Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips
Encyclopedia
Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips is a Merrie Melodies
animated cartoon
directed by Friz Freleng
, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions
, and released to theaters on April 22, 1944 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation.
The cartoon was made during World War II
, and reflects the United States
' attitude towards one of its main enemies at the time, the Empire of Japan
. In the cartoon, Bugs Bunny
lands on an island in the Pacific
and is pitted against a group of highly racially-stereotyped Japanese soldiers. Bugs shows no mercy against the Japanese soldiers, greeting them with several racial slurs such as "monkey face" and "slant eyes", making short work of a large sumo wrestler, and bombing most of the Japanese army using various explosives, including grenades hidden in ice cream
bars. The cartoon's title is a play on the verb "nip" as in "bite" and "Nip", a then-widely used slur for Japanese people
, based on the fact that the Japanese
word for "Japan" is "Nippon" (or "Nihon").
The Film Daily
called the seven minute short "good fun", and gave the following synopsis:
), but is soon recognized by his trademark carrot eating, prompting one soldier (who says he saw Bugs in the "Warner Bros. Leon Schlesinger Merrie Melodies cartoon pictures", referring to the fact that Bugs was originally exclusive to that series) to ask him "What's up, Honorable Doc?"
Bugs then jumps into a plane to get away from the soldier, who jumps into his own plane. However, Bugs ties the soldier's plane to a tree, causing the plane to be yanked out from under him. The soldier parachutes down, but is met by Bugs in mid-air, who hands "Moto" (cf. Mr. Moto
) some 'scrap iron' (an anvil), causing the soldier to fall. Painting a Japanese flag on a tree to denote one soldier down, Bugs runs into a sumo wrestler, whom he confidently faces off against (cockily marking a second flag on the tree). After getting temporarily beaten by the sumo wrestler (who wipes the second mark off the tree), Bugs dresses as a geisha girl
and knocks the wrestler out, who repaints a second flag on the tree before passing out.
Seeing a bunch of Japanese landing craft making their way to the island (exclaiming "Japs! Hundred of 'em!"), Bugs thinks of a plan to get rid of all of them. He comes out in a 'Good Rumor' (a parody of Good Humor
) truck, which plays Mozart ("Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja" from The Magic Flute
). Bugs hands each of the Japanese an ice cream with a grenade inside it. All the Japanese are killed off from the explosions, save for one who was killed after redeeming a 'free' ice cream from Bugs. Having now painted dozens of Japanese flags on the trees denoting all the downed enemy, Bugs comments again about the 'peace and quiet - and if there's one thing I CAN'T stand, it's peace and quiet!'.
Bugs spots an American battleship in the distance and raises a white flag, yelling for them to come get him. However, they do not notice him and keep going. Bugs is insulted, "Do they think I want to spend the rest of my life on this island?" With this remark, a female rabbit (dressed in a more Hawaiian outfit) appears saying "It's a possibility!" Bugs then pulls down the distress flag, lets out a wolf cry, and goes running after her.
. It debuted on home video in December 1991 on the first Golden Age of Looney Tunes laser disc collection. The niche market format did not cause a stir, but when the 5 tape set was later issued in the more accessible VHS format on 10 separate tapes, Japanese rights groups protested its distribution, and both releases were withdrawn. Reissues for both formats replaced the cartoon with Racketeer Rabbit
. The VHS reissue combined volumes 4 and 7 of the 10 tape set.
This was one of the 12 Bugs Bunny cartoons that were pulled out of Cartoon Network's June Bugs 2001 marathon by order of AOL Time Warner
due to stereotypes of Japanese people.
This cartoon was shown, albeit in clips, on a special episode of the Cartoon Network show ToonHeads
about cartoons from the World War II era while a voiceover explained how Japanese stereotypes in World War II cartoons tended to be very cruel (as shown in Norm MacCabe's Tokio Jokio
, this cartoon, and clips of World War II-era Popeye
cartoons).
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
directed by Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
, and released to theaters on April 22, 1944 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation.
The cartoon was made during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and reflects the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' attitude towards one of its main enemies at the time, the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
. In the cartoon, 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...
lands on an island in the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and is pitted against a group of highly racially-stereotyped Japanese soldiers. Bugs shows no mercy against the Japanese soldiers, greeting them with several racial slurs such as "monkey face" and "slant eyes", making short work of a large sumo wrestler, and bombing most of the Japanese army using various explosives, including grenades hidden in ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
bars. The cartoon's title is a play on the verb "nip" as in "bite" and "Nip", a then-widely used slur for Japanese people
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
, based on the fact that the Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
word for "Japan" is "Nippon" (or "Nihon").
The Film Daily
Film Daily
The Film Daily was a daily publication that existed from 1915 to 1970 in the United States.For 55 years, Film Daily was the main source of news on the film and television industries...
called the seven minute short "good fun", and gave the following synopsis:
"Bugs Bunny, castaway on a Pacific isle, thinks the setting is ideal until he finds his paradise infested with Japanese soldiers. How he single-handedly exterminates the enemy makes for a laugh-filled few minutes of typical Bugs antics, off-screen remarks and action in this Technicolor cartoon produced by Leon Schlesinger."
Plot
Somewhere in the Pacific, Bugs is floating in a box, singing to himself, when 'the island that inevitably turns up in this kind of picture' turns up. Bugs swims towards it, and admires the peace and quiet, when bombs start going off. Bugs ducks into a haystack, and soon comes face to face with a Japanese soldier; a short, bucked tooth, monkey-footed Japanese man who says his 'Ls' as 'Rs' and who might be rapidly stating the names of Japanese cities whenever he moves. The soldier chases Bugs to a rabbit hole, where the soldier dumps a bomb inside. However, Bugs manages to blow the soldier up with the bomb. When the soldier tries to pull Bugs out, Bugs appears as a Japanese general (presumably Hideki TojoHideki Tōjō
Hideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944...
), but is soon recognized by his trademark carrot eating, prompting one soldier (who says he saw Bugs in the "Warner Bros. Leon Schlesinger Merrie Melodies cartoon pictures", referring to the fact that Bugs was originally exclusive to that series) to ask him "What's up, Honorable Doc?"
Bugs then jumps into a plane to get away from the soldier, who jumps into his own plane. However, Bugs ties the soldier's plane to a tree, causing the plane to be yanked out from under him. The soldier parachutes down, but is met by Bugs in mid-air, who hands "Moto" (cf. Mr. Moto
Mr. Moto
Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the Saturday Evening Post, which was seeking stories with an Asian hero after the death...
) some 'scrap iron' (an anvil), causing the soldier to fall. Painting a Japanese flag on a tree to denote one soldier down, Bugs runs into a sumo wrestler, whom he confidently faces off against (cockily marking a second flag on the tree). After getting temporarily beaten by the sumo wrestler (who wipes the second mark off the tree), Bugs dresses as a geisha girl
Geisha
, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
and knocks the wrestler out, who repaints a second flag on the tree before passing out.
Seeing a bunch of Japanese landing craft making their way to the island (exclaiming "Japs! Hundred of 'em!"), Bugs thinks of a plan to get rid of all of them. He comes out in a 'Good Rumor' (a parody of Good Humor
Good Humor
Good Humor is an American brand of ice cream novelties sold from ice cream trucks as well as stores and other retail outlets. Originally, Good Humors were chocolate-coated ice cream bars on a stick, but the line was expanded over the years to include a wide range of novelties...
) truck, which plays Mozart ("Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja" from The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
). Bugs hands each of the Japanese an ice cream with a grenade inside it. All the Japanese are killed off from the explosions, save for one who was killed after redeeming a 'free' ice cream from Bugs. Having now painted dozens of Japanese flags on the trees denoting all the downed enemy, Bugs comments again about the 'peace and quiet - and if there's one thing I CAN'T stand, it's peace and quiet!'.
Bugs spots an American battleship in the distance and raises a white flag, yelling for them to come get him. However, they do not notice him and keep going. Bugs is insulted, "Do they think I want to spend the rest of my life on this island?" With this remark, a female rabbit (dressed in a more Hawaiian outfit) appears saying "It's a possibility!" Bugs then pulls down the distress flag, lets out a wolf cry, and goes running after her.
Controversy
Since the 1960s, Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips has become very controversial, because of its portrayal of the Japanese and Bugs' attitude and casual violence toward them. Despite its dated anti-Japanese slant (in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor drawing the United States directly into World War II against the Axis powers), and because the cartoon was not one of The Censored Eleven, it was occasionally shown on television in syndicated packages with other pre-August 1948 Warner cartoons that were under the ownership of Associated Artists ProductionsAssociated Artists Productions
Associated Artists Productions was a distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. It existed from 1953 to 1958. It was later folded into United Artists. The former a.a.p. library was later owned by MGM/UA Entertainment and then Turner Entertainment. Turner continues...
. It debuted on home video in December 1991 on the first Golden Age of Looney Tunes laser disc collection. The niche market format did not cause a stir, but when the 5 tape set was later issued in the more accessible VHS format on 10 separate tapes, Japanese rights groups protested its distribution, and both releases were withdrawn. Reissues for both formats replaced the cartoon with Racketeer Rabbit
Racketeer Rabbit
Racketeer Rabbit is a 1946 animated short film in the Looney Tunes series produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. It stars Bugs Bunny, who duels with a pair of racketeers or gangsters, Rocky and Hugo forerunners who resemble Edward G. Robinson and Peter Lorre...
. The VHS reissue combined volumes 4 and 7 of the 10 tape set.
This was one of the 12 Bugs Bunny cartoons that were pulled out of Cartoon Network's June Bugs 2001 marathon by order of AOL Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
due to stereotypes of Japanese people.
This cartoon was shown, albeit in clips, on a special episode of the Cartoon Network show ToonHeads
ToonHeads
The TV series ToonHeads is an animation anthology series consisting of uncut Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer & Warner Bros. cartoon shorts, with interesting background information and trivia, prominently by animators and voice actors like: Mel Blanc, Tex Avery, Hugh Harman, Rudy Ising, David H. DePatie, Friz...
about cartoons from the World War II era while a voiceover explained how Japanese stereotypes in World War II cartoons tended to be very cruel (as shown in Norm MacCabe's Tokio Jokio
Tokio Jokio
Tokio Jokio is a 1943 Looney Tunes short directed by Norman McCabe . It is a propaganda film made during World War II mocking Japan in the style of a supposed Japanese film journal broadcast...
, this cartoon, and clips of World War II-era Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
cartoons).