Buckaroo Bugs
Encyclopedia
Buckaroo Bugs is a Warner Bros.
Looney Tunes
theatrical cartoon short released in August 1944, introducing Bugs Bunny
to Looney Tunes and directed by Robert Clampett.
serves as an antagonist
. In the cartoon, he plays a carrot thief called the Masked Marauder, whom Brooklyn's "Red Hot Ryder" (possibly a Yosemite Sam
prototype (a parody of Red Ryder
)) must bring to justice. The cartoon portrays Red Hot Ryder as a dimwit who cannot distinguish Bugs Bunny from the Masked Marauder, and his good-natured slowness is consistently mocked: When Bugs Bunny as the Masked Marauder threatens to shoot Red Hot Ryder, saying, "Stick 'em up, or I'll blow your brains out," the latter treats it like a choice, replying, "Well, now, that's mighty neighborly of you." In the end, Red Hot Ryder catches on, but is unable to catch the Masked Marauder, in the end he tricks him into jumping into the Grand Canyon
, when underground Red Hot Ryder finally figures out that Bugs is the Masked Marauder. Bugs pops up from beneath the ground with a lit candle
and says "That's right! That's right! You win the 64 dollar question!" (a reference to the "big prize" on the famous radio quiz show Take It or Leave It). He then kisses him and blows out the candle.
of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection
DVD set, released on October 30, 2007. Red Hot Ryder serves as a spoof of Red Ryder
, borrowing the image of the popular Western serial's cowboy hero, Don 'Red' Barry.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Looney Tunes
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...
theatrical cartoon short released in August 1944, introducing 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...
to Looney Tunes and directed by Robert Clampett.
Plot
Unlike in most shorts, Bugs BunnyBugs 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...
serves as an antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
. In the cartoon, he plays a carrot thief called the Masked Marauder, whom Brooklyn's "Red Hot Ryder" (possibly a Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...
prototype (a parody of Red Ryder
Red Ryder
Red Ryder was a popular long-running Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger and artist Fred Harman. Beginning Sunday, November 6, 1938, Red Ryder was syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, expanding over the following decade to 750 newspapers, translations into ten languages and...
)) must bring to justice. The cartoon portrays Red Hot Ryder as a dimwit who cannot distinguish Bugs Bunny from the Masked Marauder, and his good-natured slowness is consistently mocked: When Bugs Bunny as the Masked Marauder threatens to shoot Red Hot Ryder, saying, "Stick 'em up, or I'll blow your brains out," the latter treats it like a choice, replying, "Well, now, that's mighty neighborly of you." In the end, Red Hot Ryder catches on, but is unable to catch the Masked Marauder, in the end he tricks him into jumping into the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
, when underground Red Hot Ryder finally figures out that Bugs is the Masked Marauder. Bugs pops up from beneath the ground with a lit candle
Candle
A candle is a solid block or cylinder of wax with an embedded wick, which is lit to provide light, and sometimes heat.Today, most candles are made from paraffin. Candles can also be made from beeswax, soy, other plant waxes, and tallow...
and says "That's right! That's right! You win the 64 dollar question!" (a reference to the "big prize" on the famous radio quiz show Take It or Leave It). He then kisses him and blows out the candle.
Availability
The cartoon has been released on VHS in anonymous 'Bugs Bunny' collections, and is also featured on the fifth volumeLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 is a Looney Tunes collection on DVD. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on October 30, 2007....
of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection
Looney Tunes Golden Collection
The Looney Tunes Golden Collection was an annual series of six four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Bros.' home video unit Warner Home Video, each containing about 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts...
DVD set, released on October 30, 2007. Red Hot Ryder serves as a spoof of Red Ryder
Red Ryder
Red Ryder was a popular long-running Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger and artist Fred Harman. Beginning Sunday, November 6, 1938, Red Ryder was syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, expanding over the following decade to 750 newspapers, translations into ten languages and...
, borrowing the image of the popular Western serial's cowboy hero, Don 'Red' Barry.
Production details
- This was Bugs Bunny's second appearance in the Looney Tunes series. His first was a short cameoCameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in Porky Pig's FeatPorky Pig's FeatPorky Pig's Feat is a one-reel animated cartoon short subject in the Looney Tunes series, produced in black-and-white and released to theatres on June 13, 1943 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was directed by Frank Tashlin with musical supervision by Carl Stalling, and produced by Leon Schlesinger...
, but was not a starring role, therefore making Buckaroo Bugs Bugs' first starring role in a Looney Tunes short.
- This was the last cartoon release to bear Leon Schlesinger's name, as he sold his cartoon studio to Warner Bros. around the time of its release.
- While only Manny GouldManny GouldManny Gould was an American animated cartoonist from the 1920s to the 1970s.-Career:Gould was employed by the Barré Studio in the early 1920s under the direction of William Nolan. When the studio closed, Nolan went to work for Charles Mintz on the Krazy Kat cartoons, distributed first by Paramount...
was credited as an animator, Robert McKimsonRobert McKimsonRobert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
and Rod ScribnerRod ScribnerRoderick H. "Rod" Scribner was an American animator best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros.. His animation was one of the wildest things ever seen on screen during The Golden Age of American animation. He started as an animator for Ben...
also aided in the process.
- The older version of Bugs Bunny would be used again in the next Bugs short, The Old Grey HareThe Old Grey HareThe Old Grey Hare is a 1944 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Bob Clampett, written by Michael Sasanoff, music by Carl W. Stalling. Starring an older and young Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd The Old Grey Hare is a 1944 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series,...
.
- At one point, Bugs's mask disappears when he is talking to the Red Hot Ryder.
- When this was shown on TV, they use the ending card that was shown in Hare TonicHare TonicHare Tonic is a 1945 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Looney Tunes series, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Tedd Pierce. It stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd making this the second cartoon directed by Jones to co-star the two . Voice characterizations are by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q...
and Baseball BugsBaseball BugsBaseball Bugs is a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released on February 2, 1946 starring Bugs Bunny. It had a similar theme to MGM's 1944 Batty Baseball, which was directed by former WB cartoon director Tex Avery.-Overview:...
.
Censorship
- Some syndicated versions of this cartoon (particularly one version shown on a TBS station in Illinois) omit the part in which Red Hot Ryder's groinGroinIn human anatomy, the groin areas are the two creases at the junction of the torso with the legs, on either side of the pubic area. This is also known as the medial compartment of the thigh. A pulled groin muscle usually refers to a painful injury sustained by straining the hip adductor muscles...
being covered by a fig leaf after the Masked Marauder takes off his belt and diaper pin with a magnet.