Dumb Patrol
Encyclopedia
"Dumb Patrol" is a Looney Tunes
cartoon short released 18 January 1964 starring Bugs Bunny
and Yosemite Sam
with a cameo appearance by Porky Pig
. This cartoon short was directed by Gerry Chiniquy
, a longtime animator in Friz Freleng
's unit. This cartoon short is set during World War I
opening ‘somewhere in France’ in 1917.
The name of the cartoon is an allusion to The Dawn Patrol a 1930 movie by Howard Hawks
that also deals with World War I pilots. The same title was also used for an unrelated, early Looney Tunes short starring Bosko
, released in 1931.
This cartoon does not fall into the normal pattern found in most other Bugs Bunny cartoon shorts. Bugs Bunny is not disturbed from a serene state as in most of his other shorts. Also, he is the attacker, reversing his normal role of the victim.
, stating whoever gets the longest straw wins. The men all draw short straws, finishing with Porky Pig
(addressed as Captain Smedley in this cartoon) getting the longest straw.
Next day, at dawn, while Porky is suiting up for the flight, Bugs Bunny
knocks him out with a brick and takes his place, because Porky has a wife and six piglets to take care of.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Germany, Sam stands to the attention of his general and receives an Iron Cross
. Sam, however, is sick of getting those things and wants a well-deserved long furlough. Bugs drops him a bunch of flowers and a note. Sam reads the note and finds it not only insulting, but the word "baron" has been spelt with a small "b." A P.S. adds that Bugs wrote the big "B" in Sam's flowers. When Sam looks at the flowers, a bee flies out and lands on Sam's nose.
Angered, Sam tries to take off, but his stubborn plane won't "contact" on cue, and when Sam hits it with a mallet, it won't "whoa" on cue. Sam catches up to Bugs, but Bugs pulls up into the clouds. While Sam tries to get Bugs to come out by the count of three, he crashes into a mountain.
Sam runs back to the airfield and grabs another plane. While he looks for Bugs, Bugs comes up behind him and buzz-saws right through Sam's plane.
Back in the sky again, Sam starts shooting at Bugs with a machine gun, but Bugs dodges every time. Sam's shooting only ends up shearing his own plane to bits, leaving only the undercarriage which becomes a unicycle
when he lands.
Sam then takes to the skies in a bomber. After finding Bugs and getting him in his sights, he releases the bombs, but he falls out of his plane and gets caught in the explosion of his bombs on the ground.
Sam takes to the skies in a dinky little biplane, which at the push of a lever becomes a fierce fighting monster triplane loaded with machine guns. Once the plane's transformation is complete, Sam switches to full power, but this rips the plane into three pieces, causing Sam to fall and get blasted to bits in the ammunition dump
. Bugs then comments he's heard of Hell's Angels, but he never thought he'd actually see one. The final scene then shows Sam (in a devil's suit, playing a harp) floating skyward.
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...
cartoon short released 18 January 1964 starring 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...
and 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...
with a cameo appearance by Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
. This cartoon short was directed by Gerry Chiniquy
Gerry Chiniquy
Germain Adolph "Gerry" Chiniquy was an American animator. He is best known for his work with Friz Freleng, at both Warner Bros. and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises....
, a longtime animator in 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....
's unit. This cartoon short is set during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
opening ‘somewhere in France’ in 1917.
The name of the cartoon is an allusion to The Dawn Patrol a 1930 movie by Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
that also deals with World War I pilots. The same title was also used for an unrelated, early Looney Tunes short starring Bosko
Bosko
Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko is the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series, and is the star of over three dozen Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros...
, released in 1931.
This cartoon does not fall into the normal pattern found in most other Bugs Bunny cartoon shorts. Bugs Bunny is not disturbed from a serene state as in most of his other shorts. Also, he is the attacker, reversing his normal role of the victim.
Plot
In 1917, somewhere in France during World War One, the men of the French Air Force assemble to determine who must rid the skies of the German pilot, Baron Sam Von Shamm. The General decides to settle this by drawing strawsDrawing straws
Drawing straws is a selection method that is used by a group to choose one member of the group to perform a task after none has volunteered for it...
, stating whoever gets the longest straw wins. The men all draw short straws, finishing with Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
(addressed as Captain Smedley in this cartoon) getting the longest straw.
Next day, at dawn, while Porky is suiting up for the flight, 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...
knocks him out with a brick and takes his place, because Porky has a wife and six piglets to take care of.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Germany, Sam stands to the attention of his general and receives an Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
. Sam, however, is sick of getting those things and wants a well-deserved long furlough. Bugs drops him a bunch of flowers and a note. Sam reads the note and finds it not only insulting, but the word "baron" has been spelt with a small "b." A P.S. adds that Bugs wrote the big "B" in Sam's flowers. When Sam looks at the flowers, a bee flies out and lands on Sam's nose.
Angered, Sam tries to take off, but his stubborn plane won't "contact" on cue, and when Sam hits it with a mallet, it won't "whoa" on cue. Sam catches up to Bugs, but Bugs pulls up into the clouds. While Sam tries to get Bugs to come out by the count of three, he crashes into a mountain.
Sam runs back to the airfield and grabs another plane. While he looks for Bugs, Bugs comes up behind him and buzz-saws right through Sam's plane.
Back in the sky again, Sam starts shooting at Bugs with a machine gun, but Bugs dodges every time. Sam's shooting only ends up shearing his own plane to bits, leaving only the undercarriage which becomes a unicycle
Unicycle
A unicycle is a human-powered, single-track vehicle with one wheel. Unicycles resemble bicycles, but are less complex.-History:One theory of the advent of the unicycle stems from the popularity of the penny-farthing during the late 19th century...
when he lands.
Sam then takes to the skies in a bomber. After finding Bugs and getting him in his sights, he releases the bombs, but he falls out of his plane and gets caught in the explosion of his bombs on the ground.
Sam takes to the skies in a dinky little biplane, which at the push of a lever becomes a fierce fighting monster triplane loaded with machine guns. Once the plane's transformation is complete, Sam switches to full power, but this rips the plane into three pieces, causing Sam to fall and get blasted to bits in the ammunition dump
Ammunition dump
An ammunition dump, ammunition compound, ammunition depot, bomb dump, ammunition supply point or ammo dump, is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives....
. Bugs then comments he's heard of Hell's Angels, but he never thought he'd actually see one. The final scene then shows Sam (in a devil's suit, playing a harp) floating skyward.