Broom-Stick Bunny
Encyclopedia
Broom-Stick Bunny is a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes
short released in 1956 and directed by Chuck Jones
.
is a member of the Malevolent Order of Witches, an "A. F. of Elves" union, which is a poke at the American Federation of Labor
prior to its then-recent merger with the Congress of Industrial Organizations
on December 4, 1955, which resulted in today's AFL-CIO
. The American Federation of Labor was commonly referred to as the "A.F. of L."
It is Halloween
, and Witch Hazel is busy brewing a magic potion ("A cup of wasp knee, a spider, some glue..."). As she goes about her business, she pauses at her magic mirror and asks of it who is the ugliest of all. The genie
in the mirror replies that she, Witch Hazel, is the ugliest ("By my troth, I will avow: there's none that's uglier than thou"). As an aside to the audience, Witch Hazel says that she is "deathly afraid of getting pretty as I grow older" (a fear which will be fully justified at the end of the short).
Meanwhile, Bugs Bunny
is out trick-or-treating
dressed as a witch, his face hidden by an ugly green mask. He calls on Witch Hazel who, seeing his disguise, mistakes him for a real witch ("I don't remember seeing her at any of the union meetings"). After remarking on Bugs being the ugliest little thing ("My, isn't she the ugliest little thing?"), realising she said "ugly", she dashes to her magic mirror and asks it again who is the ugliest, to which the mirror-genie replies he finds Bugs far uglier ("Thou wert the ugliest one, 'tis true, but that creep is uglier far than you"). The jealous Witch Hazel hatches a plot.
She invites the disguised Bugs in for tea, and prepares a brew containing various beauty enhancers. Bugs is about to drink the tea when he remembers he is still wearing the mask, and removes it. Seeing her "rival" is in fact a rabbit, Witch Hazel dashes off to consult her potion book. Sure enough, the last ingredient for the potion she was brewing earlier is a rabbit's clavicle
(a bone in the shoulder). While she is gone, Bugs begins to suspect trouble is afoot and makes to leave ("You know, my delicate inner sense of danger warns me that there's something faintly unhealthy in the atmosphere of this cottage."), but he is stopped at the door by Witch Hazel brandishing a meat cleaver. Bugs flees, stating "Uh, pardon me, auntie, but uh, I've got a lot of trick-or-treatin' to catch up on so I'll bid you a civil adieu!", with the cackling witch chasing him through the house. She dashes into her magic broom closet to get her flying broomstick in order to try and keep up with Bugs, but she comes out astride the wrong one which starts sweeping with her on it before she lets go: "Crazy me. That was my sweeping broom!" she says to the audience. As Bugs hides (knowing that "that old bag means to do me serious hurt!"), Witch Hazel finally traps Bugs using a carrot on a fishing line.
Back at her cauldron, Witch Hazel prepares to kill Bugs and use him in her potion. She is about to bring her cleaver down on the trussed-up rabbit, but Bugs tries to play to her sympathies, gazing back at her with tear-filled doe eyes [as Charlie Dog noted in Jones' Often An Orphan (1948), "'Big soulful eyes' routine. Gets 'em every time"]. Witch Hazel bursts into tears, claiming Bugs' innocent face reminds her of Paul, her dear departed pet tarantula
(It's unknown if Paul died naturally, or was used as an ingredient in an earlier potion). Bugs tries to comfort her by bringing her the cup of beauty potion/tea, which she unknowingly drinks. She instantly changes into a young and shapely woman (naturally, Milt Franklyn
strikes up Oh, You Beautiful Doll
), which of course horrifies her (it's not known if Bugs did this strategically or not). She dashes to the magic mirror once again to ask who is the ugliest one of all (her voice is also softer and sexier now). The genie
in the mirror, seeing her sexy new appearance, gives a Bob Hope-like "ROWR, ROWR" and lunges to grab her. Witch Hazel flees on her flying broomstick, with the genie chasing her on a magic carpet, slowly gaining on her. Bugs is left at the house, and promptly telephones the local air raid
headquarters to report "a genie
with light brown hair chasing a flying sorceress!".
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
short released in 1956 and directed by Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
.
Plot
As the short opens, it shows a plaque which states that Witch HazelWitch Hazel (Looney Tunes)
Witch Hazel is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Disney, MGM, Famous Studios, and the Little Lulu comic book also had characters named Witch Hazel, and Rembrandt Films had one named Hazel Witch. This article is chiefly concerned...
is a member of the Malevolent Order of Witches, an "A. F. of Elves" union, which is a poke at the American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
prior to its then-recent merger with the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
on December 4, 1955, which resulted in today's AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
. The American Federation of Labor was commonly referred to as the "A.F. of L."
It is Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, and Witch Hazel is busy brewing a magic potion ("A cup of wasp knee, a spider, some glue..."). As she goes about her business, she pauses at her magic mirror and asks of it who is the ugliest of all. The genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
in the mirror replies that she, Witch Hazel, is the ugliest ("By my troth, I will avow: there's none that's uglier than thou"). As an aside to the audience, Witch Hazel says that she is "deathly afraid of getting pretty as I grow older" (a fear which will be fully justified at the end of the short).
Meanwhile, Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
is out trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating or "Guising", is a customary practice for children on Halloween in many countries. Children in costumes travel from house to house in order to ask for treats such as candy with the question "Trick or treat?"...
dressed as a witch, his face hidden by an ugly green mask. He calls on Witch Hazel who, seeing his disguise, mistakes him for a real witch ("I don't remember seeing her at any of the union meetings"). After remarking on Bugs being the ugliest little thing ("My, isn't she the ugliest little thing?"), realising she said "ugly", she dashes to her magic mirror and asks it again who is the ugliest, to which the mirror-genie replies he finds Bugs far uglier ("Thou wert the ugliest one, 'tis true, but that creep is uglier far than you"). The jealous Witch Hazel hatches a plot.
She invites the disguised Bugs in for tea, and prepares a brew containing various beauty enhancers. Bugs is about to drink the tea when he remembers he is still wearing the mask, and removes it. Seeing her "rival" is in fact a rabbit, Witch Hazel dashes off to consult her potion book. Sure enough, the last ingredient for the potion she was brewing earlier is a rabbit's clavicle
Clavicle
In human anatomy, the clavicle or collar bone is a long bone of short length that serves as a strut between the scapula and the sternum. It is the only long bone in body that lies horizontally...
(a bone in the shoulder). While she is gone, Bugs begins to suspect trouble is afoot and makes to leave ("You know, my delicate inner sense of danger warns me that there's something faintly unhealthy in the atmosphere of this cottage."), but he is stopped at the door by Witch Hazel brandishing a meat cleaver. Bugs flees, stating "Uh, pardon me, auntie, but uh, I've got a lot of trick-or-treatin' to catch up on so I'll bid you a civil adieu!", with the cackling witch chasing him through the house. She dashes into her magic broom closet to get her flying broomstick in order to try and keep up with Bugs, but she comes out astride the wrong one which starts sweeping with her on it before she lets go: "Crazy me. That was my sweeping broom!" she says to the audience. As Bugs hides (knowing that "that old bag means to do me serious hurt!"), Witch Hazel finally traps Bugs using a carrot on a fishing line.
Back at her cauldron, Witch Hazel prepares to kill Bugs and use him in her potion. She is about to bring her cleaver down on the trussed-up rabbit, but Bugs tries to play to her sympathies, gazing back at her with tear-filled doe eyes [as Charlie Dog noted in Jones' Often An Orphan (1948), "'Big soulful eyes' routine. Gets 'em every time"]. Witch Hazel bursts into tears, claiming Bugs' innocent face reminds her of Paul, her dear departed pet tarantula
Tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of often hairy and often very large arachnids belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been identified. Some members of the same Suborder may also be called "tarantulas" in the common parlance. This article will restrict itself to...
(It's unknown if Paul died naturally, or was used as an ingredient in an earlier potion). Bugs tries to comfort her by bringing her the cup of beauty potion/tea, which she unknowingly drinks. She instantly changes into a young and shapely woman (naturally, Milt Franklyn
Milt Franklyn
Milton J. Franklyn was a musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes animated cartoons....
strikes up Oh, You Beautiful Doll
Oh, You Beautiful Doll
"Oh, You Beautiful Doll" is a ragtime love song published in 1911 with words by Seymour Brown and music by Nat D. Ayer. The song was one of the first with a twelve-bar opening. It is well-known by its chorus:*...
), which of course horrifies her (it's not known if Bugs did this strategically or not). She dashes to the magic mirror once again to ask who is the ugliest one of all (her voice is also softer and sexier now). The genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
in the mirror, seeing her sexy new appearance, gives a Bob Hope-like "ROWR, ROWR" and lunges to grab her. Witch Hazel flees on her flying broomstick, with the genie chasing her on a magic carpet, slowly gaining on her. Bugs is left at the house, and promptly telephones the local air raid
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
headquarters to report "a genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
with light brown hair chasing a flying sorceress!".