences as Bugs, and then he was reintroduced a few more times with updated character designs.
Unlike Tweety and Elmer, who each had one sole creator, there were many cartoonists credited with creating Bugs. His creators include Chuck Jones, Ben Hardaway, Cal Dalton, Charles Thorson, Tex Avery, Bob Givens, and Robert McKimson. The imagination and skill of seven cartoonists came together to create one of the greatest bunnies to ever hop onto the screen. We are now going to break down Bugs' evolutionary journey beginning with his first appearance up until his finalized design.
Porky's Hare Hunt (1938)
Featuring the first appearance of the rabbit who would one day become Bugs, Porky's Hare Hunt is a black and white Looney Tunes short where Porky Pig and his hunting dog try to hunt for rabbits. Immediately, an unnamed white rabbit starts messing with them to keep the other rabbits safe. This early prototype of Bugs is very hyper and bounces around, much like early Daffy, while also having a bubbly, hokey voice like early Elmer. One of the directors of this short, Ben Hardaway, had the nickname "Bugs". According to Chuck Jones, the original model sheet said "Bugs' Bunny" and that may have influenced the name they later gave the rabbit.
Prest-O Change-O (1939)
The next appearance of "the unnamed white rabbit" was in Prest-O Change-O, a Merrie Melodies short where two stray dogs wander into a seemingly abandoned house. The house belongs to a magician and his rabbit takes the opportunity to play magic tricks on the unsuspecting dogs. This rabbit is a little quieter than the one featured in Porky's Hare Hunt, only laughing at the dogs and not speaking to them. While similar in appearance, this short is in color giving the rabbit more detail in his appearance. The laughs and movement are less Daffy Duck-like, but still boisterous and frantic.
Hare-um Scare-um (1939)
Now that bunny is starting to look like Bugs! Hare-um Scare-um is very similar in plot to Porky's Hare Hunt in that it's a hunter and his dog hunting after Bugs. This time around Bugs is gray and white and he's spotting some Disney-style yellow gloves. While this Bugs is still kooky and clicking his heels, he's much more toned down voice-wise than the two previous cartoons. In this short we really begin to see the character of Bugs taking form in his actions: He dresses up as a girl dog to distract the hunting dog, something he would do many more times in the future. A slightly different quality began in this cartoon also, the gray rabbit chomps on CELERY and says "Celery, mighty fine nerve tonic. Boy, have I got nerve?"
Elmer's Candid Camera (1940)
The first pairing of Elmer and Bugs involved Elmer trying his hand at nature photography and Bugs being his evasive subject. There aren't many changes in Bugs' appearance other than instead of yellow gloves, his hands are made white giving a natural glovelike appearance. The voice is once again slightly lowered, as is Bugs' energy levels. Instead of bouncing off the walls, he's quieter and more strategic as he messes with Elmer. Also in this cartoon, Bugs eats an apple and throws the core at Elmer.
A Wild Hare (1940)
He's finally Bugs! This is the first cartoon short where Bugs is officially named Bugs. In his autobiography That's Not All, Folks Mel Blanc remembers that the studio almost named Bugs "Happy Bunny" before they settled on "Bugs Bunny", but some animation historians disagree with this anecdote. This short sets up the Bugs we know and love: he chomps on a carrot, he asks "What's up, doc?", and his voice is deeper and much closer to the Bugs voice. This is the first time Mel Blanc used a Bronx accent as inspiration for the voice and it was the perfect fit. Bugs' appearance is slightly changed, as is Elmer Fudd's. Bugs was now much taller than before. This height made him look less babyish and cutesy and more of the grown rabbit troublemaker he was evolving into. Another change in this cartoon is the pace; before Bugs was frantically being chased around (or chasing around), and A Wild Hare slows down the hunt slightly to allow Bugs more opportunities to mess with Elmer Fudd. This was the first big hit short that Bugs was featured in and it was nominated for an Academy Award.
Patient Porky (1940)
Sometimes in character development it's one step forward, one step back! After the major success of A Wild Hare, Bugs was a hit and animators were desperate to include him in more cartoons. So to up the ante for this Porky Pig short, they included a quick cameo of Bugs, but while visually he looked the same, he the goofier, higher pitched voice from Hare-um Scare-um and Prest-O Change-O.
Elmer's Pet Rabbit (1941)
This cartoon was the first time Bugs Bunny's name was included on the title card. After the success of A Wild Hare, Elmer and Bugs were paired together again and this time it was Bugs hunting Elmer, or Elmer's house. Elmer adopts Bugs as a pet and keeps him in a pen outside with a bowl of vegetables. Bugs then tries a number of zany ways to trick Elmer into letting him live inside. This version of Bugs nearly identical in appearance, except the yellow gloves are back. Also, his voice was majorly changed. The voice sounds a lot like Mel Blanc's normal speaking voice, which feels very deep for Bugs.
Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942)
Bugs got another touch up for this short, where he encounters a shy Beaky Buzzard. In this character design, Bugs' head got rounder and less oval-shaped, while also shortening his teeth and de-puffing his tail.
Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943)
Tortoise Wins by a Hare is the final major character redesign for Bugs. Before, his body was mostly shapeless while still trying to stay somewhat true to rabbit form. This version of Bugs is slender, fully anthropomorphic, with a bigger mouth and cheeks than before. Director Bob Clampett and animator Bob McKimson created new model sheets for Bugs to update his look for this short, but it quickly became the model used throughout Warner Bros. and still used today.
