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Who did Bugs Bunny bug the most?
Ain't he a stinker!
It ain't easy being a leading man, or bunny! For Bugs Bunny, basking in the spotlight also meant creating enemies. Whether it was literal predators trying to eat him or lame ducks trying to steal the spotlight, Bugs had plenty of adversaries. But he's not completely innocent.
Our favorite cartoon bunny, our little stinker, loved bugging his opponents. Gleeful, he sabotaged Wile E. Coyote, messed with Daffy Duck, outsmarted Yosemite Sam, and straight up dunked on Elmer Fudd. Bugs is one of those characters who is energized by confrontation and loves getting a rise out of others. But who was Bugs' real archenemy? Did he have a main opponent or was his star power too strong for that?
Some characters face Bugs once, but others face him many times over the cartoons. Only one character went up against Bugs 36 times.
We looked through the original Looney Tunes theatrical shorts library and crunched the numbers to find out who Bugs well, bugged the most. Let's take a look at some of these surprising results.
2 - Granny
Granny isn't one of Bugs' opponents, but it's worth noting that Granny and Bugs appeared in two cartoons together. both times, their interactions were brief or non-existent. So, Granny is safe from Bugs - for now. Bugs also never appeared in a cartoon with Granny's pets, Sylvester and Tweety. Many fans believe the theory that Termite Terrace had a "one good guy, one bad guy rule" so the good guys never overlapped in cartoons, which is why we rarely see Bugs interacting with Roadrunner, Tweety, or Porky.
2 - Gossamer
In Hair-Raising Hare and Water, Water Every Hare, Bugs ends up in a mad scientist's spooky castle. The mad scientist tries to steal Bugs' brain to power a robot and when, shocker, Bugs proves uncooperative, the scientist sends his creature, Gossamer, after Bugs. Like many characters, Gossamer is easy for Bugs to outwit and trick. Gossamer also sometimes goes by the name Rudolph.
3 - Big Bad Wolf
Bugs goes up against the Big Bad Wolf in four cartoons: Little Red Riding Hare, The Windblown Hare, Now Hare This, and False Hare. The wolf visually changes from cartoon to cartoon, but they eventually landed on a final model in Three Little Bops.
3 - Witch Hazel
Witch Hazel and Bugs face off in Bewitched Bunny, Broom-Stick Bunny, and A Witch's Tangled Hare. In all three cartoons, Witch Hazel tries to cook Bugs into a potion/soup concoction, and Bugs quickly outsmarts her.
3 - Porky Pig
This was a bit surpising for us! Porky and Bugs only appeared in three cartoons together. First, Porky's Hare Hunt, which was before Bugs was really solidified as a character. Then, they both made silent cameos in A Corny Concerto where they performed a dance routine together; Porky played a caricature of Elmer Fudd and Bugs played himself. Their last cartoon together was Dumb Patrol, where Porky makes a cameo - which is cut short by Bugs slamming him in the head with a brick so he can take Porky's mission.
3 - Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian Devil only appeared in three cartoons with Bugs?! This one is surprising and also not at all. Taz is a perfect opposition for Bugs; he's wild, he's violent, he doesn't have logical limits like Elmer Fudd or Yosemite Sam. He should be in more cartoons with Bugs, but producer Edward Selzer ordered animators to shelve Taz. After watching Devil May Hare, Selzer said the character was too scary and violent for children, which would anger parents and translate to lower ticket sales. Luckily, studio boss Jack Warner asked about Taz after not seeing him in cartoons for a while, and Taz was saved! But he was saved right in time for Warner Bros. Cartoons to shut down in 1964. So, that's why there aren't as many original Looney Tunes with Bugs and Taz together.
3 - Cecil Turtle
Cecil and Bugs race each other every time they interact, and in keeping with the classic fable of the tortoise and the hare, Bugs spends the whole race sabotaging Cecil instead of just...being fast. Bugs' interactions with Cecil are the few cartoons where Bugs is the bad guy. While Cecil is very cute, his personality is a little too shy and easygoing to be a real, long-term antagonist.
3 - Gruesome Gorilla
The misunderstanding is really the Stork's fault, but in Gorilla My Dreams and Apes of Wrath, Bugs is mistakenly dropped off at the Gorilla residence as their "new baby". An animosity ensues - Bugs wants to leave, and Gruesome Gorilla wants him to leave too, but Mrs. Gorilla says he's their baby. Bugs has fun with the situation when he realizes he can do no wrong in the eyes of Mrs. Gorilla, so he ruthlessly messes with Gruesome Gorilla and runs back to "mommy" when things turn south. Bugs and Gruesome also face off in Hurdy-Gurdy Hare where street performer Bugs fires his trained monkey, and the monkey sends Gruesome after him.
4 - Rocky and Mugsy
In Bugsy and Mugsy, Bugs messed with Rocky and Mugsy from beneath the floorboards. Bugs played them against each other and never really interacted with them. In the other cartoons, Bugs either accidentally walked into a situation with them, or was directly kidnapped by them.
4 - Marvin the Martian
Most of Marvin and Bugs' interactions go like this: Bugs is forced to go to space, Bugs lands on Marvin's space base, Marvin prepares to destroy the Earth, and Bugs has to stop Marvin from blowing it up. Where's the kaboom?! While Marvin is a fun character, his straight man act makes it difficult for him to operate around Bugs' free-spirited trickster energy.
5 - Wile E. Coyote
The normally mute Wile E. Coyote is suddenly able to speak when he's dealing with Bugs Bunny. In Operation: Rabbit, he even introduces himself as "My name is Wile E. Coyote, genius. I am not selling anything, nor am I working my way through college. So, let's get down to cases. You are a rabbit, and I am going to eat you for supper." They follow the same format of Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote's battles, but now Wile E. Coyote has an enemy who enjoys trash talk, which helps Bugs distract and disarm whatever schemes the Coyote has cooked up. In their rivalry, Wile E. Coyote is the dynamite, and Bugs is the spark.
16 - Daffy
Sweet 16 for such a salty pair! Most of Bugs' character pairings are people chasing him in some way or another, but with Daffy it's different. With Daffy, it's about competition; Daffy lives to outdo Bugs. Even if they're both running from Elmer Fudd, Daffy's motivation isn't survival, it's outrunning Bugs. They're not friends, and they're not exactly enemies, but they are a lot of fun together.
31 - Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam was created TO hunt Bugs. Animator Friz Freleng felt like Bugs had outsmarted Elmer Fudd so many times that it was starting to come off as bullying. So, a new opponent was needed; one who was violent, smart, and not as easily pushed over like Elmer. Thus Yosemite Sam was born to wreak havoc in the wild west, on pirate ships, in outer space - anywhere Bugs went from 1945 to 1964, Yosemite Sam was there and ready to put up a fight.
One Hit Wonders
Before we get to the real winners, let's acknowledge the one-hit wonders - the cartoon characters who decided one battle with Bugs was more than enough! Pete Puma, Two Curious Puppies, Beaky Buzzard, Three Bears, Russian Dog, Red Hot Rider, Angus McRory, Colonel Shuffle, Giovanni Jones, Nasty Canasta, Bruno Bear, Charles Wolf, Red Riding Hood, and Count Blood all dealt with Bugs once and said, "Never again!"
36 - Elmer Fudd
It's official, Bugs Bunny's number one enemy is Elmer Fudd. They appeared in 36 cartoons together, concluding their twenty-year battle in 1960's Person to Bunny. While not surprising, Bugs and Elmer's years of competitive enmity helped form Bugs' character into the cartoon icon he is today. Worth the twouble, if you ask us!
